December 3: "Breaking Free of the Past"

MESSAGE

What is your earliest memory? Psychologists say that most people really have no memories of anything that happened to them before the age of 3. But I seem to clearly remember something from when I was probably 18 months old or so. I remember standing in my crib, chewing on the plastic teething rail on top of the side of the crib. It’s not a memory of something profound or life-changing. It was just another day in the life of a toddler.

Can you think of a memory of some event or experience that was sort of a defining moment for you? Something that affected your life from that moment on?

I have one memory from early childhood that I think is one of those defining moments – an event that shaped my self-image, my relationships with other people, and my attitudes for many years after it happened.

November 26: "Breaking Chains to Make Change" (Advent 1)

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL  READING   Luke 1:46-55

Mary said, “With all my heart I glorify the Lord! In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior, who has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.

Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored: for the mighty one has done great things for me.

Holy is the name of the Lord, who shows mercy to everyone, from one generation to the next, to those who honor God.

God’s arm is strong, and has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.

God has pulled the powerful down from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.

God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.

God has come to the aid of Israel, remembering the promise of mercy, the promise made to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”

MESSAGE

Here’s some well-known sayings about the Christmas season:

 “Bah, humbug!”

 “Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry?”

 “If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”

Ugh. Pretty bleak things to say, right?

Well, how about this one: “God bless us, everyone!”

November 19: "Risky Business"

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL  READING   Matthew 25:14-29

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was leaving on a trip. He called his servants and handed his possessions over to them. To one he gave five valuable coins, and to another he gave two, and to another he gave one. He gave to each servant according to that servant’s ability. Then he left on his journey.

“After the man left, the servant who had five valuable coins took them and went to work doing business with them. He gained five more.  In the same way, the one who had two valuable coins gained two more. But the servant who had received the one valuable coin dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.

“Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five valuable coins came forward with five additional coins. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five valuable coins. Look, I’ve gained five more.’

“His master replied, ‘Excellent! You are a good and faithful servant! You’ve been faithful over a little. I’ll put you in charge of much. Come, celebrate with me.’

“The second servant also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two valuable coins. Look, I’ve gained two more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done! You are a good and faithful servant. You’ve been faithful over a little. I’ll put you in charge of much. Come, celebrate with me.’

“Now the one who had received one valuable coin came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man. You harvest grain where you haven’t sown. You gather crops where you haven’t spread seed. So I was afraid. And I hid my valuable coin in the ground. Here, you have what’s yours.’

“His master replied, ‘You evil and lazy servant! You knew that I harvest grain where I haven’t sown and that I gather crops where I haven’t spread seed? In that case, you should have turned my money over to the bankers so that when I returned, you could give me what belonged to me with interest. Therefore, take from him the valuable coin and give it to the one who has ten coins. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away from them.

MESSAGE

Evidently, there are two things we’re not supposed to discuss in polite company. For instance, when we’re at a party, making small talk with people we don’t know well, or around the table with our family at Thanksgiving – we’re supposed to refrain from talking about politics and religion, because either topic has the potential to start trouble. A lot of people are passionate about their political or religious beliefs and if those beliefs are challenged or criticized in some way, they’re willing defend those beliefs even to the point of being abusive.

So . . . it’s best to steer away from those subjects, unless, of course, you WANT to stir up trouble.

November 12: "Got Oil?"

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL  

Matthew 25:1-13

[Jesus taught the people, saying,] “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten young bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. Now five of them were wise, and the other five were foolish. The foolish ones took their lamps but didn’t bring oil for them. But the wise ones took their lamps and also brought containers of oil.

“When the groom was late in coming, they all became drowsy and went to sleep. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Look, the groom! Come out to meet him.’

“Then all those bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. But the foolish bridesmaids said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps have gone out.’

“But the wise bridesmaids replied, ‘No, because if we share with you, there won’t be enough for our lamps and yours. We have a better idea. You go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were gone to buy oil, the groom came. Those who were ready went with him into the wedding. Then the door was shut.

“Later the other bridesmaids came and said, ‘Lord, lord, open the door for us.’

“But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’

“Therefore, keep alert, because you don’t know the day or the hour.”

MESSAGE

It’s hard to imagine such a thing happening at a modern wedding, isn’t it? Hard to imagine that half of the bridesmaids would be caught off-guard without something they needed for the ceremony.

Nowadays, a lot of weddings are really big productions, planned and perfectly orchestrated by professional wedding planners. A few years ago, Jennifer Lopez starred in a movie called, appropriately, “The Wedding Planner.” She played a character named Mary Fiore, who was a meticulous and devoted professional wedding planner.

In the opening scenes, she is coordinating a very big, expensive, and fabulous wedding, and everything is going along smoothly until . . . the father of the bride goes missing-in-action. After a bit of searching, Mary finds him, slightly drunk and a bit hysterical, crying about the little girl who’s now all grown up, and Mary goes into action. She pulls back her suit jacket to reveal a James Bond-like kit around her waist in which she carries something for every possible wedding emergency. She has aspirin, safety pins, smelling salts, wet wipes, Krazy Glue, scissors, breath spray . . . Well, Mary sprays some water in this father of the bride's face and herds him back to get ready to walk his daughter down the aisle.

November 5: "Beauty in our Brokenness" (All Saints Sunday)

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL  Matthew 5:1-12

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up a mountain. He sat down and his disciples came to him. He taught them, saying:

“Blessed are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

“Blessed are people who grieve, because they will be made glad.

“Blessed are people who are humble, because they will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full.

“Blessed are people who show mercy, because they will receive mercy.

“Blessed are people who have pure hearts, because they will see God.

“Blessed are people who make peace, because they will be called God’s children.

“Blessed are people whose lives are harassed because they are righteous, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

“Blessed are you when people insult you and harass you and speak all kinds of bad and false things about you, all because of me. Be full of joy and be glad, because you have a great reward in heaven. In the same way, people harassed the prophets who came before you.

MESSAGE

What does a saint look like? What does a saint do? What makes someone a saint?

I believe that most people tend to think that a saint is someone who has lived an exemplary life. Someone who was very Christ-like. Someone who was consistently humble and caring and loving. Someone who was as close to perfect as a human being can get.

If that were true, then I’m not sure there’s a lot of hope for many people to be saints.

October 29: "Deconstructing Disability" (Disability Awareness Sunday)

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL Luke 4:16-21

Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue as he normally did and stood up to read. The synagogue assistant gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me.

He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the synagogue assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the synagogue was fixed on him. He began to explain to them, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.”

MESSAGE

A woman called her local florist to order a flower arrangement. She told the florist, “Make it really nice, full of bright colors, and very festive looking. I want to cheer up my friend. She just lost her Seeing Eye dog.”

Some people just don’t get it.

October 22: "Engraved"

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL  Matthew 22:15-22

The Pharisees met together to find a way to trap Jesus in his words. They sent their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are genuine and that you teach God’s way as it really is. We know that you are not swayed by people’s opinions, because you don’t show favoritism. So tell us what you think: Does the Law allow people to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Knowing their evil motives, Jesus replied, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used to pay the tax.” And they brought him a denarion. “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked.

 “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” When they heard this they were astonished, and they departed.

MESSAGE

According to an old saying, there are only two things that are certain in life. And they are . . .?

Yes, death and taxes. That saying is attributed to Benjamin Franklin, who in 1789 wrote in a letter to a friend, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

Yup, there’s no escaping taxes. And, it seems, there’s no escaping disagreements, arguments, and debates about taxes. In fact, the issue of who should be taxed, and how much they should be taxed, is one of the issues that candidates for public office often base their campaigns on. Candidates hope that promises of tax cuts will translate into votes, and into a winning election.

October 15: "Peace that Exceeds Understanding"

THE WORD IN SCRIPTURE  Exodus 32

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL  John 14:27

[Jesus said,] “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled and don’t be afraid.”

MESSAGE

“May the peace of God that exceeds all understanding keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.”

I say those words often. Too often, in fact. I say them at every funeral or memorial service, usually as part of the benediction or final blessing. Those words come from our reading this morning from Paul’s letter to the church in the city of Philippi. The words represent one of Paul’s deepest desires for all his Christian brothers and sisters:

“May the peace of God that exceeds all understanding keep your hearts and minds safe . . .”

I’m pretty sure all of us would love to know and experience that kind of peace. A peace so deep and profound that it make us feel perfectly secure and safe. A peace we can hardly imagine, let alone understand.

But I don’t know many people whose lives are full of peace like that. Unfortunately, most of the people I come in contact with experience the opposite of God’s peace. And according to Paul, the opposite of the peace of God is not war, or strife, or conflict, but anxiety.

October 8: "The Law of Hope"

THE WORD IN SCRIPTURE  Exodus 20

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL  Matthew 22:34-40

One of the Pharisees, a legal expert, tested Jesus. “Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

MESSAGE

Time for a pop quiz! How many of you know, by heart, the Ten Commandments? I’ll give you a minute to think about it, or jot them down. Then we’ll check our answers.

While you’re thinking, I’d like to offer some background to today’s reading from the book of Exodus. It’s three months after the Hebrews were liberated from slavery and had left the land of Egypt. They had started their long journey toward the land God had promised their ancestors. And now, they found themselves in the wilderness, at the base of a high and imposing mountain called Sinai.

A couple of days earlier, the people had watched Moses climb the mountain, where he experienced what we call a theophany – that’s an appearance of God that Moses could perceive and hear. God gave instructions to Moses and told him to relay those instructions to the people. So Moses came down off the mountain and told the people that this is what God had said:

“If you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession. The whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.”

When the people heard this, they said, “Everything God has spoken, we will do.” This is known as the Sinai covenant: the people would obey God and God would make them a holy people.

Three days later, the mountain was covered with thick clouds and thunder and lightning and smoke. And then God spoke to the people, laying out a set of conditions for the covenant. And those, of course, are what we all the Ten Commandments.

Time to check how well we know the commandments.

October 1: "Keeping It Simple" (World Communion Sunday)

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL   Luke 22:14-20

When the time came, Jesus took his place at the table, and the apostles joined him. He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. I tell you, I won’t eat it until it is fulfilled in God’s kingdom.” After taking a cup and giving thanks, he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. I tell you that from now on I won’t drink from the fruit of the vine until God’s kingdom has come.” After taking the bread and giving thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup after the meal and said, “This cup is the new covenant by my blood, which is poured out for you.

MESSAGE     “Keeping It Simple”

So today is World Communion Sunday. Not all Christian denominations recognize this day, but we United Methodists set this day apart to remember that we are connected to millions of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world through our faith and through this sacrament, this holy meal, this table.

When you think about it, the celebration of Holy Communion is one thing that distinguishes the Christian Church from other faith traditions. Other faiths worship God. Other faiths have holy scriptures that guide their practice of faith. But Christians alone celebrate the presence of Jesus Christ in the sacrament of communion.

But communion isn’t just something that we do once a month or so. In Communion, something is also done to us. In the acts of taking, breaking, and sharing some bread, and then drinking some grape juice or wine, we become the Church, the body of Christ, bound to God, and to each other, and to Christians around the world.

It sounds so simple, doesn’t it?

September 24: "Enough"

SCRIPTURE READING

A Dramatic Reading from Exodus 16

Click here for reading

MESSAGE

I want to thank Natasha, Alan, and John for helping me present the reading from the book of Exodus. Alan, I think you did a great job as Moses. Almost as good as Charlton Heston!

Charlton Heston, of course, played the part of Moses in the epic movie, “The Ten Commandments.” I love that movie. I’ve seen it so many time that I practically know it by heart. The movie tells the story of the exodus – the escape of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. It’s such an exciting movie, but it’s missing an important part of the story. The movie follows the life of Moses, including his birth and childhood, his rise to power in Egypt, and finally, his call by God to be the one who would lead the slaves out of Egypt. The movie vividly portrays the Moses’ encounter with God on Mount Sinai, the 10 plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and, of course, God’s giving the Ten Commandments to the people. But the movie leaves out the part of the story that we just heard in today’s scripture reading: the part about how God fed the people while they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.

September 17: "Marks of the Church: Forgiveness"

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL

Matthew 18:15-22

[Jesus said,] “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and correct them when you are alone together. If they listen to you, then you’ve won over your brother or sister. But if they won’t listen, take with you one or two others so that every word may be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses. But if they still won’t pay attention, report it to the church. If they won’t pay attention even to the church, treat them as you would a Gentile and tax collector. I assure you that whatever you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. And whatever you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven. Again I assure you that if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, then my Father who is in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.”

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Should I forgive as many as seven times?”

Jesus said, “Not just seven times, but rather as many as seventy-seven times.

MESSAGE

Now, I imagine that you may be wondering why I’m holding this heavy rock. Well, we’ll get to that later. Try not to let this rock distract you from hearing the message.

Last week, we talked about how we define “the church,” and about the “marks” of a faithful congregation. I shared with you on of my favorite definitions of “church,” from one of my favorite theologians, John Howard Yoder.

According to Yoder, the church is not simply the bearer of the message of the gospel and reconciliation. Rather, God works through the church to call and gather people together in a community of faith that reveals reconciliation in the ways the people treat, relate to, and love one another.

In other words, according to Yoder, the church doesn’t HAVE a message to proclaim; the church IS the message.