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Sermon Notes |
7/4/10 On the National Day of Independence we remember those earliest of patriots who risked everything for a shared dream. They dreamed of freedom: freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, freedom to pursue happiness and individual aspirations, and freedom to have representation. Many of the earliest patriots were members of the Anglican (Episcopal) Church. Even the Vestry at Christ Church in Philadelphia proclaimed freedom by voting to exclude from the Prayers of the People the mandatory prayer for King George III of England (as the protector of the faith). Freedom is the reason we celebrate the 4th of July. Freedom is what every American enjoys. The call to freedom continues in America. We must free people from poverty, oppression and abuse. We must fight to welcome all people within our borders as Lady Liberty stands and proclaims: “Give me you tired, your poor, your homeless, your huddled masses yearning to be free…” Jesus’ message is one of freedom. He sent out 35 pairs of disciples to heal and proclaim that “the Kingdom of God had come near.” His message was emancipation from everything holding us back from a meaningful connection with God. As Christians, we are to be bearers of freedom. We are to share the good news of God’s love as revealed in Christ Jesus. God’s love liberates us from our behaviors and attitudes that deny our identity. God’s love frees us to be and act as children of God. Let freedom continuing ringing in this nation and through Christ Jesus’ disciples!
6/27/10 Luke gives us a peek at Jesus’ frustration. He is headed to his fate in Jerusalem. Jesus is keenly aware that the religious authorities will attempt to eradicate him and his teachings. Jesus wants to be sure that his disciples have a good handle on what he is teaching. But at every turn, they disappoint him. Today, James and John demonstrate their inability to see things as Jesus sees them and relate to people as Jesus desire for them to relate. Jesus teaches his disciples then and now that God must be first priority, the number one value in our life. God will not accept second place. God waits patiently for us to decide to value God over everything else. For those who learn this new way of living, God’s Spirit fills them. As a result, they experience the fruit of the Spirit described by the Apostle Paul: love, joy peace, patience, kindness generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This is the life of Jesus; this is the way of Christ; this is the struggle we face each day in living as Jesus’ disciples. 6/20/10 Jesus heals a man filled with demons. Jesus always had compassion on those in need. Also, he wanted all people everywhere to experience wholeness, defined as a mutual relationship with God (as we were created to participate in). It is difficult for us to find time for wholeness. A relationship with God, like any other relationship, takes time and energy and attention. The prophet Elijah sought after God. He looked for him in a whirlwind (the hurriedness of life) and could not sense God. He looked for God in the earthquake (in our chaos) and could not sense God. He looked for God in the fire (in passion and interests) and could not sense God. It doesn’t mean God wasn’t there; just that Elijah didn’t sense God. Then, Elijah sough God in sheer silence, and he found an experience of God. This lesson teaches us that we need to perceive God in all circumstances. The primary way of doing so is in solitude and silence. These gifts give us an experience of God as well as an understanding that God is always our companion. 6/13/10 In the ancient world women were seen as dangerous (seductive, manipulative, emotionally chaotic). By approaching and touching Jesus, the woman in our gospel story from Luke broke many Jewish laws. Her sadness and desire for a life change compelled the woman to shed her tears on Jesus' feet, wipe her tears with her hair and anoint his feet with ointment. Jesus broke Jewish law by welcoming her rather than condemning her to be stoned to death. He understood her deep need to express herself, to cry and touch and anoint, all coming from her repentant heart. What people do we desire to keep away from Jesus today? Possibly, those on the margins of society or those people we just don’t like? Who do we feel is worthy of meeting Jesus and seeking his forgiveness and blessings? 6/6/10 Jesus raised the dead son of a widow. In Jewish culture in the first century, a woman had no value apart from her father, husband or sons. Without her son, the woman was an outcast with little hope for survival. Jesus provided for her a means of staying in the community and having provisions for survival. Jesus showed this woman compassion. To whom does Jesus want us to show compassion?
God’s Spirit is portrayed in scripture as breath, wind, fire, tongues, thunder, a dove and fog. In Celtic Christianity a wild goose is symbolic of the Holy Spirit because it is loud and disturbing. God’s Spirit given at Pentecost is the very spirit that animates Christ Jesus, filling him and moving through him. We have this Spirit available to us today. One knows this Spirit by experience. We can recognize it in the actions of Christian love. God desires all people to invite and welcome the Spirit of God into their lives so that God may motivate them to accomplish acts of grace and love.
5/16/10 What is right with the world? There’s plenty that wrong, but what about those moments when we experience God in nature, in music, in art, in one another? Jesus prayed for his disciples that they would be part of what is right in the world. We have that responsibility and privilege. Being a part of what is right in the world is our opportunity to share God’s magnanimous love.
5/9/10 What are we leaving behind for our loved ones? Those around us absorb whatever attitudes, behaviors, words and habits we let escape. What will people, especially our loved ones, remember about us when we have passed from this life? Will they know that God is important to us? Will they know that we pray for guidance? Will their remembrances be a lasting tribute to someone who revealed God and made a difference in the world?
5/2/10 Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment: love one another. By the time John’s community wrote this gospel there was division arising in the new religion. Jesus reminds his disciples that love is to be at the center of their lives and commitment to him, not beliefs, not laws, not doctrines. This is a commandment the Church needs to remember. We are of many different flavors, but all made delicious by love. 4/25/10 Christ Jesus was not recognized by those to whom he appeared after his resurrection. There must have been something different about his appearance. It was only in his actions of breaking bread, offering fish, and calling people by name that people knew it was Jesus. His body was not merely resuscitated. At his resurrection he was given a new spiritual body. What this lesson teaches is that Christ is a live and is known through action. You and I can allow Christ to be known to others in our actions AND Christ is known to us through the actions of others. This lesson challenges us to keep our eyes open for Christ and our work focused on making Christ known.
4/18/10 Jesus meets some of his friends at the seashore. He helps them, talking with them and feeds them. Christ Jesus lives and meets us in our everyday life, if we keep our eyes open to looking for him. Jesus will never leave us or forsake us. Alleluia!
4/11/10 The disciple Thomas, known as doubting Thomas, is confronted with Jesus’ resurrection. He fights the thoughts and feelings associated recognizing that the world as he knows it is now completely topsy-turvy. Thomas fights change. When Jesus died, besides grieving his loss, Thomas had no teacher, no guide, no place to go and no purpose. When Jesus appeared to Thomas, his understanding of death was changed. Thomas represents all Christians who struggle with the changes Jesus death and resurrection brings to our lives. Everything is changed. God’s love transforms what we suppose to what is joyful and life giving. Alleluia!
4/4/10 Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection from the dead. In Jesus Mary placed her hope, not wishful thinking, but hope for her life in the here and now. This challenges us because we have other contemporary things in which our hope sometimes lies. We place our hope in education, employment, medicine, investments, military, family, hard work and personal aspirations. Mary teaches us that Christian hope (hope invested in Christ Jesus) is all inclusive, embracing our entire lives. This hope placed appropriately in Christ Jesus drives our lives in every direction we turn. This hope is difficult for us, because hope like this is a lifestyle that runs contrary to society. Yet, this hope gives us the life of God as our companion here and now, and in the life to come.
4/2/10 We rarely celebrate a death. Jesus’ death is sad and a celebration, for in Jesus’ death on the cross we encounter a love without boundaries, without excuses. Jesus was killed as a result of sharing God’s forgiveness, acceptance and love to the people of ancient Palestine and to us today.
4/1/10 When Jesus begins to wash his disciples’ feet as a symbolic ‘visual’ of serving others, Peter responds with a hearty, “No.” I think, Peter represents many of us. He wants to keep Jesus as “holy other” which helps to clam out fears about following his life examples. Plainly put, Peter doesn’t want to be a servant of anyone. As a Jewish Palestinian, already he is a slave of the Roman Empire. He is a free man in Jewish culture. He doesn’t want to serve anyone; and, Jesus challenges him to become a servant of God’s indiscriminate love. This is a challenge for all of us.
3/28/10 Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem with palm branches and shouts of “Hosanna.” Then, the religious leaders turned the people against Jesus. We are told they changed their feelings and energy, shouting, “Crucify him;” and Jesus died. Jesus wasn’t powerful enough for the religious. Jesus wasn’t religious enough. Jesus wasn’t indomitable enough. Instead, Jesus chose to reveal God in weakness, humbleness and love.
3/21/10 The sister of the man Jesus raised from the dead, Lazarus, is overcome with unstoppable affection for Jesus. She pours expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and wipes the excess with her hair. Jesus interprets this act as a preparation for his death and burial, one more act confirming his destiny. However, Mary simply wants to show Jesus how very much he means to her as her friend, teacher and medium for encountering of God.
3/14/10 The story of the Prodigal Son is more about the Father than the Son. The Son asks for his inheritance and squanders it. When his belly is empty, he returns to his Father. Before he gets to his Father’s house, his Father runs to greet him. This act is one of welcome, forgiveness and love. Jesus uses this story to describe his understanding of God, our Heavenly Father. Yet, like the Prodigal Son’s brother, are we willing to accept that God welcomes, forgives and loves even those we deem as undeserving?
3/7/10 There is a sin called non-actualization. Jesus told a parable about a non-productive fig tree and how the owner of the garden wanted to cut it down because it is wasting precious resources; but the gardener wanted to nourish it and give it one more chance to produce fruit. We are people created in God’s image. When we show forth God’s image in us through our behaviors and words and imaginations we bring honor to God because we live as we are intended to live. When we fail at this, we sin. Sin is anything that separates us from God, others and our true self. We show forth God’s image in us through our compassion, our working for justice, our helping the poor and oppressed. Jesus allowed God’s image to shine through him. We are created to do the same. God waits for us and gives opportunity after opportunity to claim God’s image in us. It would do us well to let God's image be known through the way we live. 2/21/10 Jesus overcame temptation. The common temptations are associated with (1) perceived needs, (2) desire for power, and (3) choosing the god we want to worship at a particular time (for example: the god of sports, self, material possessions, etc.). To overcome temptation we must: a) want to overcome it, b) pray to God for help, and c) focus our attention on who we are and God’s purpose for our life. We have the responsibility of holding our self accountable for our own faults. God is understanding and willing to give us the grace to overcome temptations. Jesus is our companion, walking with us through every situation of life. We have all we need. Now, it’s up to us.
2/17/10 “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” These haunting words remind us that God is God and we are not. We are humans created in God’s image and given responsibilities of caring for creation and loving God with all our being. Ash Wednesday is a stark reminder of our humanness. Also, it reminds us that God loves us not in spite of who we are (sinners made of dust), but because of who we are (God’s unique creations). Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Season of Lent, a time of preparation for the resurrection celebration. We enter Lent with humility, prayer, confession and confidence in God’s magnanimous love.
2/14/10 Peter, James and John have been called by Jesus to be his disciples. They go with Jesus on an excursion that proved life-changing. While the men were on a mountain, something dramatic happened. Exactly what, we’ll never know. Yet, the experience was so powerful that Peter, James and John found themselves disciples of Jesus for their entire lives. We, too, must have time alone with Jesus. People know Jesus, but his followers (Christians) must experience Jesus. I can’t describe my own experiences. Words do not do justice. Symbolically, my experiences with Jesus are similar to me coming home, being welcomed by two waging tails, sitting in my living room while being loved by two excited creatures rubbing against my body, licking me and smiling (in their way). Though I cannot describe my own life-changing experiences of Jesus, however, I can describe the process that I think is necessary for an experience with Jesus: a) desire for an experience, b) effort (energy of concentration), c) time set apart from distractions, d) an open mind rather than imposing what we want on Jesus and e) a discerning heart listening for Jesus’ divine, mystical communications. Once you experience Jesus, who’ll never regret it.
2/7/10 Jesus takes an image from the prophet Amos and gives it a twist. Jesus calls an ordinary laborer to fist for people. Amos uses the image of fishing as God's act of judgment. Jesus uses the fishing imagery as God inviting people into God's compassion and love. What a great twist! And, God uses ordinary people like Peter, like you and me, to be the conduits of God's grace. We may never feel worthy, yet, we are God's children and God sees us as valuable, just because we are God's. We can have a twist to our lives. God takes us ordinary people and uses us as grace to the world. In those experiences we are blessed, transformed and made more deeply into the image of God. Alleluia! 1/31/10 Jesus shares with the people of his hometown synagogue that he is the fulfillment of God’s promised Messiah. They were perplexed because they knew Jesus and his family. After time, they realized what Jesus was asking them: believe in me as God’s Messiah. That angered the crowd so much that they attempted killing Jesus, but he got away. Today Jesus confronts us with questions: Do we believe that Jesus is God’s Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God? We must answer “yes” or “no.” There is no in between. And, if we believe Jesus is the Christ, do we choose to follow him? Again, only “yes” or “no” are acceptable. And, if we choose to follow Jesus, what meaning does that have for our life? These are important questions to answer by every person who claims to be Christian. Identifying the answers gives us a certainty of who we are and what is our purpose.
1/24/10 Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah in his hometown synagogue. He reads: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor…” Jesus tells the people of his hometown, Nazareth, his purpose. With confidence Jesus embraces his life’s adventure of bringing good news of God’s love, forgiveness and healing to all who are poor (those physically, spiritually and emotionally deprived of God’s blessings). If we are to follow Jesus, this is our purpose as well.
1/17/10 The wedding feast at Cana when the wine ran out and Jesus' Mother asked him to do something to save the newly married couple from embarrassment – lesson to be learned: God wants to give us from God’s abundance; this brings God joy.
1/10/10 "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” At his baptism by John in the Jordan River, Jesus hears a voice from heaven and a dove settled on him. From this point on, Jesus claimed his identity with God. Jesus knew that he was chosen to make a difference in the world, to bring people into a new understanding of God and God’s longing to save and love humanity. 1/3/10 Matthew uses two stories (which only can be found in this author’s book) to emphasize to his Jewish – Christian community 1) the continuity between Judaism and the new Christian movement, 2) Jesus as fulfillment of God’s promises voiced through the ancient prophets, and the inclusion of Gentiles into the Christian movement. Matthew utilizes the stories of the Three Wise Men and Joseph taking Mary and little Jesus to Egypt when King Herod began to search for the newly born Messiah. These stories are important for Christians today. We see in Jesus God fulfilling promises made in ancient times to God’s people. We understand Jesus as our salvation and as our example of how to bring about God’s justice, mercy and peace. Also, these stories dramatically communicate the importance of sharing Jesus stories and our own stories to perpetuate our Christian faith and share the good news of God’s love. When news is important, we share it in stories. When I purchased my former 1965 Lincoln Continental, I called everyone I knew, telling them the story of how I found it, how I'd wanted one for 40 years and what it looked like. We share stories important to us. How can we better share the stories of Jesus so that the impact of these stories may be experienced in our world?
12/27/09 All four of the gospels in our Christian Bible begin in very different ways. Matthew begins with a genealogy of Jesus and the stories of Mary’s pregnancy and Joseph’s dream to take Mary as his wife. Mark begins with the words of the prophet Isaiah and the ministry of John the Baptist. Luke begins with a greeting and explanation of his writing to an unknown person and, then, tells the birth story of John the Baptist. John begins at the beginning of time, claiming that God’s eternal companions of Wisdom and Word were enfleshed in human form, in Jesus, God’s Christ (Messiah). For the author of John, no one is like Jesus because he is the fullness of God’s wisdom and word revealed in humanity yet, with human limitations. Analogy: when one gets in their 30’s – 50’s, one’s parents can be known in them. Not with Jesus in regard to Mary and Joseph. For Jesus, he revealed God.
12/25/09 Favorite Christmas songs: includes “Happy Birthday to Jesus. One of an infant’s earliest gestures is reaching out their arms. Instinctively they reach out, knowing that there is something beyond they need to comfort and supply their needs. In the baby Jesus, we see, not only the human baby reaching out, but also we see God reaching out to us. In Jesus God reaches out to us, desiring to comfort us, longing to embrace and love us, yearning to supply all of our needs. In the baby Jesus we have the dramatic experience of God wanting to love us and claim us as God’s very own. 12/20/09
Mary, a
willing servant is asked to bear the
child of God. Her society
understands Mary to be of little
value. She is poor and unwed. Yet,
she accepts what the angel tells her
with hope and anticipation of God
working in miraculous ways through
her child for the sake of the world. 12/6/09 John the Baptist paved the way for God’s Messiah, Jesus, by calling people to turn from their ways of estranging themselves from God. We are called to pave the way for God’s kingdom here on earth (as referred in the Our Father). We do that through acts of kindness, justice and love. We all experience potholes in our life. Yet, Christians won’t let the potholes take over, because we have a companion who understands, comforts and guides us even in the potholes, our Savior, Christ Jesus. St. Nicholas, a Bishop in the early 4th century, was generous with his money. He helped people with many needs including sailors and children. He is the true Father Christmas. He paved the way for people to experience the love of God through his prayerful acts of compassion and love. St. Nicholas reflected God’s love in the way he lived and related to others. We, too, are to pave the way for people to experience God’s love and bring about God’s kingdom of love right her, right now. 11/22/09 This last Sunday of the Season of Pentecost is called “Christ the King Sunday.” It would do us well to remember three things: first, that most governments of the ancient world were monarchies or empires with powerful Heads-of-State, so this concept is familiar to the ancients; second, that the gospels tell us that Jesus avoided being named King by his followers and the crowds; and, third, that Jesus emphasized his roles of servant and teacher. So, on this particular Sunday, I find it rather contrary to celebrate Christ the King. Yet, Christ Jesus is the chosen, Anointed One who invites us to live his teachings and example of servanthood so that God’s realm will permeate our human world, a realm of compassion, justice, mercy and peace. The realm of God is what I celebrate and am grateful to Christ Jesus for leading me into this realm of life. 11/15/09 Our readings from the books of Daniel and Mark are apocalyptic, an “unveiling” the mysteries of God’s working in the future. Mark says that God will intervene in human history to rectify all the wrongs and make things new. If we read the entire Gospel of Mark, we will find that Mark believes God’s intervention in human history has already taken place in the life of Jesus, and in his death. God has made all things new through Christ Jesus. That means, as Christ Jesus' followers, we are now responsible for bringing about God’s Kingdom. We don’t have to wait for God to intervene, it has already happened, and we need to live it and make it come alive throughout all the earth. Tennyson: “An egg must crack before the bird can fly.” God has cracked our human existence and now, by God’s grace, we can fly.
11/1/09 In the Episcopal Church we have a working definition of saints that allows for ordinary people to be saints, as they open themselves up to be used by God in everyday life in extraordinary ways. We don’t need to perform miracles, rather allow God to flow through us to meet the needs of others. It is the duty of all Christians to be examples of living out our faith in God. We are all to be saints.
10/25/09 As Jesus was leaving Jericho, Bartemaus, a blind beggar, cried out for him. In the midst of teaching the crowd and walking toward that fateful Passover in Jerusalem, Jesus stopped everything, calling the beggar and healing him. Often, we are so distracted by life that we do not see or intentionally ignore those whom God has placed in our paths to help. We must learn to see the world through God's eyes.
10/18/09 Two disciples, brothers James and John, ask Jesus to fulfill their desire for power. The will to power is part of our human condition. We struggle to be in control (or have power over) our environment and sometimes others. Power can be used for good, selfish reasons and for evil. Jesus confronts all of his disciples both then and now with Jesus’ interpretation of God’s kingdom. At the heart of God is not the will for power, but rather, compassion. Jesus brings the human experience into the heart of God. God understands and loves us beyond our capacity to comprehend. Jesus tells his followers that they are to model his lifestyle of serving others with compassion. This is life in God’s kingdom. 10/11/09 We hear the story of a rich man approaching Jesus and asking how to acquire eternal life. He had his grasp around his wealth, which gave him prestige, power and security. Jesus told the man to sell his possession, give away his wealth and enjoy freedom, then, come follow Jesus as a disciple. The man turned away, never to be heard from again. The story asks a question of us: what are those things that we grasp hold of that we fear releasing? We can serve only one God at a time. Do we serve and trust the God of Abraham and Jesus or do we serve a god of our own making, such as wealth, employment, a hobby, a sport, our cell phone? 9/27/09 In Mark's gospel, Jesus defends someone doing good deeds in his name while not being a member of Jesus’ disciples. Sometimes we close the door to our understanding of how God works and through what instruments God chooses to use. While being God’s Messiah, Jesus never focused on himself. Rather, he focused on people and their need to aware of God’s immense love, forgiveness and accepts of them. Unlike the disciples, he wasn’t about “insiders” and “outsiders.” He wanted all people to enjoy God no matter if it were through him or another creative means of God’s grace. How are we limiting God? Are we open to experiencing God through unexpected ways?
9/20/09 Jesus teaches his disciples that they are to use their power for the sake of the powerless and those society determines of little or no value. In Mediterranean culture children were seen as almost worthless until they reached adulthood. The high mortality rate contributed to this cultural norm. Jesus, taking a child and commanding the disciples serve such as this child were getting a lesson in Jesus’ new world order, the Kingdom of God. Status would be flipped upside down. Those with resources including money, education and status are to serve those who do not have with the intention that through these shared resources God will give society’s outcasts compassion. Jesus taught hat compassion is at the heart of God. If we are to follow Jesus and bring about the Kingdom of God, we must serve those in need so that all people will have the opportunity of experiencing God’s compassion. Who are those people we need to serve today? What does the face of Jesus’ servant look like today?
9/13/09
9/06/09 (Pentecost 14, proper 18) Jesus attempts to get away from the crowds for refreshment of mind, body and spirit. He and his disciples travel some 40 miles from Nazareth to Tyre, a Gentile city by the Mediterranean Sea. He is found out by a Gentile woman. She seeks healing for her daughter. Jesus becomes playful, since the woman knows that cultural and religious norms strictly forbid her to speak with Jesus. He tells her that ‘puppy dogs’ (household pets) don’t get the meal that is offered to their human companions. But the woman responds that even ‘puppy dogs’ eat whatever the family members give them from the table. Her persistence pleases Jesus and the little girl is healed. Jesus does not allow cultural or religious non-sense to impede God’s grace. No one is an outcast or an outsider to God. All are welcome at the table. Sometimes we might feel that we are unworthy to approach God; but we are God’s children. We are to examine our lives to ensure that there is nothing in us that is preventing us from being the person God is asking us to be.
8/30/09
The gospel writer, Mark, claims that Jesus invalidated the purity laws of Israel. Jesus taught that these laws / traditions were of human origin, not divine requirement. God has created all things and all things are good. It is the intention of a person’s heart (the source of emotion and understanding in the ancient world) that makes a thing good or evil. When one becomes preoccupied about external observances, even in the church today, one looses sight of what is truly important: a loving attitude and acts of compassion. When we place externals over others, we fail to live as Christians and need to seek God’s forgiveness.
8/23/09 Joshua was a successful military commander, chosen by Moses to lead the nomadic Israelites into the promised land of Canaan. Even though God blessed the Israelites, they were tempted to worship other gods as well as the God of Abraham. Joshua draws a line in the sand with his question: “Whom will you serve?” Notice that Joshua doesn’t ask, “Whom will you worship?” For Joshua, serving God was life-encompassing. This is what Jesus taught as well. We tend to allow sports, hobbies, employers and family define whom we serve. We might worship God when convenient, but we don’t want God to take over our lives. We forget that God gives us everything. We have God to thank for leisure, employment, family and all the good things in life. Jesus calls us to be filled with God’s Spirit and enjoy life through the one who grants it to us. I hope you will join Joshua in proclaiming: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” 8/16/09 The gospel writer's community has been excommunicated from Jewish worship and traditions. A deep separation has taken place between Judaism and Christianity. This writing from John's gospel emphasizes the anti-societal and anti-traditional nature of the new Christian community. The bread they feast upon is Jesus, for he is their only hope for surviving in a hostile world. If we ask, Jesus will feed us today with the very life of God: joy, laughter, hope, forgiveness, compassion. Jesus feeds us by faith in him as God's Messiah and in the mystical sacrament of Holy Communion. 8/9/09 Bread of Heaven: bread was important in Judaism – it was the sustenance of life as well as the symbol of life. For the gospel writer, Jesus is bread of heaven giving life to the world through his teachings and living example. The gospel writer thinks the religious Jewish authorities are missing out on the life God is offering through the Messiah, Jesus. The life offered is one filled with God's presence, forgiveness, peace, joy and love.
8/2/09 Having been fed by Jesus’ miracle (feeding the 5,000), the crowd follows Jesus to get more free food. Jesus offers them the bread of heaven, nourishment for their spirits and not their bellies. The people find this offer hard to comprehend. Today, Jesus offers us the bread of heaven: his teachings and values having to do with God desiring to love us and love through us. We are invited to eat this bread, take it into us and make it part of who we are. In so doing, we become who we are created to be – people in meaningful relationship with God and fulfilling our human capacities for joy, love, hope, laughter and deep relationships. 7/26/09 Religion is the art of living in amazement” (Abraham Heschel). I think Christianity is the lifestyle of bringing about amazing things. For John, Jesus is the unique Son of God; the revelation of the Divine Self. Jesus feeds 5,000 people with only 5 personal-sized barley loaves and two tiny fish. Meager resources, when offered to God, can satisfy human need. God sees our need, desires to do something about our need, takes whatever resources are available and satisfies our needs. The key component is us offering whatever we have, making our resources available to God. We participate in making miracles as we resist the impulse to hold on tight to what we have been given, and give some back for the sake of loving our neighbor. 7/19/09 Mark continues tell the story of Jesus. He lets us interpret Jesus' values by listening to his teachings and by how Jesus chose to live. Today we see three particular values Jesus embraced: the importance of community, the importance of compassion and the importance of Sabbath. Jesus taught that we need one another and through community we possess connection that supports, challenged, encourages and allows us to accomplish more than we could individually. Jesus demonstrated that compassion allows us to walk along side of those who desperately need God's love. And, we need time to regroup and remember that we are God's children with a purpose.
7/12/09 Mark warns his Christian community that following Jesus as the Messiah is not an easy task. For Mark and us today, our support comes from within the Christian community, not society, culture or family. The reason for this is that society, culture and even family do not share the same values as Jesus. He stood for these values: justice, mercy, compassion, respect and love. These values are to be honored and made the foundation of our lives. Values of autonomy, wealth, family ties, and country are not part of Jesus’ value system. People may not understand this fact and may work against the values of Jesus either consciously or unconsciously. Adversity is part of being a Christian (follower of Jesus). Wilma Rudolph is an example of facing adversity: physical and environmental (racial injustice). She faced adversity and won. So can we with the help of God as we strive to walk with Jesus.
7/5/09 Jesus traveled to his hometown of Nazareth. His family and friends are appalled at his healing ministry and message, "the Kingdom of God is near." They could not believe that God would work through what they considered "common," a hometown boy. The gospel writer (Mark) tells us in this story that God uses as instruments of love and healing what is common to work in common places. Mark suggests that Jesus was adopted by God at his baptism to be the Messiah - the Anointed One revealing God's presence and love. We are called to be Jesus' disciples, doing as our Lord Jesus did: revealing God's presence and love. We may consider our self common; but, God works through us if we only allow God to work through us. The late 13th / early 14th century theologian, philosopher and mystic, Meister Ekhart, wrote: "A pear seed grows into a pear tree, and a hazelnut seed grows into a hazelnut tree, and a seed of God grows into God. God asks nothing else of you but to let yourself go, and let God be God in you." That's our purpose: to let God be God in us so that the world will experience God and God's love through us. That's exciting!
6/28/09 Mark addresses the timeless hope of countless generations: evil being conquered and death not having the final word. This gospel writer does this by telling two critically important stories in Mark 5:21-43. The stories of raising Jairis' 12 year old daughter and healing the hemorrhaging woman speak volumes of Jesus displaying God's power and love to those not considered very valuable in their society. Women and female children were at the bottom of the barrel in first century Judaism. But Jesus went out of his way to touch these "children of God" so that they could not only be healed, but be restored to community. T.S. Elliot wrote: "There is no life except in community and no community except in praise to God." Jesus brought these two very different people out of isolation / separation into life within the community of God's love. Evil was conquered; death did not have the final word. And, this confidence is offered to us today form God's heart through God's Son, Jesus.
6/21/09 Jesus calms a storm and chastises his disciples for their lack of faith. This story has less to do with the weather and more to do with the meaning of discipleship. All of us face life's storms, whether involving employment, finances, relationships, family issues, medical concerns or acute crises. In Mark's gospel we are reminded that Jesus’ disciples, both then and now, are to claim God’s power and Spirit enfleshed in Jesus. God’s power and Spirit are given to us and live within us through Baptism and as we nurture our relationship with God. Since we share the same power and Spirit that Jesus enfleshed, we have what we need to overcome the destructive and demonic powers that tempt and pull us away from God and our purpose as witnesses of the good news. Our environmental circumstances may not change they way we’d like them to change; control over the storm may never happen. Yet, our peace and power come from within. Our faith in God’s love and our purpose need not be tossed like a boat in a wind storm. We can face life’s stormy seas and make defenseless the destructive powers as we confidently stand on our faith in God’s love and our purpose.
6/7/09 (Trinity Sunday)
5/31/09 (Pentecost)
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