“Another New Kind of Family"

Sermon-Proper 5-June 10, 2012 “Another New Kind of Family”
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.

“When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, "He has gone out of his mind." Kate Huey writes: “The Marcan Jesus is on the move constantly, like a man on a mission with little time to spare and even less patience with people who like to criticize everything he does. We're only in the third chapter of Mark now, but a quick read of those first chapters is exhausting: Jesus has gone from his hometown to the wilderness to Galilee to the sea to Capernaum to a house to a deserted place and back out to the towns of Galilee (we're still in the first chapter) and then back to Capernaum and home, and then to the sea, and to Levi's house, through the grain fields and to the synagogue, and then back to the sea, into a boat, before heading up the mountain where he gathered those twelve apostles around him, and then, finally, he went home. Imagine all this travel with desperate crowds around him (people "from every quarter," 1:45), clinging to him, begging for healing, begging to be released from the demons that had hold of them, and then picture a group of carping critics picking at everything he did – breaking the rules about healing on the Sabbath, eating with tax collectors and sinners, and not fasting as they should.”

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons."

Jesus’ family thinks he is not taking his medication. The scribes, the religious people, think he is possessed. Is he crazy? Is he filled with the devil? What’s wrong with Jesus?

And the “crowd”, the people who represent us, “was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." What are you going to do, Jesus? You are acting strangely, being overwhelmed by people-are you losing it? Are you coming unhinged? Your family is worried about you-they want to take you home for a “rest”. And then Jesus says “Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

In the 1st century, people choosing to follow Jesus were sometimes turned in to the Roman authorities as traitors, or to the religious authorities as breaking the law. Christians were a danger and a threat. Frequently Christians weren’t trusted and were portrayed as undermining society. They felt oppressed and alone. And when they heard these words read to them by Jesus-they were comforted and strengthened. "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

ABC has an ad that says their channel depicts “A New Kind of family”. Before there was ABC, there was Jesus. Christians in the first century, abandoned by their blood relatives, would look around at the people who were worshipping with them, sitting with them at the table, suffering with them, dying with them, and say-these are “my brother and sister and mother." There is a commercial on tv a lot right now for the new Dallas tv show. Evil JR looks at the screen and says, “Blood is thicker than water-and oil is thicker than blood”. And Jesus would say,” those who eat and pray and struggle and suffer and rejoice and live and die with you-those who do the will of God-is thicker than oil.”

Today we take a very brief moment to thank those who have assisted us in our worship over the last year. They have led us, lifted us, guided us, and served us. They have shown us what it is to be brothers and sisters. We are grateful for their ministry, and today we let them know that they are our sisters and brothers. We appreciate them and today we let them know that what they have done has helped our worship, and in a 1000 small way, strengthened our faith. As we call your name, could you please come forward.

Mark 3:20-35

And the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, "He has gone out of his mind." And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons." And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

"Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" — for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

"160 Times"

Sermon-Trinity Sunday June 3, 2012 160 times


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."

Today is Trinity Sunday. Trinity Sunday is the Sunday after Pentecost every year. As church time goes this is a relatively new celebration-it’s only been around since the 14th century. Has anyone, anyone here ever had occasion to talk about the Trinity (not the church but the theological concept of the Trinity) to someone/anyone in your lifetime? Anyone? Ever? So this is not exactly a critical issue in the life of your faith, right?

Do you know how many times you say one of our names for God in today’s service? Father, Son, or Holy Spirit, Lord, Jesus, Christ, Savior, How many times do you think we will say one of our names for God (Not counting the sermon or the hymns) in today’s service? 160. At the 8am service that’s almost every 15 seconds/at the 10:30am service that more than twice every minute (not including hymns and sermon). When we’re in church we are using the name of God almost nonstop the whole time we are here, a wide variety of different names-all describing who we believe God is.

Rev. Dr. Tom Long tells the story of-The Reverend John Buchanan ...just retired after 48 years as a Presbyterian pastor; [Rev. Buchanan] remembered one Sunday service in which he was baptizing a two-year-old boy. After the child had been baptized with water, John Buchanan, following the directions of the Presbyterian prayer book, put his hand on the little boy's head and addressed him in Trinitarian language. He said, "You are a child of God, sealed by the Spirit in your baptism, and you belong to Jesus Christ forever." ... the little boy looked up and responded, "Uh-oh."

When St. Patrick went to Ireland to convert the heathen Celts, he kept trying to explain the Trinity to the people there, and finally in frustration at his inability to make them understand reached down and picked up a three leafed clover and told them God was like that leaf-1 in 3, three in one.

Today is the most theological Sunday of the year, a day devoted to an explanation of who God is. We try to find ways to define what we believe about God. There is a very clear definition of what we believe in our Book of Common Prayer. On this one day of the year the church is encouraged NOT to say the Nicene Creed, but rather another one. Turn in your red prayers books to p. 864. This is the Athanasian Creed, and this is the one we’re supposed to say on Trinity Sunday. Look at it.

We could say it today instead of the Nicene Creed if you would like? The problem is, the harder we work at defining God-the more distant God feels, and the less we seem to understand. The problem is that in the west we have to solve, to define everything- Listen to Dan Clendenin: “When Eastern Orthodox believers celebrate the Trinity, they start in a different place than their western cousins. And it's a good place to start when worshipping God. Western theology tends toward intellectual abstraction. Eastern theology emphasizes adoration of the mystery. It has always been wary of the inadequacies of human language, the limitations of the human mind, and the infinity of God. The desert father and intellectual Evagrios of Pontus (345–399), who spent the last sixteen years of his life among unlettered Coptic peasants in the harsh Egyptian desert, one observed: "God cannot be grasped by the mind. If he could be grasped he would not be God." “

This is Trinity Sunday, the day we try to describe God, and eventually we say that God is too much for us to explain. But still we name God, and we call on God, even if we cannot define him. 160 times in this short worship service. We may not be able to define the Trinity. We may not be able to explain God. But like the 2 year old, we know what it is to be “child of God, sealed by the Spirit in baptism, and belong to Jesus Christ forever.” Even if we never come up with a good definition, even if we never commit the Athanasian Creed to memory, we can still proclaim that we are God’s, and God knows who we are. Amen.

Native Language/Our own language

Sermon-Pentecost-May 27, 2012-Native Language/Our own language


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 Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."

Today is the 50th day of Easter, the feast of Pentecost. “In Italy, rose petals will be dropped from the ceilings of cathedrals to recall the tongues of fire. In France, trumpets will sound to evoke the mighty wind,” In Estonia and Finland eggs are dyed as at Easter because their hens (supposedly) don’t lay eggs until this time. In Germany the day is called “Pfingsten” and pink and red peonies, called “Whitsun roses”, are the symbols along with the birch trees. The English refer to the holiday as Whitsunday with reference to the white garments worn on Pentecost by the newly baptized. Some churches lower a carved dove into the congregation and call this “swinging the Holy Ghost”. and here at Trinity we wear red.

I was at a meeting of clergy recently where we were talking about the first lesson, the important one that describes the first Christian Pentecost. And someone pointed out how often we hear about the Spirit speaking in the “Native tongue or language” . It’s referred to twice and then it comes up again “in our own languages”. The Spirit spoke to all these people gathered in that upper room in a way they recognized-in a way that made sense to them. All these people heard “God’s deeds of power” in a way that changed them. That’s the key. The Holy Spirit didn’t just come-it spoke to a wide variety of people in a way they understood. Have you ever had someone tell you about some incredibly powerful life changing experience that happened to them, and you’re sitting there wondering why that would change someone’s life? It didn’t translate for you-it didn’t connect with what changes you. You think to yourself, “that changed your life?”

Do you know what your native language is? How do God’s deeds of power speak to you? When I listened to these clergy talking about “native languages” it dawned on me that what is powerful in my life-might not be so in yours-and vice versa. I hear that from people in church all the time. “You know, I listened to your emotional sermon today-and it didn’t touch me at all.” Yeah, I understand. In this first lesson from Acts, the Holy Spirit came as wind, it came as tongues of fire. It came as the ability to understand God. This story describes several different ways people could be touched by God-not just in one way. Do you know your native language? Do you know how God talks to you? What are the ways God’s deeds of power speak to you?

In his book "The Kingdom of God is a Party," Tony Campolo tells of a time when he spoke in Honolulu. Because of the time difference between Hawaii and the mainland, Campolo was wide awake and hungry at 3:30 a.m. He found a little greasy spoon diner, and as he sat finishing his coffee, several women came in who had just gotten off work. He knew they were prostitutes.

They sat down near him, and one of the women, Agnes, mentioned to her companions that tomorrow was her birthday. This didn't mean much to any of them and they chastised her for mentioning it in hopes of getting a present or party. She replied that she had never had a party.

After they left Compolo asked the diner owner, Harry, about these women and found that they showed up each night about this time. Compolo asked him if he would help him. Harry agreed.

The next evening the place was filled with decorations and when Agnes and her group arrived everyone sang "Happy Birthday." She was so overjoyed that she cried when she was asked to blow out the candles. When it came time to cut the cake, she begged to take it home.

After she left, Campolo led the group in prayer for Agnes and for the other women. They didn't know that he was a minister, and they asked at what type of church he preached. Campolo replied that it was a church that gives birthday parties for prostitutes, the church of Jesus Christ.

Who would have thought that a birthday party could be a deed of power? Do you know your native language? Do you know how God can best show you acts of power?

How does the Spirit speak to you? What deeds of power have you witnessed?

Barbara Brown Taylor says this about the disciples: “Before Pentecost, the disciples were dense, timid bumblers who fled at the least sign of trouble. Afterwards, they were fearless leaders. They healed the sick and cast out demons. They went to jail gladly, where they sang hymns until the walls fell down.” Here’s the thing, the Holy Spirit came and spoke to them in a language that they heard-their native tongue.

Tom Long tells this story about going to church on Pentecost many years ago:

I never will forget the Pentecost Sunday years ago when my family and I were at worship. My children were very small then; and on this particular Pentecost Sunday, the minister had decided to infuse a little drama into the reading of the Pentecost story in the Book of Acts. When he got to that part of the story about the wind blowing with a great sound, that was the secret cue for someone in the choir loft to turn on a tape recorder at top volume with the sound of a hurricane wind. My children were already a little bored by that point in the service, lazily coloring on their bulletins with crayons, but when the loud sound of that wind kicked up, they snapped to attention and began looking around the sanctuary.

When the minister read that part of the story about tongues of fire landing on people's heads, there were people planted in the congregation who had hidden in their purses and coat pockets little red, flashy pom-poms, which they now pulled out and started waving above their heads. When the minister got to the part about the apostles speaking in other languages some people in the congregation, some of them from Europe, some from Asia, some from Africa, stood up and began to speak in their own native tongues. At this point, of course, my children were practically standing on the pew and looking around. When the minister finished reading the passage, the choir began to lead us in a gentle rendition of "Breathe on me, Breath of God, fill me with life anew." And then we settled in (or so we thought) to hear the sermon, when suddenly a man stood up in the balcony and laughed rudely and raucously at the congregation, saying, "They must be drunk on new wine!" My children, now far from being bored, were beside themselves with excitement. When we left worship that day, my son David, who was just a little boy then, turned to me and said, "Wow, Dad! That was really church!"

It’s a good day to be a little over the top, a little excessive. It’s a good day for some drama and noise and commotion. Today is the day that we tell the story that God comes as spirit and speaks to each of us in ways that we can understand. God shows us deeds of power in ways that touch each of us-in our own way. It’s a good day to talk loudly and listen intensely and to look around. Today we hear that God speaks to each of us in a way that we will understand-and shows us how we are supposed to be church. Today is the day we hear God speaking to us each-in our own language. Amen.

“I’ll Be Praying For You”

Sermon-7 Easter B-May 20, 2012 “I’ll Be Praying For You”


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 Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."

When do you say these words “I’ll be praying for you”? Or when does someone say them to you? Most of the time when I hear these words spoken, it’s almost always because there is nothing more that we can do. And almost always “I’ll be praying for you” are the last words we say, when we can’t say anything more.

Today is the last Sunday of Easter. It’s been 6 weeks, 43 days since Easter Sunday. According to the Book of Acts, on the 40th day, last Thursday, Jesus went to heaven-and left his \ his friends. It was a sad moment for Jesus’ closest companions. In the book of Acts, you hear how the disciples decided that one of the first things that they had to do was build their number back up to 12, now that Judas was gone. And so they rolled dice to see who would get the “honor” of being a disciple-and ultimately, a martyr.

Make no mistake about it, when Jesus left his friends-they were alone, uncertain, and helpless. They didn’t know what to do, where to go, or who to be. I’ve been there. Several times in my life. It doesn’t matter how many times I have been rescued in the past-I always think, “oh no, I’m in it, now-what am I going to do?” And they must have felt that way, too.

In today’s gospel, Jesus is saying to his friends –“I’m praying for you. I told you before that chapters 13-17 in the gospel of John were known as “The long sermon”. The 17th chapter, today’s gospel, is called “The High Priestly Prayer” and it’s as if we are standing outside the window, eavesdropping, as Jesus prays to his Father. It is intimate, and intense. Basically, he’s asking God to take care of his friends, because he no longer can. Just like you or I would, if we thought we were leaving those we love. “”I’ll be praying for you.”

In 2000 an anonymous minister on the Desperate Preacher Site wrote this: “ This prayer that is prayed by Jesus to his Father on our behalf is one that can encourage believers today. We need the encouraging word today just as much as his first hearers needed them. ---The encouraging words that he says.--We belong to Christ thus we belong to God. Even though his immediate disciples were slow in understanding... now they understand and believe and He ask[s] God to protect them, to unite them, to sanctify them in the truth, and to place the joy that Jesus has in his heart into theirs. With all of God’s protection and Christ[‘s] joy then he commissions them and sends them into the world as God sent him. It is as if Christ words jump forward in time and he is speaking directly to us and is still praying that prayer even today.” LPinPA

Jesus asks God that his friends be one, unified, together, one body. He asks his father that they be full of joy. He pleads with God, that God protect them from all that is evil in the world, and finally, Jesus says, “ God, I am putting them out there-just as you put me out there.” How hard that had to be for Jesus. Praying for protection, joy, defending them from evil-all this sounds normal. All this is what you or I may write in a letter to friends before leaving them. But Jesus says to God I am sending them into the world-like you sent me. No wonder Jesus is closing with this fervent prayer for protection. His friends will be following him, going down the same path, expecting much the same consequences as he.

You understand, Jesus knows that his life is near an end. He knows that he will be confronting the powers the next day. He knows what may happen. And he asks that they, the people he loves, be sent to do the same thing he is being asked to do. Does this sound, like an odd final prayer to you? Can you imagine turning to your family, the people you are closest to in the world, and as you are dying, and praying that they go your same life, do the same things you did? Jesus wants them to follow him-even if it means all the way to death. We believe that 11 of the 12 disciples, including Matthias, all died martyr’s deaths.

This is Jesus closing prayer. Protect them, fill them with joy, give them power, and may they be sent into the world as I was. This last night of Jesus’ life, the disciples, these friends, had no idea what Jesus was talking about. They didn’t know that he would be dying the next day. They had to reconstruct this prayer years later after everything had happened. But that night of the Last Supper, they were at the end of 3 years of talking, teaching, walking together.

How often have you been lost? How often have you felt alone? Really alone? How often have you felt like you’re in a foreign land, friendless, and you were unsure which way to go? That’s the Sunday after the Ascension. Jesus is leaving his friends for the final time. First he died. Then came Easter, and his risen presence with his disciples for 40 days. And now they are alone. Again. And they have to face a future, without their companion, without their guide, without their friend. They must have felt even more abandoned than they had after the crucifixion.

To me, Ascension Sunday has always been one of the saddest days of the church year-like Palm Sunday and Good Friday-because it’s all about leaving, it’s all about good bye. We’ve all been there: uncertain, lost, alone. That’s what this Sunday, for me, has always been. The people/person we depended on are/is gone. For me, today has always been a time in between-a time of waiting. Jesus leaves but before he goes, he prays for his friends,

David Lose, the professor of preaching wrote this about today’s “high priestly prayer”: ask folks what they want Jesus to be praying for them right now. We don't get any sense that we'll be taken out of this world, or that all our problems will suddenly vanish, or that being a faithful Christian will be easy. But in light of that, what do we want Jesus to know, what do we need, what do we want Jesus to pray for [us]? Is it patience to be a better parent or friend? Is it encouragement amid a difficult chapter of our lives? Is it courage to stand up to a bully in the classroom or befriend a friendless kid at school? Is it joy in the face of the loss of a parent or the end of a relationship? Is it hope when we feel like we've got no options left? Is it companionship at a time of loneliness? Is it healing of body, mind, or spirit? Is it forgiveness...or the ability to forgive another? What? What do you want -- what do we want -- Jesus to know about and pray for?”

Today’s gospel is at the end of the Last Supper. Jesus is preparing to leave his friends. And so he prays. He says these last sad, intense, intimate words for his fiends. He prays for them that they follow him in the same journey that he has taken. He does not pray that they be safe and careful. He prays that his Father will give them what they need for their journey.

We, too have been scared-alone-fearful-uncertain. We, too, have been lost, unsure what direction to go. This is the last Sunday of the Easter season. We remember that Jesus left his friends on the 40th day, and we read aloud this prayer as we remember his last night on earth. It is a painful, difficult, heart wrenching prayer. It is Jesus saying, Father, I pray for my friends, I can’t help them any more. Father, give them what they need for their journey, keep them strong, help them to be one, and most of all Father, help them to know that when they pray-I am with them.

What do you want -- what do we want -- Jesus to know about and pray for, for us? Amen.

John 17:6-19

17:6 "I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

17:7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you;

17:8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.

17:9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.

17:10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.

17:11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

17:12 While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled.

17:13 But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.

17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

17:15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.

17:16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

17:18 As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

“What goes in your bucket first?”

Sermon-6 Easter B-May 13, 2012 “What goes in your bucket first?”

1 John 5: 1-6
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.

John 15:9-17

[Jesus said:] "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another."

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 Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."

There is a story told about Steve Covey, the fellow who wrote the book, 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. And this is what he did.

Rocks-is the jar full?

Sand-is the jar full?

Water

Covey uses this example all the time at his seminars, and at the end he asks,

“What lesson can we learn from all of this?” Put the big rocks in first.

If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in-all the little stuff, the sand, the water will make it impossible to put the rocks in. Our life is the jar. The challenge is putting the big stuff in first. Covey calls this, “keeping the main thing, the main thing,”

This gospel is a follow up to last week’s. It’s the last supper and Jesus is giving his final teaching to his friends. One of them is about the betray him, one will deny him, all will abandon him. And you know what he s teaching them? That God loves them. God loves each of them. Even knowing that they will be weak, and disappointing, and fragile. And if God can love each of them, knowing all this, Jesus wants them to love each other. "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” G.K. Chesterton, the great Catholic writer, once said, "Jesus told us to love our neighbors. In another place, he told us to love our enemies. This is because, generally speaking, they are the same people."

Love is not easy. Love, especially Christian love, is terrible. Christian love is about sacrifice and putting others first, and willing what is best for someone we may not even like. The first time I heard it put this way when I was 19, I knew I was hearing the truth. I thought it was wonderful. The problem was, I liked the words without knowing what they meant.

Jesus died the day after giving this teaching. He died because the people who were closest to him, didn’t know how to love. I don’t know if any of us ever do. But I know when I hear these words, at 19 or at 61, I know they are true, and I know that they are the big rocks that I have to put in my bucket first.

“There is an ancient legend about the last days of John the Evangelist, the gospel writer. He lived to a great age and became so feeble that he had to be carried to meetings of the faithful. There, because of his weakness, he was unable to give a long sermon, so at each gathering he simply repeated the words, “Little children, love one another.” The disciples, weary of hearing the same words over and over, asked him why he never said anything else. And to them John gave this answer, “Do this alone and it is enough.”

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” When you hear this does it sound like a rock that you want to put in your bucket? Amen

“Finding the dog in the Block”

Sermon-Year B-5Easter-May 6, 2012 “Finding the dog in the Block”

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 Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."

There was a pastor in Austin, Texas who years ago wanted to learn how to whittle.  He went to a famous woodcarver named Joe McMordie and the pastor told him that he was pretty pathetic but could Joe show him how to shape wood.  One day they were carving a little dog out of a block of wood and Roger the pastor in his frustration asked Joe the whittler, “how do you do this?  What’s the secret of whittling?”  And Joe thought for a while and said, “That’s easy. You pick up a piece of wood and just cut off everything that doesn’t look like a dog.”

The sermon today is about finding the dog in the block of wood. 

¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear;” ^“19We love because he first loved us. ²⁰Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ²¹The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also….

Charles Colson, the advisor to President Nixon who was famous for his line that he would run over his grandmother if that’s what the president ordered, was put in prison for several years. While there he became a Christian.  A tough hard boiled interviewer did not believe this story and was grilling him about his faith and whether it wasn’t a “very convenient conversion”.  Colson told her that he became a Christian when several prominent men knew that there were serious problems in Colson’s family and came forward and volunteered to serve his jail term out for him so he could be released early.  The reporter twice stopped the interview because she was crying so much, and later admitted that after that interview she returned to her church.  Chuck Colson had to cut away everything that didn’t look like God in him.  It was not easy.  It cost him a lot.  Colson was being pruned and didn’t even know it-until he realized that he was a new shape.

Then the gospel.  The teaching of Jesus as he continues to explain who he is and how things will be different.  He begins by saying, “I am the true vine.”  Seven times in the gospel of John Jesus describes himself using this technique, “I am”

1.   We just heard another one last week, What are some of the others? "I am the bread of life." _{John 6:35, 41, 48-51}

2.   "I am the light of the world." _{John 8:12, 9:5}

3.   "I am the door of the sheep." _{John 10:7, 9}

4.   "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." _{John 10:11, 14}

5.   "I am the resurrection, and the life." _{John 11:25}

6.   "I am the way, the truth, and the life." _{John 14:6}

7.   "I am the true vine." _{John 15:1, 5}

This week it’s “I am the true vine” is the last of the 7 “I am” statements.  Jesus is trying to use images, word pictures that will stick with his followers after he is gone. I am light of the world, the door of the sheep, the good shepherd, the resurrection, the life, the way, the truth, and finally, I am the true vine. After telling his followers all these things about who he is, he ends with this one-I am the true vine.    And he tells his friends, abide in me, live in me, dwell in me, make your home in me and I will make my home in you.

But this gospel is more than just abiding or making our home in Jesus.  He teaches that it’s not just about knowing him. It’s about becoming different, a new person.

“Earl Weaver, long time manager of the Baltimore Orioles, was known especially for his ability to be able to “bait” umpires. He could harass umps with the best of them.  His favorite and most devastating taunt when he disputed a call, was to come flying out of the dugout, get right in the face of the umpire, and scream this question, “”Are you gonna get any better or IS THIS IT?”

Am I gonna get any better or is this it?  Am I going to change my shape, look different, be better-or is this it?

When early Christians were first meeting, gathering as a church for the first times, they struggled with two questions-who were they going to be, and who was Jesus.  The letter from 1^st John addressed the first.  They were called to love each other.  It was not any easier then than it is now.  They struggled, they fought, they felt guilt and shame, they hated and were jealous and vengeful, they despaired-but they also felt hope.  They believed that something new and better than their old life was possible.  They believed that they could become someone different, someone new.  They believed that God was whittling away their lives.  And that’s where the gospel comes in. 

Jesus said, I know it is not easy.  I know that sometimes it is very hard.  But if you live in me, if you are connected to me, I can make it happen.  I can make it happen.  He talks about pruning the branches so they bear more fruit.  Everyone knew what that meant.  It meant whittling away the parts that weren’t the dog.  Jesus told them that they were meant to live better lives, fuller lives, lives of value and hope: ⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. He teaches them that they were meant to live lives of grace and love.

These two lessons from 1^st John and the gospel of John, were written many years apart, but they continue the same teaching-we were meant for something greater.  We were meant to be more, we were meant to live.  It is the “how” that is the challenge.  And the teaching from Jesus is straightforward-I love you, you will love others. You live in me, I will live in you.  We will pass this on.  A lot of times, we don’t feel it.  Often we struggle because the love doesn’t seem to be there, we can’t hear the voice, or feel God’s embrace.  It is not easy to have parts of ourselves cut away, to think of parts of ourselves as branches that need to be pruned.  It is often times hard to stay in love with others.  There are days that we do not feel connected to the vine, to life.

A young father was struggling the day of his wife's funeral, trying to put his son to bed. Both were numb with sorrow. The little boy asked, "Daddy, where is Mommy?" He tried to answer the question, but the little boy kept asking, "Where is Mommy? When is she coming back?" After a lot of attempts to satisfy his son, the father picked up the little boy and put him in his own bed. Finally, the little boy reached out his hand through the darkness and placed it on his father's face, asking, "Daddy, is your face toward me?" Given assurance, he said, "If your face is toward me, I think I can go to sleep." The father lay beside the young son and prayed, "O God, the way is dark and I do not see my way through right now, but if your face is toward me, somehow I think I can make it."

Inside each of us is the image of God.  In the Easter season, we whittle away at all that is not that image, letting God make his home  in us.  Some days it is dark and we cannot see God’s face.  At times we’re being pruned and shaped, and don’t even know it. But this is the Easter season. This is the 5o days that we learn that God’s face is towards us.This is the time that we show the world that we make our home in Christ, and he makes his home in us.  Amen.

1 John 4:7-21

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.⁹God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.¹¹Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.¹³By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

¹⁴And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.¹⁵God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.¹⁶So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.

¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world.¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.¹⁹We love because he first loved us.²⁰Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.²¹The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

John 15:1-8

15”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.³You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.⁴Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples

"We need more shepherds"

Sermon-Year B4-Easter-April 29, 2012

1 John 3:16-24

¹⁶We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.¹⁷How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?¹⁸Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.¹⁹And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him

²⁰whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.²¹Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God;²²and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. ²³And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.²⁴All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

John 10:11-18

¹¹“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.¹²The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.¹³The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.¹⁴I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.¹⁶I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.¹⁷For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

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 Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."

I know what you’re thinking-who is this guy filling in for Rev. Sally-and why can’t we have her more often? 

Last Sunday I was in Richmond, Virginia at Roslyn conference center for 8 days at church sponsored conference called, “CREDO”.  There were 28 Episcopal clergy there, priests and deacons at mine.  There are 18 CREDOs held each year, but this one was for clergy 55 and older-or as we called is, The Geezer Credo, so it appealed to me. Let me tell you a few things about it.  As soon as we arrived the Conference Administrator, Elizabeth, told us that there were two things for us to remember all week-how grateful the church was for us, and that the goal of CREDO was take care of us for 8 days.  Throughout the week the different presenters would get up to give a talk on health, finances, spirituality or vocation , and each time they began this way, “We just want to thank you for your service and ministry.”  At the end of the week we were doing an evaluation and someone wrote that hearing that over and over was the best part of the conference for them.  I kept thinking, “every person needs to be hearing this in their life, every person needs to hear that they are appreciated, and valued.” I kept thinking, this is how we want church to be-a  place where people are told over and over that they are cherished and prized.  I’ll come back to that.

Almost every Sunday I will sneak in some explanation on the lectionary. Here’s today’s:  After the story of the Resurrection on Easter, we always have the story on the 2^nd Sunday of Thomas (you know that), then on the 3^rd Sunday of Easter we have another story about Jesus’ appearance-and then on the 3^rd week after Easter every year, this Sunday, we hear a story of Jesus as the Good Shepherd from the Gospel of John, chapter 10.  The lessons we hear from the lectionary are broken up into a 3 year cycle, A-B-and C.  This year we are in year B, and that means we hear chapter 10 verses 11-18:  Jesus as the Good Shepherd,  the Good Shepherd lays down his life, for his friends. Jesus makes a strong point that there is a difference between the hired hand-who runs when there is danger, and the good shepherd who stays.

In the catacombs in Rome from the days when Christians were persecuted the most dominant image for Jesus isn’t the fish, or even the cross-it’s the image of the shepherd carrying a sheep.

 We may not have much experience with shepherds and sheep in our lives, but we know what it is to be vulnerable, to feel in danger, to need support and protection.  We may not know sheep, but we understand what a shepherd is-and understand the need for a leader, a guardian, for someone willing to lay down their lives for us.

As I was reading through the commentaries for this week, I came across the story of the martyrs of New Guinea.  What I want to share with you is part of the message sent out by radio by the Bishop of that diocese just before the invasion of Japanese troops to all the Anglican church leaders there (it is quite long so I have edited it):

"As far as I know, you are all at your posts, and I am very glad and thankful about this. I have, from the first, felt that we must endeavour to carry on our work in all circumstances, no matter what the cost may ultimately be to any of us individually. God expects this of us. The Church at home, which sent us out, expects this of us. The Universal Church expects it. The tradition and history of missions requires it of us. Missionaries who have been faithful to the uttermost and are now at rest are surely expecting it of us. The people whom we serve expect it of us. Our own consciences expect it of us. We could never hold up our faces again if, for our own safety, we all forsook Him and fled … the Church in Papua. Our life in the future would be burdened with shame and we could not come back here and face our people again; and we would be conscious always of rejected opportunities.

The history of the Church tells us that missionaries do not think of themselves in the hour of danger and crisis, but of the Master Who called them to give their all, and of the people whom He trusts them to serve and to love to the uttermost, even as He has served and loved to the uttermost. His watchword is none the less true to-day as it was when He gave it to the first disciples, `Whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for My sake and the Gospel's shall find it.' No one requires us to leave. No one has required us to leave. Our people need us now more than ever ….No, my brothers and sisters, fellow workers in Christ, whatever others may do, we cannot leave. We shall not leave. We shall stay by our trust. We shall stand by our vocation. We do not know what it may mean to us. Many already think us fools and mad. What does that matter? …'I cannot foretell the future. I cannot guarantee that all will be well--that we shall all come through unscathed. One thing only I can guarantee is that, if we do not forsake Christ here in Papua in His Body, the Church, He will not forsake us. He will uphold us; He will sustain us; He will strengthen us, and He will guide and keep us through the days that lie ahead . . . Let us trust and not be afraid."

I won’t give you all the details, 11 Anglicans,4 priests, 5 Anglican lay people,2 local lay people were killed.  Several of them were beheaded to make an example of them.  Today throughout the Pacific there are memorials and stained glass windows reminding people of their story.

We have plenty of hired hands in our lives. But there are days when we need a shepherd, someone who we trust, someone we believe in, someone we know will stand with us when the wolves threaten and everyone else runs away.  We hear the story of the Good Shepherd on the 4^th Sunday of Easter every year because we need to hear of God’s loving care and remember what love means to God.  We need to hear stories of people whose faith compels them to stand with others, even in death-especially in death.  That is why the image of the Good Shepherd is so prevalent on the walls of the underground tombs in Rome.

Alyce Mackenzie writes: “Every day in the news we encounter fresh examples of bad shepherding. People in charge of protecting the President are not at their post, but instead, allegedly, at the bar or the strip club. A young man is in the driver's seat early one morning with three friends in the car. Driving drunk, his actions result in their deaths. Politicians focus on finding chinks in one another's armor rather than finding solutions to the nation's injustices. Pastors abuse their positions of spiritual influence and take advantage of vulnerable people. Bad shepherds.... As Christians we believe [the] king has come and that we are to live in such a way that we mirror his way of being in the world. Every Christian is called to be a shepherd. We each have a sphere of influence, even if we don't think of ourselves as public figures. We are not all called to dramatic situations in which our physical lives are on the line, but there is the less dramatic, daily sacrifice involved in allowing the Good Shepherd to guide the way we offer guidance and nurture to those we encounter each day. That means being vigilant to all that would threaten our flock and not abandoning our post in trying times.

A second story I want to tell you about my week at CREDO .  One priest I got to know very well turned to the group of us and said, “you were my shepherds this week, you were my good shepherds and I needed you.”

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday.  Every year on this day we hear Jesus tell us that he is the Good Shepherd-and that we are called to be one, too.  It is a costly occupation.  We know bad shepherds, we know hired hands.  On this day we hear that to follow THE Good Shepherd we will not be forsaken, we will be upheld; sustained , strengthened, guided and kept  through the days ahead . . . Let us trust and not be afraid.  Amen.