Park UMC. Exodus 16 Manna Moments Sept 18, 2011
.we read that story of the manna in the wilderness
and it's one of my favorite stories..
but here s my question
have you ever seen any manna?
. now I know
it says that when the Hebrews entered
the promised land
the miracle of manna ended
,,but I don’t think so.. not quite
you see this is not just a story about a miracle long ago
this is also a living word.. for today
as picture of our life in faith
it's an ongoing metaphor
we too are in the wilderness
aren’t we? we too are on a spiritual journey
still being set free
traveling out of our slavery
the exodus is our story also
and we too
are being formed into a new people
and so the manna story is also our story
but then.. have you seen any manna
now I am
not talking about that mysterious flaky,,, seed like food on the ground
that they would gather up in the morning
and I know here are some theories . naturalistic theories
about what that manna might have been
was it a kind of honey dew from an insect
or an edible sap form the tamarisk
or even some kind of mushrooms.
well .. I’m not interested in those theories
I just like what the story says
manna
is God given food
Manna is the gift that comes to you each day
we have the words from the song great is they faithfulness..
morning by morning new mercies I see
great is thy faithfulness
that s the manna story
those day by mercies ..of Gods faithfulness
have you e ever s seen that manna.
what did it look like?
.now I love what the word manna itself means
it means what is it..
in Hebrew or maybe Aramaic
what is it
they look at this gift from god
what is it
,,they don't quite know how to describe it
they didn’t know what it was going to be ...
had not seen this before
but they recognize it as a gift from God
have you seen any manna like that
well look at it this way
have your you started out the day
not knowing
how you were going to get though this situation
have you ever been in one of those wilderness times
like these old Hebrews wandering and wondering what next
what next
maybe even complaining.. murmuring
I love the verse s
that say all the congregation was murmuring
murmuring has been around a long time
complaining
talking about the leaders
"whose idea was this ? can we trust this..
in verse3
they are asking have we been lead out here to die of hunger
at least back in Egypt
we had those stewpots / we had some meat
and we had plenty of bread
But now
what have we got here
nothing..
Murmuring... complaining.... doubting
and fear .... yes it fears..maybe anger
and uncertainty
Don’t tell me you’ve never been there.
this week someone asked me how do you handle being angry with God?
but this manna lesson says
God hears their complaining
v 9 says draw near to the lord
for God has heard your complaining
their murmuring
their doubt
I like the idea that murmuring or complaining can be a form of prayer
this is important because
I have prayer like that..
I see it a lot in the bible
read the psalms
psalms of lament
or even psalm of cursing ..... imprecatory psalms we call them
or read the prophets
you will hear complaining in the prayers
maybe that's another way
to hear the old song what a friend we have in Jesus
all our sins and grief’s to bear
hear that?
all of the sins and grief’s
what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer
sins and grief to bear
I think we give god a lot of grief
in our prayer
but the good news
is that god hears the complaining
God put s up with the grief we give to God
and God says
I will rain down bread from heaven
aren’t you glad
God goes doesn’t rain down fire and brimstone
when we complain and worry and grumble
manna is a story of grace
Gods is going give them bread
have you seen that manna
when you are going thought hard time
and gods hears it..accept it.
and god still gives and loves
..in spite of our doubts and our ..
have you seen that manna of Gods graceful listening to me Just as am
do you ever go and look for thann manna
gather rit up..the Hebrews were told to go and gather it up...
how do you do that
how do you open your eyes to it.
. I s suppose you could like at your daily spiritual practices as a form of manna gathering
do you think this is where the idea of daily devotions fits in
take a few minutes in the day
to read a verse ,,, maybe read the upper room or the daily bread
or some of the many on line emails that give you thought for the day
I think that's a form of manna that gather up day by day,
,you may not know w ahead d of time
what the verse or the thought or the effect might
but it might be what gets you through
one day at a time isn't it..
manna is one day a t time
a word of encouragement
a nudge of the spirit.. a peace that passes understanding
a moment of silence o
r prayer and you know that somehow you are not alone
that's manna have you see n any mann
Now another thing
that strikes me about this manna is that apparently it was very small
and maybe just a bible verse or a minute or so of silence
a little prayer time
can seem pretty small ..and insignificant
but God is teaching us to look for the small miracles day by day.
I know that the big flashy miracle s like the crossing of the red sea... those
things get your attention
like some scene form Cecil be demil in the ten commandments
but that little bit of manna on the ground ... is an invitation to daily miracle watching
..
Pam Serdar our district superintendent/ in her recent newsletter
described a man who claimed that nothing
had impressed him in his 55 years of living
accept the grand canyon
now you have to admit
that the grand canyon is big and impressive
but a s Pam serdar went on to say
how sad
that this person didn't get impressed by all the little daily things
that are around us in life
to live without a sense of awe and wonder
is sad
it’s like ignore the manna
it’s a refusal to gather the daily miracles
all the things that we could see as gifts from God
and she goes on to mention things like the winter frost
The crackle of dry leaves on a chilly autumn afternoon.
The endless shades of green on a summer hillside.
The scent of lilacs in spring
have you seen a manna today
will you see some manna in the leaves as they begin to turn around here leaf by leaf..tree by tree.
will you open your eyes to gather the manna in your life
I think there is great mann song in the sound of music
these are few of my favorite things
'raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens'
and Maria thinks of those things ..when things are e going bad
that a way of gathering the emann..
acceptinghte daily signs of god that feed us.
have you seen a manna
maybe the manna of words
the manna of encouragement
the manna hope
the manna of help
the manna of another person
the manna of prayer.
let me leave you with a little story that I can hear as a manna story
from Howard Thurman .... in his autobiography,
( With Head and Heart)
. Thurman was dean of the Chapel at Boston University and a canon at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
but this story goes back to when
. He had just finished the eighth grade in Daytona Beach, Florida
and he was ready for high school.
But this is in 1912,... ..1912
and there were only three public schools in the state of Florida
that offered a high school education to African American youth
.but There were some church related schools that did,
and one of those was the Florida Baptist Academy in Jacksonville.
Thurman had a relative. that said that if he did some chores he could stay with them
and get one meal a day
So the school s season came and Thurman went down to the train station
he had an old trunk with no lock and no handles
,it was tied shut with a rope
but When he bought his train ticket
the railroad agent would not accept the trunk as baggage
because the Regulations said that the baggage check
had to be attached to the trunk handle,
not to a rope.
so he would have to pay extra to ship the trunk
but Thurman only had a little over a dollar left and it wasn't enough to ship the trunk
Thurman said
that he sat on the railway station steps
and cried his eyes out.
Until
when he opened his eyes,
there was a pair of work shoes standing in front of him.
The shoes were worn by a black man dressed in overalls and a denim cap.
He looked down at Thurman,
rolled a cigarette
, lit it and asked
,, what are you crying about?”
So Thurman told him,
and the man said,
“If you’re trying to get out of this town' to get an education,
the least I can do is to help you.
Come with me.”
the stranger got the shipping ticket for the trunk,
and he turned and disappeared
and Thurman says he never saw him again.
I think it was a manna moment
but why did that man notice this and care about it..and help him
The dedication to Howard Thurman’s autobiography reads
, “To the stranger in the
railroad station in Daytona Beach who restored my broken dream sixty five years ago.”
it was this gift that Thurman didn’t see coming
and maybe this generous stranger
did that because he had gather some manna his own life
and he could be manna in someone wilderness
have you seen any manna
well you can see where this is going
will you look for the many of daily signs and gifts.
.. trust that they are there
in maybe small.. daily,,but yet to be discovered ways..look for them
but then also maybe be them
the world is still hungry
we still need manna
we still need to share the manna
if you look at the manna lesson
youwillsee that above all it was teaching them to trust God
verse 4 and other s in the story say that God was using the manna to test them..to teach them..to shape them..into new behavior
and so in the manna lesson
they could not stockpile or hoard the manna.
it was a lesson in sharing and living with trust and gratitude and generosity
They were being taught o live in the manna moments
and to be manna people
I think the
and ,no malaria campaign
is very much a manna lesson for us today
manna a is a mosquito net . it saving a life just ten dollars at a time
or a sign that we care
God is giving manna though us,
manna is what we all need to receive..and learn
and to share. day by day
and I see manna all around you and in you
Have you seen any manna..day by day.. the manna is here
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Holy Week and the Deadly Sin of Anger
Park UMC April 17 2011
The deadly sin of anger or wrath is all over the story that we just read.
and we can literally see just how deadly it can be
this is the deadly sin that leads to murder, vengeance and violence
Jesus is at least indirectly killed by an angry mob...or angry leaders.
but what is behind this wrathful anger?
it's usually about some unmet expectations
we get angry when we do not get what we want or what we expect.
but even before this final week this holy week story
there has been a buildup of anger this smoldering anger has been there all along
there has been anger in t he voices
of the of the religious leaders
who accuse Jesus of blasphemy
and for challenging their authority and power
they have been angry with Jesus because HE DID NOT FOLLW THE accepted rules of community
and who is in and who is out
who is worthy and who isn't
Jesus ATE WITH TAX COLELCTORS AND SINNER
AND SOEM PEOPE WERE ANGRY ABOTU THIS
AS IF HE WAS MAKIIGN THESE Commoners
..THESE SINNERS.. EQAUL TO THEM...and equal in the eyes of God
Jesus was not meeting there expectations of religious teaching or piety
now ON palm Sunday I SEE this PENT UP anger OF THE Crowds
it in the crowds shouting hosanna
this may seem to be a day of praise and celebration but we are mistaken
there is something in the back ground
HOSANNA MEANS SAVE US
saves us
WAHT THEY Meant WAS save us from the Romans
save s from these ungodly people
who occupy our land
save us
from the armies that t march though our towns
saves us
from the burdens and the corruption
from the tyrants who tax us UNFAIRLY and take our food
where the rich get richer and the poor get even less.
save us Jesus
save us now..
be the messiah Savior who will exercise the wrath of God. and bring justice
be the conquering hero...
you have got to hear that IN THE he palm Sunday crowd
it is what they hope...what they expect!
but this is not what Jesus will do
and so IN FEW DAYS we see anger again.
of unmet expectations
.wrath rage..vengeance retaliation
anger is in the crowd shouting crucify him
give us Barabbas instead
but crucify this Jesus
are they angry
because Jesus refuses to be that angry kind of a messiah
Jesus refuses to embody the wrath of God against the enemy
instead we HAVE Gotten the savior on a donkey
who says turn the other cheek
we get the savior
who said love your enemies
pray for those who persecute you
blessed are the peacemakers
we get the savior
shows us a path of forgiveness
and a path of the cross
we have got to get this point
Jesus does not give us the wrath of God. that
we think we want God to be and to do
Now I know that Jesus
Jesus did show a level of anger in his life
in mark 3:5 the people were more concerned with following the Sabbath law
than they were with healing the man with a withered hand
it said that Jesus got angry with t hem
when we make our laws
more important than the needs and wellbeing of others..
there is a place for anger
and the most the most famous scene of anger form Jesus
is when the he is driving the money changers
out of the temple
he saw this abuse of religious power
as if access to God had to be brokered
or when people were being taken advantage of there is sense of righteous anger
and its there when people are e left to hurt without compassion
when there is no sense of justice for the poor.
read the Hebrew prophets
s and wee too are invited into Gods anger
when the poor and the weak and the foreigners are oppressed
when religion and piety is used as pretense to cover our greed
and religious language is abused to cover our prejudices
yes there are things wrong with he world
enough to be anger about it
at least a righteous indignation.
but what
we are talking about here as deadly
is wrath
..anger that is out of control...gone too far..
that doesn't know when to stop
anger that forgets to keep some humility
that does not understand its limits
. anger without mercy
anger that really is not redemptive.
Because it is also clear in Christianity
that we cannot take the wrath of God into our own hands
that's the great insight that Paul gives us in Romans 12
where he says never avenge yourselves
leave room for the wrath of God
vengeance is mine says the lord..in other words
it's not in our human ability to do this
we can't make that judgment of vengeance.
step away from the wrath
Jesus himself gave several lessons warning us about anger
Ephesians 4: 6 also says be angry but do not sin
James 1:19-20… “Let everyone be quick to listen,
slow to speak, slow to anger;
for
your anger does not produce God’s righteousness
you anger..my anger... does not produce Gods righteousness!.
.what a powerful insight
this is trying was to teach us a different spirit
and behavior in life
a life e that is not ruled by anger..
even when we see it as moral crusade..watch out.
with the rise of fundamentalism today in so many religions including Christianity we need this warning
we are directed away from this destructive violent anger that can kill us
it kill s us internally and it leads to the violence
the cycle s of violence and retaliation
that our world can't seem to break out of .
and what we are ultimately shown and taught is that
wrath is not the will and character of God
because God will is life and God's character,
god s holiness is love
.we are told clearly in I John that God is love.
I'm remembering the story
Two monks were washing
down in the river
when they noticed a scorpion that was drowning
. One monk immediately scooped it up
and set it upon the bank
. In the process he was stung.
He went back to washing his bowl and again the scorpion fell in.
The monk saved the scorpion and was again stung.
The other monk asked him,
"Friend,
why do you continue to save the scorpion
when you know
it's nature is to sting?"
"Because," the monk replied, "to save it is my nature."
it may not be our character to save
and in fact tit may be our character to sting
but this steadfast love this mercy is the very character of god
and that the gospel I'm not making this up
and all you need to do is look at t he cross
Gods character is to save US .EVEN WHEN WE STING
that is the story of this holy week
but we should not be surprised because
we can back up all the way to the start of the story
in Luke's Gospel especially
we are being told right away that this Jesus story
will
not be about the wrath of God
oh yes
it will be about a revolution and a different reality
the last shall be first .....the first shall be last
read... Mary's song in the magnificent
the mighty will be brought low
the powerless will be lifted up
but the great gospel is about peace
the shepherds at Christmas hear the words...of peace on earth..
peace is our gospel..not wrath.
.God we are told comes to us in good will
that's the message of all our strained and differing doctrines s of atonement
are simply trying to say that we are at peace . God is not at war with us.
God has made peace with us
atonement at one ment..
if God's wrath needed satisfaction
however you want to understand it..
it's done..
and we are invited to believe it, God has made peace..
so as you enter the story of holy week
can you accept a peaceful God as your God..your Lord and Savior..
we too are invite to follow Jesus.
. face your own expectations and struggles with anger
we too are invited to see Jesus
who will not embody or call out the wrath of God on us
even when we cry out in anger crucify him
or when we betray him as Judas did
when we pull out a sword as Peter did or deny him as peter did ..
run a way as the disciples did
with all of that...
.still ...we do not see the wrath of God
even when we strike out against god..
in the death of Jesus ....
the response of Jesus...
to all of this was
father forgive them
they do not know what they are doing
where is the wrath of God in this story?
Jesus and his cross tells us that mercy ...forgiveness is the way
not wrath
love is the way
not vengeance
salvation is the way... not destruction
Jesus saves us from our own anger
I believe the idea of an angry God is meant to die at the cross
Gods anger ends at the cross
Your mediation for the week is this
look at the cross .what do you see?
do you see God's wrath ?
or a God of grace
then,,, take up your cross and follow him.
being set free day by day from the deadly sin of wrath
The deadly sin of anger or wrath is all over the story that we just read.
and we can literally see just how deadly it can be
this is the deadly sin that leads to murder, vengeance and violence
Jesus is at least indirectly killed by an angry mob...or angry leaders.
but what is behind this wrathful anger?
it's usually about some unmet expectations
we get angry when we do not get what we want or what we expect.
but even before this final week this holy week story
there has been a buildup of anger this smoldering anger has been there all along
there has been anger in t he voices
of the of the religious leaders
who accuse Jesus of blasphemy
and for challenging their authority and power
they have been angry with Jesus because HE DID NOT FOLLW THE accepted rules of community
and who is in and who is out
who is worthy and who isn't
Jesus ATE WITH TAX COLELCTORS AND SINNER
AND SOEM PEOPE WERE ANGRY ABOTU THIS
AS IF HE WAS MAKIIGN THESE Commoners
..THESE SINNERS.. EQAUL TO THEM...and equal in the eyes of God
Jesus was not meeting there expectations of religious teaching or piety
now ON palm Sunday I SEE this PENT UP anger OF THE Crowds
it in the crowds shouting hosanna
this may seem to be a day of praise and celebration but we are mistaken
there is something in the back ground
HOSANNA MEANS SAVE US
saves us
WAHT THEY Meant WAS save us from the Romans
save s from these ungodly people
who occupy our land
save us
from the armies that t march though our towns
saves us
from the burdens and the corruption
from the tyrants who tax us UNFAIRLY and take our food
where the rich get richer and the poor get even less.
save us Jesus
save us now..
be the messiah Savior who will exercise the wrath of God. and bring justice
be the conquering hero...
you have got to hear that IN THE he palm Sunday crowd
it is what they hope...what they expect!
but this is not what Jesus will do
and so IN FEW DAYS we see anger again.
of unmet expectations
.wrath rage..vengeance retaliation
anger is in the crowd shouting crucify him
give us Barabbas instead
but crucify this Jesus
are they angry
because Jesus refuses to be that angry kind of a messiah
Jesus refuses to embody the wrath of God against the enemy
instead we HAVE Gotten the savior on a donkey
who says turn the other cheek
we get the savior
who said love your enemies
pray for those who persecute you
blessed are the peacemakers
we get the savior
shows us a path of forgiveness
and a path of the cross
we have got to get this point
Jesus does not give us the wrath of God. that
we think we want God to be and to do
Now I know that Jesus
Jesus did show a level of anger in his life
in mark 3:5 the people were more concerned with following the Sabbath law
than they were with healing the man with a withered hand
it said that Jesus got angry with t hem
when we make our laws
more important than the needs and wellbeing of others..
there is a place for anger
and the most the most famous scene of anger form Jesus
is when the he is driving the money changers
out of the temple
he saw this abuse of religious power
as if access to God had to be brokered
or when people were being taken advantage of there is sense of righteous anger
and its there when people are e left to hurt without compassion
when there is no sense of justice for the poor.
read the Hebrew prophets
s and wee too are invited into Gods anger
when the poor and the weak and the foreigners are oppressed
when religion and piety is used as pretense to cover our greed
and religious language is abused to cover our prejudices
yes there are things wrong with he world
enough to be anger about it
at least a righteous indignation.
but what
we are talking about here as deadly
is wrath
..anger that is out of control...gone too far..
that doesn't know when to stop
anger that forgets to keep some humility
that does not understand its limits
. anger without mercy
anger that really is not redemptive.
Because it is also clear in Christianity
that we cannot take the wrath of God into our own hands
that's the great insight that Paul gives us in Romans 12
where he says never avenge yourselves
leave room for the wrath of God
vengeance is mine says the lord..in other words
it's not in our human ability to do this
we can't make that judgment of vengeance.
step away from the wrath
Jesus himself gave several lessons warning us about anger
Ephesians 4: 6 also says be angry but do not sin
James 1:19-20… “Let everyone be quick to listen,
slow to speak, slow to anger;
for
your anger does not produce God’s righteousness
you anger..my anger... does not produce Gods righteousness!.
.what a powerful insight
this is trying was to teach us a different spirit
and behavior in life
a life e that is not ruled by anger..
even when we see it as moral crusade..watch out.
with the rise of fundamentalism today in so many religions including Christianity we need this warning
we are directed away from this destructive violent anger that can kill us
it kill s us internally and it leads to the violence
the cycle s of violence and retaliation
that our world can't seem to break out of .
and what we are ultimately shown and taught is that
wrath is not the will and character of God
because God will is life and God's character,
god s holiness is love
.we are told clearly in I John that God is love.
I'm remembering the story
Two monks were washing
down in the river
when they noticed a scorpion that was drowning
. One monk immediately scooped it up
and set it upon the bank
. In the process he was stung.
He went back to washing his bowl and again the scorpion fell in.
The monk saved the scorpion and was again stung.
The other monk asked him,
"Friend,
why do you continue to save the scorpion
when you know
it's nature is to sting?"
"Because," the monk replied, "to save it is my nature."
it may not be our character to save
and in fact tit may be our character to sting
but this steadfast love this mercy is the very character of god
and that the gospel I'm not making this up
and all you need to do is look at t he cross
Gods character is to save US .EVEN WHEN WE STING
that is the story of this holy week
but we should not be surprised because
we can back up all the way to the start of the story
in Luke's Gospel especially
we are being told right away that this Jesus story
will
not be about the wrath of God
oh yes
it will be about a revolution and a different reality
the last shall be first .....the first shall be last
read... Mary's song in the magnificent
the mighty will be brought low
the powerless will be lifted up
but the great gospel is about peace
the shepherds at Christmas hear the words...of peace on earth..
peace is our gospel..not wrath.
.God we are told comes to us in good will
that's the message of all our strained and differing doctrines s of atonement
are simply trying to say that we are at peace . God is not at war with us.
God has made peace with us
atonement at one ment..
if God's wrath needed satisfaction
however you want to understand it..
it's done..
and we are invited to believe it, God has made peace..
so as you enter the story of holy week
can you accept a peaceful God as your God..your Lord and Savior..
we too are invite to follow Jesus.
. face your own expectations and struggles with anger
we too are invited to see Jesus
who will not embody or call out the wrath of God on us
even when we cry out in anger crucify him
or when we betray him as Judas did
when we pull out a sword as Peter did or deny him as peter did ..
run a way as the disciples did
with all of that...
.still ...we do not see the wrath of God
even when we strike out against god..
in the death of Jesus ....
the response of Jesus...
to all of this was
father forgive them
they do not know what they are doing
where is the wrath of God in this story?
Jesus and his cross tells us that mercy ...forgiveness is the way
not wrath
love is the way
not vengeance
salvation is the way... not destruction
Jesus saves us from our own anger
I believe the idea of an angry God is meant to die at the cross
Gods anger ends at the cross
Your mediation for the week is this
look at the cross .what do you see?
do you see God's wrath ?
or a God of grace
then,,, take up your cross and follow him.
being set free day by day from the deadly sin of wrath
Sunday, April 3, 2011
From Richard Rohr
FALLING UPWARD
The soul has many secrets. They are only revealed to those who want them, and are never completely forced upon us. One of the best-kept secrets, and yet one hidden in plain sight, is that the way up is the way down. Or, if you prefer, the way down is the way up….
In Scripture, we see that the wrestling and wounding of Jacob are necessary for Jacob to become Israel (Genesis 32:26-32), and the death and resurrection of Jesus are necessary to create Christianity. The loss and renewal pattern is so constant and ubiquitous that it should hardly be called a secret at all.
Yet it is still a secret, probably because we do not want to see it. We do not want to embark on a further journey [the second half of life] if it feels like going down, especially after having put so much sound and fury into going up [the first half of life]. This is surely the first and primary reason why many people never get to the fullness of their own lives.
From Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
pp. xviii-xix
The soul has many secrets. They are only revealed to those who want them, and are never completely forced upon us. One of the best-kept secrets, and yet one hidden in plain sight, is that the way up is the way down. Or, if you prefer, the way down is the way up….
In Scripture, we see that the wrestling and wounding of Jacob are necessary for Jacob to become Israel (Genesis 32:26-32), and the death and resurrection of Jesus are necessary to create Christianity. The loss and renewal pattern is so constant and ubiquitous that it should hardly be called a secret at all.
Yet it is still a secret, probably because we do not want to see it. We do not want to embark on a further journey [the second half of life] if it feels like going down, especially after having put so much sound and fury into going up [the first half of life]. This is surely the first and primary reason why many people never get to the fullness of their own lives.
From Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
pp. xviii-xix
Friday, November 27, 2009
Nov 2009
Nov 22, 2009 PUMC Phil 4:11ff
I picked out the reading from Philippians
just for this morning..
It seems to be a thanksgiving lesson
Paul is wring this letter
from a Roman prison....
.we need to know that background..
a prison...
or a jail.....maybe in chains..
Nothing good or comfortable about that.
I cant imagine what those conditions were like
. and yet
yet..
this is one of his most joyful
and positive letters
over and over it talks about gratitude and thanksgiving
and concentrating on the good..
He talks about being content or satisfied
whether he has a little or a lot...
. he says I’ve been been full and I’ve been hungry
Paul seems to have a spirit of gratitude that is unconditional.
.something that is not is not based on circumstance..
He seems to have a steadiness or a center
he seem to have grateful spirit or a grateful heart.
he calls it the secret..The answer
or the wisdom
that is there
through all the ups and downs of life.
.and it seems to me that’s what spiritual gratitude is really about ..
I’m thinking there area t least two kind s of gratitude
the firs t one is Conditional Gratitude ...when things are good.
.I m grateful
and I say thanks.
I think just about everybody knows about this kind of gratitude
thats what the thanksging holiday is..I suppose,, for most of us in the country
This is not a bad thing
its being thankful
when we have something good In our life
when we have the abundance
and something goes well
we should see it..and celebrate it..
. Maybe this is gratitude for your family..
And for your health
and whatever wealth you might have
that’s the gratitude
of counting your blessings.....name them one by one..see what you have
And even though we have this recession going on
and I know that people have lost their jobs
and theirs homes.
.and things are not want they used to be
for a lot of people
this circumstantial gratitude
still
invites you to look at what you have ....
and give thanks..
don’t ignore whatever good things you still have..
look for the good..
Don’t deny what is still good in your life
(thanksgiving invites you to do that.)
but then
there is this other kind of gratitude
I don’t know what to call it
,maybe just spiritual gratitude..
This is the kind of gratitude
Paul is taking about here..a different kind of contentment.
This is Paul’s secret strength.
.inner strength
And maybe
it come s down to just being thankful for God.. (Period)
a spirit of god in your life..
the gratitude of faith .
.Paul talks about this strength from God...(not strength from good circumstances)
but This inner joy or trust
Again, Paul
is still thankful
in
all the ups and downs of life
Paul says that he has learned this..
“I have learned to be content”
learning is a process
Im still working on that..I think we all are..
.it’s a learning curve..
But I want to learn this..
With prayer..and spiritual practices...
by following Jesus..
I want to learn ..the grateful spirit that Paul points to,
Paul.
.and the rest of the bible says it also
Circumstances change
And that’s a fact of life
but Gods presence
Gods love God holds on your life.
Whats that bible verse
the grass withers,
,the flower fades. but the word of the lord stands forever
God does not fail..
there is the greater
core goodness.
.that Paul ...knows about..
Paul believes in that
he lives in that.
And it keeps him thankful
lin fact in this same letter
Paul says rejoice in God always
(Rejoice inthe lord always, again I say rejoice)
then he says live with gentleness..
Don’t be anxious
pray with thanksgiving
he talks about peacefulness.
A steadiness.
I think that is the spirit of thanksgiving that the church is talking about.
. The thankful spirit
of faith in God..
No matter what the circumstance e might be..
I don’t know if we can ever get that I n our heads. (Intellectually)
But I believe I you can get it ..in your heart...in that deeper level..
.
let me say it a better way
with a story.. (Spiritual lesson are always better in a story. that’s why Jesus told stories
this is another story from the Hasidic Jewish tradition
a story from the bel shem tov.
.he was a famous teacher..a rabbi
form the early 1700s in eastern Europe
and of course th stories have become legends with a lesson
this one is called THE HOLY SABBATH BEANS
Once, the Baal Shem Tov
called his closest disciples,
his closest students
and he s aid to them
"My friends,
I'd like to show you something
this is something
that you've never seen before
. Just be sure
that you stay close to me next Sabbath."
They were all excited with anticipation,
they could barely wait for the next Sabbath to arrive.
When Sabbath finally came
they eagerly surrounded the BaalShem Tov during his prayers
. Suddenly,
they saw the Baal Shem Tov glance over to the side of the Synagogue.
They looked over
and they saw a pauper
this poor man
and he was praying intensely
and with great joy.
But
they didn't notice anything that seemed very special about the man.
After the prayers,
the Baal Shem Tov called for his disciples to join him.
They walked together,
quietly
they came to the pauper's house,
(it really wasn’t much of a place
and they stood outside the front door,
and they listened to the conversation
between the poor man and
his wife.
he greeted her with a joyful voice
"Good Sabbath, my sweet wife,"
.
She answered back to him
"And a restful
and holy Sabbath to you
my dearest husband,"
Then the husband
sang Shalom Aleichem (Peace to you),
and some other ancient spiritual greetings .
Then he said to his wife,
"Please
bring out the wine for Kiddush ..for the Sabbath blessing
but The man and the woman were so poor
they didn’t have any money for wine.
So instead
she
put two little rolls of bread
in front of him and said,
"My dear husband,
we don't have any wine ...
so make Kiddush ..say the blessing
over these two rolls of bread."
"Okay then," the poor man answered,
"We will make Kiddush over the two loaves of bread
and they will taste just as good as the best wine.. could ever be
After they finished the SABBAT blessing
over the two rolls of bread,
the poor man said
now "My dearest wife,
please serve the fish
and let us experience (the joy of Sabbath).
His wife came out with a plate of cooked beans
and she placed a spoonful pf beans
on each of their plates.
Then she said
"May it be God's will that these beans
have the taste of a wonderful fish delicacy."
Then They ate the beans
and their faces were bright .. with delight and inner joy.
Then the poor man began to sing Sabbath songs.
"Thank God we lack nothing to celebrate the holy Sabbath,"
we have everything that is needed
"Let us have the soup now."
Well there was no soup
as They both took
another spoonful of beans.
"Oh, this Sabbath we really have a wonderful soup,"
they said to each other.
Then they had a third spoonful of beans
for the meat dish
and a fourth spoonful as a dessert.
"Come, sweet wife,
the poor man said
now let us dance to celebrate the Sabbath,"
So they both got up from the table
and began to dance.
"Our dancing,"
commented the man,
"fulfills the saying of our Rabbis,
'He who properly sanctifies the Sabbath will earn a great
reward.' "
As they danced around their Sabbath table,
they laughed to each other, ..
.as they enjoyed the reward of the moment
"How fortunate we are!
how good is our lot."
The students that were watching this scene,
started to feel a warm glow well up in themselves.
The Baal Shem Tov said in a whisper.
"I see that all of you
are experiencing the gift of enjoying the Sabbath
just as much as this poor man and his wife
have been enjoying their Sabbath.
You should know
that it is not the earthly food that they tasted,
but the Sabbath itself."
And so it was.
I want you to hold on to that phrase..
It is not the earthly food that they tasted
but the Sabbath itself..
Well I would love once again to sit down in small group
or with each other
and ask you
what do you hear in that story
I think this is a wonderful thanksgiving story
Even though its not about a thanksgiving dinner
it is certainly about another dinner
the Sabbath meal
but as you heard
or I hope you heard in the story
it is not so much about the food at all
is it..?
but the gratitude. the giftness
the spirit of it all
the bel shem tov said..
It is not the earthly food that they tasted.
.but the Sabbath itself
That the real thanksgiving part of the story for me
now
I hope your thanksgiving dinner isn’t getting down
to just a plate of beans
go ahead and enjoy
whatever abundance can come to your table..
But what will you really be tasting?
will you taste just some turkey or potatoes or pie..
Or will you be able to taste thanksgiving itself
the real essence of the holiday
taste the gratitude
and the giftedness of life
taste a deeper kind of goodness
taste the other spices of life
taste the fruit of the spirit
which is love joy peace;;kindness,,gentleness
savor the riches of life
that goes far beyond anything you could put on a table
taste the holiness
..hidden behind it all..or deep inside of it all.
That’s we are really
we are hungry for grateful hearts
hungering for..
a sacred and essential goodness...
that maybe defies reason
a something of the soul
thanksgiving ultimately/ spiritually
Comes down to the mystery
that everything...everything.
is a gift from God.
.beyond imagination ..we live in a generosity ....
Of eternity..
the good ness of god..that does not fail
in the end..
All will be well..
Wholeness..redemption.. shalom
Thanks giving
is not what is on the table
its what is on your heart...from God
it is that
richness of love and grace
that we see in Jesus Christ
.Taste that.....for thanksgiving
now that a feast.
.............
..
‘;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
As we baptize little Thaddeus today..
We are also saying that
He is mysterious. secretly
faithfully
joined to that essential goodness s of life
..he too
is going to be raised to hear that story of Gods love in jesus Christ
he too
really is what his name means
Thaddeus means Gods gift
his name itself ...is a name that points to giftedness and gratitude.
Thats how we see him....
and we are saying thanks to God
but in this baptism we are also s giving him back to god...
we are saying God...
shape him and grow him..
Raise him
With faith and hope and love
make him one of your disciple to do good. In this world
May that be the divine sprit that washes him
and renews him all the days of his life\
let god be his strength
so baptism too is an act of thanksgiving
Baptism is thanks and giving.
Sabbath Beans story is © 2004 Baal Shem Tov Foundation – a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization.
“Dedicated to spreading the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov” –www.baalshemtov.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
Nov 15 2009 hannah and Prayer
what if This picture of Hanna in I Samuel this morning is a picture of prayer..
Did you get the image, or at least the feeling, of deep intense prayer.?
.prayer from the center of the heart..
and nothing is holding her back
prayer out of some deep pain ....b ut perhaps also
from a place of some deep hope
deep faith / deep love and desire
I see this as follow up to the lesson last week , about longing for God (Ps 42)
I see that same kind of desire with Hanna
and the yearning to be a blessing for God
she has felt that she was barren and worthless to God
and to the world.
.
The story is about moving from barrenness to blessing
spiritual barrenness to spiritual blessing
As she pours out her heart...............
it says she was praying silently... her lips were moving...
it says in some translations she was pouring our her soul
just hold on to that phrase for this image of prayer..
Now let me bring that out with a story from India
.I think it will help us see something in the story of Hanna as well
Its about an emperor, and a peasant women and prayer
Once upon a time
there was an emperor named Akiba
he was good leader and just and fair
..but every once in a while
the burdens of being a good ruler Would get to him
and he would need to go out hunting for the day
just to get away from it all..
Of course being an emperor
he would bring along his servants and a few guards for the hunt as well.
But in this day they had not gotten anything.
. Not even the sight of a deer.
And the emperor was frustrated and annoyed.
This was not turning out to be the kind of relaxing and joyful day that he needed
and so
he began to take out his feelings on the servants and members of the court who traveled along.
Then it came time for the prayers....
So...faithful to there tradition
they got off their horses and gathered together for the ritual.
They knelt down facing to the east
With their heads touching to the ground.
But akaba.
.even though he was saying the prayers
and following all the practices...
Still had a lot of things on his mind...
The worries of the kingdom/
his desire to go home with a good deer from the hunt,
he wanted
to have some sense of contentment.
.some good feeling/ before he would have to go back and face all those decisions
..all that work and responsibility
so many people depending on him..
He was thinking how he never really got to get away from his work
And now here it was and god..the compassionate one. Was not even letting him enjoy the simple satisfaction of a good hunt.
He blessed God in his prayers..
But he was hoping that after the prayers.
His luck would change
and he would get a chance to catch something
Now..
at the same time..while this was going on..
deep in the heart of the forest.
There was an older women
she was married..
And early that same morning..
Her husband had gone off into the woods
she was getting very worried
because he had been gone for a long time/ longer than it should have taken him.
And she loved him deeply
and was afraid that something had happened to him.
now just at the same time that akaba the Emperor and all his servants were kneeling down on the ground....to pray
she decided to go off looking for her husband..
Pretty soon she was just frantic..
. Running in every direction.
.up and down the trails
backtracking where she had been before.
More and more worried about her husband.
and in the intensify of her search..
She wasn’t watching where she was going..
And somehow..
She managed to actually trip over the emperor himself..
Because he was down there
bowed down in prayer..
.and she wasn’t looking down on the ground.
Well she got up..
Didn’t even pay attention to the emperor..
And ran off once again...deeper into the forest.
Looking so intently for her husband
The emperor was very annoyed..
But he finished his prayers along with everyone else..
And them.
Since eye was th emperor after all.
He sent some of his soldiers to go and find that women who had tripped over him,
and bring her back .
In the meantime
the women found her husband
. And she was filled with joy.
He was old..and not feeling well..
And he need her help
he had fallen
and she was helping him to get back to the house.
But the soldiers found her and dragged her back to the emperor.
he was giving her quite a scolding..
She needed to know what she had done!
.didn’t you notice
that you had tripped over somebody ?
and not only that..but he was the emperor..
Didn’t she even notice that.
She simply said..
What were you doing down there on the ground in the first place.
He said I was saying my prayers
and she said to the emperor
you were saying your prayers..
kneeling..face down to the ground
facing east.. With your head touching the earth
supposedly praying to the great Lord of the universe..
And still you noticed
that some one tripped over you.?!
What kind of concentration is that
she went on to say
While here I am
simply chasing after my husband..whom I love dearly
and so I did not notice you
You see
I was paying attention to my search
and my devotion
but you.
.if you
if you said your prayers better
you would have been paying more attention to the lord of the universe
and your search and your devotion
and then if you had been doing that..
you would not have even noticed
when someone fell over you.
The emperor listened to these worlds
and he was embarrassed.
Its true.. He had been distracted..in his attention...he had been self centered in his attention
while she..had not..
So in fact he gave the women some gifts..to honor her..
and sent her back to her home ..to her beloved husband..
And later
whenever
the emperor prayed.
He was not concerned about anything else
but God..
The compassionate One
and how he kept his attention on his prayer
and whenever somebody asked him
how he learned to pray that way..
He told them about a simple peasant women
who loved her husband..
And concentrated on the devotion.
And taught him to love the lord of the universe
and what prayer really was..
I m sure we could hear that story at several different levels.
It raises all kinds of questions
maybe we could see that the women is a picture of prayer
because she is passionate...
In her search
are you passionate in your prayer...
Or maybe she is picture of prayer
because what she is doing
an example of caring.
.she is up and moving ,
,taking action in her search for her husband
could determined..caring action be a picture of prayer? ..I think so
prayer as compassion
Passionate prayer that comes from deep within us.
prayer...as devotion..prayer as focus.
.prayer as the concentration of heart...
All of that fits in ..
But it reminded me of a definition of prayer from Simone Weil a french philosopher
she said
absolutely unmixed attention was prayer..
Prayer as absolutely unmixed attention
it seems to me
that the way the woman in the story was whole heartedly searching for her Husband
.. That was unmixed attention
in fact
many spiritual traditions
including some voices in Judaism and Christianity..
Would say that learning to pay attention
is a basic spiritual practice for prayer..
..........
When I was on renewal leave this summer
we spent a day on a spiritual retreat
and we learned about some Buddhist traditions
and for the meal time
we were told to eat without talking..eat in silence
...
Just pay attention to the experience of the food and the eating,
chew each bite
maybe 20 times or more
..slowly...deliberate taste it.
. And pay attention to it..
Thich Nhat Hanh.
.is a Buddhist monk who has written some great material in the Buddhist /Christian dialogue and how we can understand each other
he talks about the mediation practice of mindfulness when you eat
and he says Don't put anything else into your mouth, like your projects, your worries, your fear, just put the carrot in.
And when you chew, chew only the carrot,
not your projects or your ideas.
( The Path of Emancipation: Talks from a 21-Day Mindfulness Retreat)
but you know that not the not the way I normally eat...
even when I say a pray... before I eat (,,and I usually do that)
but then.. I still don’t pay that much attention to the food..
Do you?
Im more distracted when I eat.
I don’t really treat the gift of food like a blessing
..I don’t really turn my meals into act of thankfulness .
.but paying attention to it.
even though I said “Thank you god..in my prayer..bless this food
Wouldn’t it be more..a true prayer or deeper prayer
a meal time prayer
or a table grace
If I I actually continued to to thank God
by paying attention,, and treasured this gift of food as the blessing that it is..
Don’t just say a table prayer.
.but let that time become prayer at the table
I think you can adapt that..so that it also a time to pay loving attention to the people with you the table..
Try it some time.
... some people would call this the prayer of mindfulness..
Being present to the gifts of God
Prayer as unmixed attention.
Where and when do you come close to that ?
maybe your prayer times
Are those moments
when you lose yourself in the satisfaction of some good project.
..or some time
..maybe holding or playing with a child
or a grandchild
or working with the garden
or on some walk .
or maybe in music,
,when it just holds your attention and moves you along
in the moments
when you got caught up in something that touches your heart for good..and for God
That s a moment of prayer.
One of the biggest ways that we misunderstand prayer.
is that we make it too complicated..
or we define it in just very narrow ways
we make it into something that is beyond us. or limited to the church
We seem to have made up a lot of narrow religious definitions of what prayer is.
..
And Im also sure that at least 99 percent of us. Want to learn and grow in our prayer life
Well I am still learning more and more about prayer as well.
.and Im seeing that prayer
is simply being with God
prayer is paying attention.
.trying to be awake
to the presence of God
notice..watching for God
in all the experiences of Life
I think that what Paul pointed to when he said pray without ceasing...
.live prayerfully. Live .intentionally..
prayer is listening
and opening the eyes and ears of the heart
and prayer
is simply opening myself to God
with whatever honesty I have in my life at that time .
..being honest with my ups and downs
being honest and open with my life
paying attention to God in whatever yearnings and worries
and pains and fears I might have.
That what I see in Hanna this morning...
Pouring out her soul
paying attention to her life
she comes with such a passion
..such freedom
as she comes before God..
I would say that she comes to God with all her heart.. soul ,mind and strength
remember when Jesus said that the most important thing of all
was to love God
with all your heart soul mind and strength
and to love your neighbors as yourself
that sounds like a guide for prayer as well
it sound s like mindfulness...heartfulnes
.soul fullness
unmixed attention
Now Here is the homework for the week
(Can I give you homework)
Follow this lesson plan
pay attention to something....in a prayerful way
use it as a lesson to practice on
to grow your prayer life
pay attention to some person..
Some experience..it might be some problem
.something around you or in you
or
in the words about Hanna
Listen for the ways that you might be pouring out your soul.
What do you do..soulfully...?
Maybe we can hear the invitation to do the same
simply pray like that..
Pray from the inside..
Pray with your soul
pray with the honesty and with an open and passionate attention...that comes from the center of your life.
.from the heart
give your prayerful attention
this week in some way of love.
Pray with love.
.maybe that’s also what it means to pray in the name of Jesus Christ
And to pray for Gods will to be done
it means
To pray with love..
I think that’s the prayer life we are a looking for
pray.. in whatever way takes your heart..to God..
Amen
M Mckenna is my source for this story of the women and the emperor
McKenna Parables 98
I picked out the reading from Philippians
just for this morning..
It seems to be a thanksgiving lesson
Paul is wring this letter
from a Roman prison....
.we need to know that background..
a prison...
or a jail.....maybe in chains..
Nothing good or comfortable about that.
I cant imagine what those conditions were like
. and yet
yet..
this is one of his most joyful
and positive letters
over and over it talks about gratitude and thanksgiving
and concentrating on the good..
He talks about being content or satisfied
whether he has a little or a lot...
. he says I’ve been been full and I’ve been hungry
Paul seems to have a spirit of gratitude that is unconditional.
.something that is not is not based on circumstance..
He seems to have a steadiness or a center
he seem to have grateful spirit or a grateful heart.
he calls it the secret..The answer
or the wisdom
that is there
through all the ups and downs of life.
.and it seems to me that’s what spiritual gratitude is really about ..
I’m thinking there area t least two kind s of gratitude
the firs t one is Conditional Gratitude ...when things are good.
.I m grateful
and I say thanks.
I think just about everybody knows about this kind of gratitude
thats what the thanksging holiday is..I suppose,, for most of us in the country
This is not a bad thing
its being thankful
when we have something good In our life
when we have the abundance
and something goes well
we should see it..and celebrate it..
. Maybe this is gratitude for your family..
And for your health
and whatever wealth you might have
that’s the gratitude
of counting your blessings.....name them one by one..see what you have
And even though we have this recession going on
and I know that people have lost their jobs
and theirs homes.
.and things are not want they used to be
for a lot of people
this circumstantial gratitude
still
invites you to look at what you have ....
and give thanks..
don’t ignore whatever good things you still have..
look for the good..
Don’t deny what is still good in your life
(thanksgiving invites you to do that.)
but then
there is this other kind of gratitude
I don’t know what to call it
,maybe just spiritual gratitude..
This is the kind of gratitude
Paul is taking about here..a different kind of contentment.
This is Paul’s secret strength.
.inner strength
And maybe
it come s down to just being thankful for God.. (Period)
a spirit of god in your life..
the gratitude of faith .
.Paul talks about this strength from God...(not strength from good circumstances)
but This inner joy or trust
Again, Paul
is still thankful
in
all the ups and downs of life
Paul says that he has learned this..
“I have learned to be content”
learning is a process
Im still working on that..I think we all are..
.it’s a learning curve..
But I want to learn this..
With prayer..and spiritual practices...
by following Jesus..
I want to learn ..the grateful spirit that Paul points to,
Paul.
.and the rest of the bible says it also
Circumstances change
And that’s a fact of life
but Gods presence
Gods love God holds on your life.
Whats that bible verse
the grass withers,
,the flower fades. but the word of the lord stands forever
God does not fail..
there is the greater
core goodness.
.that Paul ...knows about..
Paul believes in that
he lives in that.
And it keeps him thankful
lin fact in this same letter
Paul says rejoice in God always
(Rejoice inthe lord always, again I say rejoice)
then he says live with gentleness..
Don’t be anxious
pray with thanksgiving
he talks about peacefulness.
A steadiness.
I think that is the spirit of thanksgiving that the church is talking about.
. The thankful spirit
of faith in God..
No matter what the circumstance e might be..
I don’t know if we can ever get that I n our heads. (Intellectually)
But I believe I you can get it ..in your heart...in that deeper level..
.
let me say it a better way
with a story.. (Spiritual lesson are always better in a story. that’s why Jesus told stories
this is another story from the Hasidic Jewish tradition
a story from the bel shem tov.
.he was a famous teacher..a rabbi
form the early 1700s in eastern Europe
and of course th stories have become legends with a lesson
this one is called THE HOLY SABBATH BEANS
Once, the Baal Shem Tov
called his closest disciples,
his closest students
and he s aid to them
"My friends,
I'd like to show you something
this is something
that you've never seen before
. Just be sure
that you stay close to me next Sabbath."
They were all excited with anticipation,
they could barely wait for the next Sabbath to arrive.
When Sabbath finally came
they eagerly surrounded the BaalShem Tov during his prayers
. Suddenly,
they saw the Baal Shem Tov glance over to the side of the Synagogue.
They looked over
and they saw a pauper
this poor man
and he was praying intensely
and with great joy.
But
they didn't notice anything that seemed very special about the man.
After the prayers,
the Baal Shem Tov called for his disciples to join him.
They walked together,
quietly
they came to the pauper's house,
(it really wasn’t much of a place
and they stood outside the front door,
and they listened to the conversation
between the poor man and
his wife.
he greeted her with a joyful voice
"Good Sabbath, my sweet wife,"
.
She answered back to him
"And a restful
and holy Sabbath to you
my dearest husband,"
Then the husband
sang Shalom Aleichem (Peace to you),
and some other ancient spiritual greetings .
Then he said to his wife,
"Please
bring out the wine for Kiddush ..for the Sabbath blessing
but The man and the woman were so poor
they didn’t have any money for wine.
So instead
she
put two little rolls of bread
in front of him and said,
"My dear husband,
we don't have any wine ...
so make Kiddush ..say the blessing
over these two rolls of bread."
"Okay then," the poor man answered,
"We will make Kiddush over the two loaves of bread
and they will taste just as good as the best wine.. could ever be
After they finished the SABBAT blessing
over the two rolls of bread,
the poor man said
now "My dearest wife,
please serve the fish
and let us experience (the joy of Sabbath).
His wife came out with a plate of cooked beans
and she placed a spoonful pf beans
on each of their plates.
Then she said
"May it be God's will that these beans
have the taste of a wonderful fish delicacy."
Then They ate the beans
and their faces were bright .. with delight and inner joy.
Then the poor man began to sing Sabbath songs.
"Thank God we lack nothing to celebrate the holy Sabbath,"
we have everything that is needed
"Let us have the soup now."
Well there was no soup
as They both took
another spoonful of beans.
"Oh, this Sabbath we really have a wonderful soup,"
they said to each other.
Then they had a third spoonful of beans
for the meat dish
and a fourth spoonful as a dessert.
"Come, sweet wife,
the poor man said
now let us dance to celebrate the Sabbath,"
So they both got up from the table
and began to dance.
"Our dancing,"
commented the man,
"fulfills the saying of our Rabbis,
'He who properly sanctifies the Sabbath will earn a great
reward.' "
As they danced around their Sabbath table,
they laughed to each other, ..
.as they enjoyed the reward of the moment
"How fortunate we are!
how good is our lot."
The students that were watching this scene,
started to feel a warm glow well up in themselves.
The Baal Shem Tov said in a whisper.
"I see that all of you
are experiencing the gift of enjoying the Sabbath
just as much as this poor man and his wife
have been enjoying their Sabbath.
You should know
that it is not the earthly food that they tasted,
but the Sabbath itself."
And so it was.
I want you to hold on to that phrase..
It is not the earthly food that they tasted
but the Sabbath itself..
Well I would love once again to sit down in small group
or with each other
and ask you
what do you hear in that story
I think this is a wonderful thanksgiving story
Even though its not about a thanksgiving dinner
it is certainly about another dinner
the Sabbath meal
but as you heard
or I hope you heard in the story
it is not so much about the food at all
is it..?
but the gratitude. the giftness
the spirit of it all
the bel shem tov said..
It is not the earthly food that they tasted.
.but the Sabbath itself
That the real thanksgiving part of the story for me
now
I hope your thanksgiving dinner isn’t getting down
to just a plate of beans
go ahead and enjoy
whatever abundance can come to your table..
But what will you really be tasting?
will you taste just some turkey or potatoes or pie..
Or will you be able to taste thanksgiving itself
the real essence of the holiday
taste the gratitude
and the giftedness of life
taste a deeper kind of goodness
taste the other spices of life
taste the fruit of the spirit
which is love joy peace;;kindness,,gentleness
savor the riches of life
that goes far beyond anything you could put on a table
taste the holiness
..hidden behind it all..or deep inside of it all.
That’s we are really
we are hungry for grateful hearts
hungering for..
a sacred and essential goodness...
that maybe defies reason
a something of the soul
thanksgiving ultimately/ spiritually
Comes down to the mystery
that everything...everything.
is a gift from God.
.beyond imagination ..we live in a generosity ....
Of eternity..
the good ness of god..that does not fail
in the end..
All will be well..
Wholeness..redemption.. shalom
Thanks giving
is not what is on the table
its what is on your heart...from God
it is that
richness of love and grace
that we see in Jesus Christ
.Taste that.....for thanksgiving
now that a feast.
.............
..
‘;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
As we baptize little Thaddeus today..
We are also saying that
He is mysterious. secretly
faithfully
joined to that essential goodness s of life
..he too
is going to be raised to hear that story of Gods love in jesus Christ
he too
really is what his name means
Thaddeus means Gods gift
his name itself ...is a name that points to giftedness and gratitude.
Thats how we see him....
and we are saying thanks to God
but in this baptism we are also s giving him back to god...
we are saying God...
shape him and grow him..
Raise him
With faith and hope and love
make him one of your disciple to do good. In this world
May that be the divine sprit that washes him
and renews him all the days of his life\
let god be his strength
so baptism too is an act of thanksgiving
Baptism is thanks and giving.
Sabbath Beans story is © 2004 Baal Shem Tov Foundation – a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization.
“Dedicated to spreading the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov” –www.baalshemtov.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
Nov 15 2009 hannah and Prayer
what if This picture of Hanna in I Samuel this morning is a picture of prayer..
Did you get the image, or at least the feeling, of deep intense prayer.?
.prayer from the center of the heart..
and nothing is holding her back
prayer out of some deep pain ....b ut perhaps also
from a place of some deep hope
deep faith / deep love and desire
I see this as follow up to the lesson last week , about longing for God (Ps 42)
I see that same kind of desire with Hanna
and the yearning to be a blessing for God
she has felt that she was barren and worthless to God
and to the world.
.
The story is about moving from barrenness to blessing
spiritual barrenness to spiritual blessing
As she pours out her heart...............
it says she was praying silently... her lips were moving...
it says in some translations she was pouring our her soul
just hold on to that phrase for this image of prayer..
Now let me bring that out with a story from India
.I think it will help us see something in the story of Hanna as well
Its about an emperor, and a peasant women and prayer
Once upon a time
there was an emperor named Akiba
he was good leader and just and fair
..but every once in a while
the burdens of being a good ruler Would get to him
and he would need to go out hunting for the day
just to get away from it all..
Of course being an emperor
he would bring along his servants and a few guards for the hunt as well.
But in this day they had not gotten anything.
. Not even the sight of a deer.
And the emperor was frustrated and annoyed.
This was not turning out to be the kind of relaxing and joyful day that he needed
and so
he began to take out his feelings on the servants and members of the court who traveled along.
Then it came time for the prayers....
So...faithful to there tradition
they got off their horses and gathered together for the ritual.
They knelt down facing to the east
With their heads touching to the ground.
But akaba.
.even though he was saying the prayers
and following all the practices...
Still had a lot of things on his mind...
The worries of the kingdom/
his desire to go home with a good deer from the hunt,
he wanted
to have some sense of contentment.
.some good feeling/ before he would have to go back and face all those decisions
..all that work and responsibility
so many people depending on him..
He was thinking how he never really got to get away from his work
And now here it was and god..the compassionate one. Was not even letting him enjoy the simple satisfaction of a good hunt.
He blessed God in his prayers..
But he was hoping that after the prayers.
His luck would change
and he would get a chance to catch something
Now..
at the same time..while this was going on..
deep in the heart of the forest.
There was an older women
she was married..
And early that same morning..
Her husband had gone off into the woods
she was getting very worried
because he had been gone for a long time/ longer than it should have taken him.
And she loved him deeply
and was afraid that something had happened to him.
now just at the same time that akaba the Emperor and all his servants were kneeling down on the ground....to pray
she decided to go off looking for her husband..
Pretty soon she was just frantic..
. Running in every direction.
.up and down the trails
backtracking where she had been before.
More and more worried about her husband.
and in the intensify of her search..
She wasn’t watching where she was going..
And somehow..
She managed to actually trip over the emperor himself..
Because he was down there
bowed down in prayer..
.and she wasn’t looking down on the ground.
Well she got up..
Didn’t even pay attention to the emperor..
And ran off once again...deeper into the forest.
Looking so intently for her husband
The emperor was very annoyed..
But he finished his prayers along with everyone else..
And them.
Since eye was th emperor after all.
He sent some of his soldiers to go and find that women who had tripped over him,
and bring her back .
In the meantime
the women found her husband
. And she was filled with joy.
He was old..and not feeling well..
And he need her help
he had fallen
and she was helping him to get back to the house.
But the soldiers found her and dragged her back to the emperor.
he was giving her quite a scolding..
She needed to know what she had done!
.didn’t you notice
that you had tripped over somebody ?
and not only that..but he was the emperor..
Didn’t she even notice that.
She simply said..
What were you doing down there on the ground in the first place.
He said I was saying my prayers
and she said to the emperor
you were saying your prayers..
kneeling..face down to the ground
facing east.. With your head touching the earth
supposedly praying to the great Lord of the universe..
And still you noticed
that some one tripped over you.?!
What kind of concentration is that
she went on to say
While here I am
simply chasing after my husband..whom I love dearly
and so I did not notice you
You see
I was paying attention to my search
and my devotion
but you.
.if you
if you said your prayers better
you would have been paying more attention to the lord of the universe
and your search and your devotion
and then if you had been doing that..
you would not have even noticed
when someone fell over you.
The emperor listened to these worlds
and he was embarrassed.
Its true.. He had been distracted..in his attention...he had been self centered in his attention
while she..had not..
So in fact he gave the women some gifts..to honor her..
and sent her back to her home ..to her beloved husband..
And later
whenever
the emperor prayed.
He was not concerned about anything else
but God..
The compassionate One
and how he kept his attention on his prayer
and whenever somebody asked him
how he learned to pray that way..
He told them about a simple peasant women
who loved her husband..
And concentrated on the devotion.
And taught him to love the lord of the universe
and what prayer really was..
I m sure we could hear that story at several different levels.
It raises all kinds of questions
maybe we could see that the women is a picture of prayer
because she is passionate...
In her search
are you passionate in your prayer...
Or maybe she is picture of prayer
because what she is doing
an example of caring.
.she is up and moving ,
,taking action in her search for her husband
could determined..caring action be a picture of prayer? ..I think so
prayer as compassion
Passionate prayer that comes from deep within us.
prayer...as devotion..prayer as focus.
.prayer as the concentration of heart...
All of that fits in ..
But it reminded me of a definition of prayer from Simone Weil a french philosopher
she said
absolutely unmixed attention was prayer..
Prayer as absolutely unmixed attention
it seems to me
that the way the woman in the story was whole heartedly searching for her Husband
.. That was unmixed attention
in fact
many spiritual traditions
including some voices in Judaism and Christianity..
Would say that learning to pay attention
is a basic spiritual practice for prayer..
..........
When I was on renewal leave this summer
we spent a day on a spiritual retreat
and we learned about some Buddhist traditions
and for the meal time
we were told to eat without talking..eat in silence
...
Just pay attention to the experience of the food and the eating,
chew each bite
maybe 20 times or more
..slowly...deliberate taste it.
. And pay attention to it..
Thich Nhat Hanh.
.is a Buddhist monk who has written some great material in the Buddhist /Christian dialogue and how we can understand each other
he talks about the mediation practice of mindfulness when you eat
and he says Don't put anything else into your mouth, like your projects, your worries, your fear, just put the carrot in.
And when you chew, chew only the carrot,
not your projects or your ideas.
( The Path of Emancipation: Talks from a 21-Day Mindfulness Retreat)
but you know that not the not the way I normally eat...
even when I say a pray... before I eat (,,and I usually do that)
but then.. I still don’t pay that much attention to the food..
Do you?
Im more distracted when I eat.
I don’t really treat the gift of food like a blessing
..I don’t really turn my meals into act of thankfulness .
.but paying attention to it.
even though I said “Thank you god..in my prayer..bless this food
Wouldn’t it be more..a true prayer or deeper prayer
a meal time prayer
or a table grace
If I I actually continued to to thank God
by paying attention,, and treasured this gift of food as the blessing that it is..
Don’t just say a table prayer.
.but let that time become prayer at the table
I think you can adapt that..so that it also a time to pay loving attention to the people with you the table..
Try it some time.
... some people would call this the prayer of mindfulness..
Being present to the gifts of God
Prayer as unmixed attention.
Where and when do you come close to that ?
maybe your prayer times
Are those moments
when you lose yourself in the satisfaction of some good project.
..or some time
..maybe holding or playing with a child
or a grandchild
or working with the garden
or on some walk .
or maybe in music,
,when it just holds your attention and moves you along
in the moments
when you got caught up in something that touches your heart for good..and for God
That s a moment of prayer.
One of the biggest ways that we misunderstand prayer.
is that we make it too complicated..
or we define it in just very narrow ways
we make it into something that is beyond us. or limited to the church
We seem to have made up a lot of narrow religious definitions of what prayer is.
..
And Im also sure that at least 99 percent of us. Want to learn and grow in our prayer life
Well I am still learning more and more about prayer as well.
.and Im seeing that prayer
is simply being with God
prayer is paying attention.
.trying to be awake
to the presence of God
notice..watching for God
in all the experiences of Life
I think that what Paul pointed to when he said pray without ceasing...
.live prayerfully. Live .intentionally..
prayer is listening
and opening the eyes and ears of the heart
and prayer
is simply opening myself to God
with whatever honesty I have in my life at that time .
..being honest with my ups and downs
being honest and open with my life
paying attention to God in whatever yearnings and worries
and pains and fears I might have.
That what I see in Hanna this morning...
Pouring out her soul
paying attention to her life
she comes with such a passion
..such freedom
as she comes before God..
I would say that she comes to God with all her heart.. soul ,mind and strength
remember when Jesus said that the most important thing of all
was to love God
with all your heart soul mind and strength
and to love your neighbors as yourself
that sounds like a guide for prayer as well
it sound s like mindfulness...heartfulnes
.soul fullness
unmixed attention
Now Here is the homework for the week
(Can I give you homework)
Follow this lesson plan
pay attention to something....in a prayerful way
use it as a lesson to practice on
to grow your prayer life
pay attention to some person..
Some experience..it might be some problem
.something around you or in you
or
in the words about Hanna
Listen for the ways that you might be pouring out your soul.
What do you do..soulfully...?
Maybe we can hear the invitation to do the same
simply pray like that..
Pray from the inside..
Pray with your soul
pray with the honesty and with an open and passionate attention...that comes from the center of your life.
.from the heart
give your prayerful attention
this week in some way of love.
Pray with love.
.maybe that’s also what it means to pray in the name of Jesus Christ
And to pray for Gods will to be done
it means
To pray with love..
I think that’s the prayer life we are a looking for
pray.. in whatever way takes your heart..to God..
Amen
M Mckenna is my source for this story of the women and the emperor
McKenna Parables 98
Monday, September 14, 2009
Sorry I have not posted for so long. Of course I went 8 Sundays without writing a sermon while I was on a renewal leave in Australia and New Zealand...but will try to catch up soon.
Last Sunday we had a chidren's musical during the services, and the Sunday before that, pastor Jeff preached at Park church
Sunday Services at Park church are 9:30 and 11:15 plus we have added a midweek communion time at noon (12:05) Wednesdays.
We often have an audio recording of the Sunday service, available at the church office.
Thanks for checking in!
With metta...........
and blessings
Rory
Last Sunday we had a chidren's musical during the services, and the Sunday before that, pastor Jeff preached at Park church
Sunday Services at Park church are 9:30 and 11:15 plus we have added a midweek communion time at noon (12:05) Wednesdays.
We often have an audio recording of the Sunday service, available at the church office.
Thanks for checking in!
With metta...........
and blessings
Rory
Thursday, July 2, 2009
the chest of drawers
I got it
at rummage sale
it was 35 dollars
The person
said that her grandmother had it
(or maybe it was a great grandma )
it was old and very well used
even though it had had some ornate decorations
the top was covered up with lots of scratches
the person showed me where as kid
she had scratched her name into the top
it was interesting piece
And we could use it,,
least thats what I told myself
I needed a project like that
so I started refinishing it
The scratches on the top were just in the varnish
and they came right out
but then
I noticed
that it had this chunk of wood splintered off in the back
(But it was just in the the back)
and some of the old stain
was actually covering up some tough stains
.
and there were some other scratches
that were a little deeper
even a gouge or too
this furniture had been though a few repairs
some of the repairs
were pretty good
I could see some old staples
in the drawers corners
and then
there was the place where
It had been hit with a hammer
right in the front
...had those hammer head dents
but I kept working on it
and some
of those wear marks and hammer marks
(we could call them stress marks
maybe some antiquing)
and basically
its going to work out
I think it looks pretty good
its got character
I would say ..its one of a kind...you cant buy something like that.
now
somebody else
might have lookd at that chest of drawers
and said
that’s just a beat up old piece of furniture
not worth much at all
maybe its junk
it had already sat there
for a day without being sold
but I saw
some thing there..
Im thinking
that we are like that old chest of drawers
wouldn’t you like to be treated like that chest of of drawers
in this way
Don’t you want somebody to look at you
and see something in you
despite or inspite of
what you might look like
on the outside
and what has happened in your life
here is the question
What is in you
behind the damage
and the stains
and the scratches
and the wear and the tear ?
what is inside of you?
underneath the homemade self repairs
that maybe worked out
or maybe they didn’t ..
but nevertheless its what happened
isnt there something in side of you
that is deeper
than the hammer marks
so to speak
well there is
there is
something like that in you
and in the church
we call that your soul
you got soul
we are the kind of people
l who believe in things that cant always be seen
we believe in things like souls
You have an inner design and a beauty
you have a value and character
that is still there
always there
even though your outside
your surface life
your circumstances
might not
look like much sometimes
you are a soul
twe are gods children
we are spiritual being
with a living connection to God
we are not just what goes on in the surface s of our life
ths is abid deal!!!
we need to hear that again and again
we are not just our conditions
you are not just a body
not just a gender
not just a nationality
not just a job
not just a number
not just
any of those conditions or circumstances
of course all of that of Touches you
shapes you.
.its part of your identiy
don’t misunderstand me. .its all wrapped up with you
and in many way its your story
just as the dresser has a story
So and so
carved her name in this place
and it has this broken part
that Happened
And all that
that furniture
was in a certain house
it had its history
so do we all
but you
are still something else
There is still
that essential design and value
within you
a diserability
this character of your own
..a uniqueness
you are a child of God
and Gods sees you that way
you are a beloved soul
no matter what has happened
God sees that in you
god loves you that way deeply
God see through the damages
and the wear and tear and
all of the ‘whatever"
god see your inner wonder
and treasures your soul
thats good news isnt it
do you believe that?
Do live liek that and behave like that
It means that you are seen with grace
Living with grace
is to see... and
to be seen
the way
that Jesus sees you
We see still need to be a church
like that today
Chrsitians that
sees that beauty and worth in every person
we need to be people
who can see beyond the surface
\can see
the trashed
abused
the stained
Patched up
and stilll love them
because we still know who
we all are
we know
that you are still a treasure
maybe there on the inside
and By god
by god grace
we are going to treat you that way
we do not discount people
or toss them away
we are in the restoration business
the refinishing work of Jesus Christ
let God love you at that core
at the center
in your soul
And love everyone else through you
at your..true life.
How is it with you soul
as you leave the doors
of ths sanctuary this morning
walk out of here as a living soul
and as best you can.
.by the Help of God
do not hurt a living soul
I got it
at rummage sale
it was 35 dollars
The person
said that her grandmother had it
(or maybe it was a great grandma )
it was old and very well used
even though it had had some ornate decorations
the top was covered up with lots of scratches
the person showed me where as kid
she had scratched her name into the top
it was interesting piece
And we could use it,,
least thats what I told myself
I needed a project like that
so I started refinishing it
The scratches on the top were just in the varnish
and they came right out
but then
I noticed
that it had this chunk of wood splintered off in the back
(But it was just in the the back)
and some of the old stain
was actually covering up some tough stains
.
and there were some other scratches
that were a little deeper
even a gouge or too
this furniture had been though a few repairs
some of the repairs
were pretty good
I could see some old staples
in the drawers corners
and then
there was the place where
It had been hit with a hammer
right in the front
...had those hammer head dents
but I kept working on it
and some
of those wear marks and hammer marks
(we could call them stress marks
maybe some antiquing)
and basically
its going to work out
I think it looks pretty good
its got character
I would say ..its one of a kind...you cant buy something like that.
now
somebody else
might have lookd at that chest of drawers
and said
that’s just a beat up old piece of furniture
not worth much at all
maybe its junk
it had already sat there
for a day without being sold
but I saw
some thing there..
Im thinking
that we are like that old chest of drawers
wouldn’t you like to be treated like that chest of of drawers
in this way
Don’t you want somebody to look at you
and see something in you
despite or inspite of
what you might look like
on the outside
and what has happened in your life
here is the question
What is in you
behind the damage
and the stains
and the scratches
and the wear and the tear ?
what is inside of you?
underneath the homemade self repairs
that maybe worked out
or maybe they didn’t ..
but nevertheless its what happened
isnt there something in side of you
that is deeper
than the hammer marks
so to speak
well there is
there is
something like that in you
and in the church
we call that your soul
you got soul
we are the kind of people
l who believe in things that cant always be seen
we believe in things like souls
You have an inner design and a beauty
you have a value and character
that is still there
always there
even though your outside
your surface life
your circumstances
might not
look like much sometimes
you are a soul
twe are gods children
we are spiritual being
with a living connection to God
we are not just what goes on in the surface s of our life
ths is abid deal!!!
we need to hear that again and again
we are not just our conditions
you are not just a body
not just a gender
not just a nationality
not just a job
not just a number
not just
any of those conditions or circumstances
of course all of that of Touches you
shapes you.
.its part of your identiy
don’t misunderstand me. .its all wrapped up with you
and in many way its your story
just as the dresser has a story
So and so
carved her name in this place
and it has this broken part
that Happened
And all that
that furniture
was in a certain house
it had its history
so do we all
but you
are still something else
There is still
that essential design and value
within you
a diserability
this character of your own
..a uniqueness
you are a child of God
and Gods sees you that way
you are a beloved soul
no matter what has happened
God sees that in you
god loves you that way deeply
God see through the damages
and the wear and tear and
all of the ‘whatever"
god see your inner wonder
and treasures your soul
thats good news isnt it
do you believe that?
Do live liek that and behave like that
It means that you are seen with grace
Living with grace
is to see... and
to be seen
the way
that Jesus sees you
We see still need to be a church
like that today
Chrsitians that
sees that beauty and worth in every person
we need to be people
who can see beyond the surface
\can see
the trashed
abused
the stained
Patched up
and stilll love them
because we still know who
we all are
we know
that you are still a treasure
maybe there on the inside
and By god
by god grace
we are going to treat you that way
we do not discount people
or toss them away
we are in the restoration business
the refinishing work of Jesus Christ
let God love you at that core
at the center
in your soul
And love everyone else through you
at your..true life.
How is it with you soul
as you leave the doors
of ths sanctuary this morning
walk out of here as a living soul
and as best you can.
.by the Help of God
do not hurt a living soul
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
PUMC March 22 2009 R Swenson Text Ephesians reading for the day
While were spiritually dead in our disobedience God brought us to life with Christ.
Hear that.?. Even when we were dead through our trespasses .. God made us alive together with Christ or in Christ..
by grace... you have been saved..
And raised us up.. With him.
.hear that? raised up ..that s resurrection ...language
we are alive ....you are alive..
What does that mean
or more importantly do you believe it ?
do yo believe that you really are alive
Rabbi Edwin Friedman . A great family systems therapist..
wrote this fable about a man who believed he was a dead
I tell it this way...one evening
a man came home .... and announced that he was dead
.Of course , some of his neighbors
tried to show him
how foolish this idea was.
Just look they said ...you’re walking .... and dead men cannot move themselves.
You cant be dead.. because your thinking,
you’re brain is functioning, your breathing
and those after all
are typical examples of being alive
But none of that had any effect on the man
No matter what reason they came up with
no matter how sensible the argument was
the man insisted ...that he was dead.
He answered their arguments with great skill.
He seemed to have a way of constantly putting the burden of proof back on them
. He never came right out and said, "Prove it."
But that was the message that he implied,
not so much by how he answered
as by how he avoided giving any answer at all.
Every now and then
someone thought,
"Now, I’ve pinned him down,"
now I’ve got evidence that he is alive..its so obvious.. no one could deny it.
But then he would use his trump:
"If I am dead, ..he would say ..then you don’t exist either,
because the living do not talk... or travel with the dead
Eventually
most of his friends and neighbors ..just quit arguing with him
and the few that were left
including his own family,
got very afraid
Several of them came to the same conclusion:
He had gone mad, or at the very least,
he was suffering from an erratic mental process.
Maybe it was Exhaustion from work, ?
A brain tumor?
He needs a rest,
we’ll call a doctor,
perhaps a psychiatrist,
maybe the family physician,
or call the minister.
The man, however,
was not upset by any of these suggestions.
He shrugged them off without even making any reply
and finally he said,
"I don’t know what’s the matter with you all.
It is just absurd
to think of a dead man ...as tired,
let alone sick."
His wife,
was almost literally beside herself
and she was thinking to herself
("If he believes this,
then how can he say that?
If he does that, .......how can he think this?")
the fear and the frustration in the house was so intense
they needed some outside help
so they invited a psychiatrist to interview him.
After some preliminary questions,
the doctor wanted to see the man alone.
And the man
agreed.
The two of them went into another room
and closed the door.
Now and then
you could hear a voice getting louder from the room
though nothing could be understood.
It was clear, however,
that the voice they heard getting louder belonged to the psychiatrist.
Some time later,
both men came back to the living room
The doctor had his jacket over his arm,
his necktie had been loosened
and his collar open
(in fact, the collar button was nt even there any more ).
As for the man,
he seemed totally unchanged.
"Hopelessly psychotic," muttered the psychiatrist.
"You will have to have him committed.
He has lost all awareness of reality.
If you want, I’ll call the hospital
and see if they have room."
But the man
said very calmly to the psychiatrist
"Now really,"
"what kind of therapy would you prescribe... for a dead man?
You do realize, doctor , of course
how ridiculous it would make you look
if they heard that you were trying to give therapy to a dead man?
Talk about losing your grip on reality!
The doctor started to answer,
but then
caught himself, and just left.
Next...... the family decided to bring in the clergy
well,, The family minister was not available.
So who should they get
Which type would be best?
Should they get the modern kind of pastor
with sophistication about psychological problems?
Or would it be better
a good old-fashioned fundamentalist?
someone said
"Let’s fight fire with fire,"
Now As it happened, that very evening
a well-known evangelist was in town
preaching at a nearby theater.
and when the preacher heard about the problem he rushed over,
he was thinking that a success with something like this.
.could really add something to the show
Once again,
the two men went into another room
the little group of family and friends
was waiting in the living room
they could here the voices behind the closed door.
Again, nothing that was audible, ,,they could not make out the words
again the rising tone,
again
never the man’s voice rising.
This time the clergyman came out alone
he looked at everyone,
.he seemed all shook up.
Then he kissed his little black book,
and bolted out the door.
Some of the family peeked into the room;
and
the man was fast asleep.
Then they decided
to call the family doctor
This doctor had known the man since he was a little boy,
and he was well known
not only for his medical reputation ... for patience and skill,
but he had this kind of old fashioned....down to earth wisdom.
He came right away
and after a couple of questions in front of everyone,
he said to the man ..
in a no-nonsense way,
"Tell me,..... do dead men bleed?"
"Of course not," said the man...dead men don’t bleed
"Then,"
said the doctor,
"would you allow me to make a small cut in your arm,
say
above the elbow?
I will treat it
; there’s no reason to worry about infection,
and we can see, once and for all,
whether you are dead."
again the man was not worried about anything
he simply said
"Doctor,
"Dead men do not get infections,
nor do they bleed,"
and he started to roll up his sleeve.
everyone was watching anxiously,
the doctor neatly slit the flesh,
and blood came spurting out.
There was a sigh of relief.. joy even
throughout the group.
Some laughed, others even applauded,
The doctor very quickly dressed the wound
and turned to everyone,
he said
"Well, I hope that puts an end
to this foolishness."
They were congratulating the doctor and thanking him
when they suddenly realized
that the man was headed for the door.
As he opened it, he turned to the group
and said, "I see that I was wrong...
dead men,
in fact, do bleed."
That’s the fable..
And of course its used as lesson
how deeply do get stuck in our denial and insist on our beliefs
no matter what anyone says , we get stubborn about our verison of the truth
I thought of that story
along with the words form Ephesians
and the very central truth of the gospel
we are alive..in Christ
so what’s the problem?
Aren’t we like the man in freidmans fable?
we keep insisting that we are dead
that we are dead men and dead women
we keep insisting
or acting as if we are spiritually dead
but the message from Ephesians this morning
says ...that we are not dead
well ok
yes
we used to be dead
we have been dead
and yes we might possibly still be dead
acting like we are dead
but the real truth
is that we have been raised with Christ
we are alive,, believe it or not
you are not dead..to the new life
So come alive.
.that the invitation
,the call..even the command of the Gospel
did you also here verse 10
we have been made alive
so we can do good deeds ..do good works
we are alive for Gods purpose...
for are being made alive for our true purpose of life
this is all part of that great faith language
spiritual understandings
about new birth.... new life
and being a new creation..
It’s the same idea as the born agin language in John 3
or the words about being in the light..and being alive
.but we are so good at denying ...this life.
How do we keep insisting that we are dead?
well..maybe it sound like this..
Listen to the words we use:
You have to look our for number one
Nothing ever changes
People never reelay change
he will always be that way
nothing good will ever come from her
or maybe..
"I can never get over this..
I will never be happy again"
Does that sound like words of the spiritual living or the dead..
we never did it that way before ?
this is hopeless.... We’re doomed
its will always be this way
its impossible
language of death
Whatever happened to the power of hope
and life
and new creation
as in
Christ has died and Christ is risen!
we are heading to the resurrection message on Easter morning
and part of that message is that if we can believe the resurrection
as the power of God
raising the dead
if you believe in the resurrection of Jesus
then you should be able to believe just about anything
right
what could be more impossible than that!
well how about your new resurrection..your new beginnings..
The resurrection in this world!
The overcoming of death and its powers
Y ou too are raised with Christ.
.in Christ
then we are opening the door
To power and vision that is beyond imagination
Easter in the resurrection of Christ says we too
a re a new creation
alive
yes we are dead to sin
we are dead to the powers of destruction a and oppression
dead to the power of greed
dead to whatever separates us from God and one another
dead to the power of violence
dead to the political powers of Caesar and Rome..or the rulers we have today
dead to the power of selfishness
dead to the powers of domination and injustice
Dead to all of that spirit killing behavior
but we are also alive
What are you alive to ?
alive to forgiveness. .reconciliation...
a live to the possibilities of peace..no matter what the nightly news seems to say
As the church
we are alive to mission and compassion
we are alive to the call of God
alive to the vision of God
where ther hungry are fed... they shall surdy war no more
we are alive to the kind community welcome...that gathers everyone
opening hearts...opening minds..opening the doors
going across the narrow boundaries of this world
In this new life in Christ
we are alive to the One who ate with tax collectors and sinners
bringing in .. the outcast
alive to the gospel of Gods redeemign love
life changing love
alive to prayer ..alive to the word of God
we are alive
to the life of faith hope and love
Jesus makes me alive to you ..
and you are being alive to the people next to you
to love your neighbor as you love yourself
alive to the pains of the world
to do as Paul
to suffer with those who suffer ..and to rejoice with those who rejoice
that’s life
so how is it with us this morning ?
more dead that alive
ready to come alive
As a church
as a person in your heart and soul .in your actions
are you open to the new ideas
the new surprises
are we alive to the urges of repentance and renewal
the new dream,,
the new courage
alive to the future
alive to the true life
again.. If you think
that this Easter resurrection thing is all about the time when you get put in a grave
well ..that’s just part of the message.
that is too small of a gospel
you are raised with Chrsit into new life.....Now..
And that what our ministry is all about,,,here at park church
in Jesus Christ..
raising the dead..
...learning how to be alive in this faith
I came that you may have life Jesus said in John 10
and have it abundantly..eternally..
Thats what we say..we believe... Paul is saying to the church stop acting like your dead..to God
Hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.
.you are alive..by grace
by love
by the gift of God
you are alive... say it to the person next to you....by the grace of God .. you are alive
While were spiritually dead in our disobedience God brought us to life with Christ.
Hear that.?. Even when we were dead through our trespasses .. God made us alive together with Christ or in Christ..
by grace... you have been saved..
And raised us up.. With him.
.hear that? raised up ..that s resurrection ...language
we are alive ....you are alive..
What does that mean
or more importantly do you believe it ?
do yo believe that you really are alive
Rabbi Edwin Friedman . A great family systems therapist..
wrote this fable about a man who believed he was a dead
I tell it this way...one evening
a man came home .... and announced that he was dead
.Of course , some of his neighbors
tried to show him
how foolish this idea was.
Just look they said ...you’re walking .... and dead men cannot move themselves.
You cant be dead.. because your thinking,
you’re brain is functioning, your breathing
and those after all
are typical examples of being alive
But none of that had any effect on the man
No matter what reason they came up with
no matter how sensible the argument was
the man insisted ...that he was dead.
He answered their arguments with great skill.
He seemed to have a way of constantly putting the burden of proof back on them
. He never came right out and said, "Prove it."
But that was the message that he implied,
not so much by how he answered
as by how he avoided giving any answer at all.
Every now and then
someone thought,
"Now, I’ve pinned him down,"
now I’ve got evidence that he is alive..its so obvious.. no one could deny it.
But then he would use his trump:
"If I am dead, ..he would say ..then you don’t exist either,
because the living do not talk... or travel with the dead
Eventually
most of his friends and neighbors ..just quit arguing with him
and the few that were left
including his own family,
got very afraid
Several of them came to the same conclusion:
He had gone mad, or at the very least,
he was suffering from an erratic mental process.
Maybe it was Exhaustion from work, ?
A brain tumor?
He needs a rest,
we’ll call a doctor,
perhaps a psychiatrist,
maybe the family physician,
or call the minister.
The man, however,
was not upset by any of these suggestions.
He shrugged them off without even making any reply
and finally he said,
"I don’t know what’s the matter with you all.
It is just absurd
to think of a dead man ...as tired,
let alone sick."
His wife,
was almost literally beside herself
and she was thinking to herself
("If he believes this,
then how can he say that?
If he does that, .......how can he think this?")
the fear and the frustration in the house was so intense
they needed some outside help
so they invited a psychiatrist to interview him.
After some preliminary questions,
the doctor wanted to see the man alone.
And the man
agreed.
The two of them went into another room
and closed the door.
Now and then
you could hear a voice getting louder from the room
though nothing could be understood.
It was clear, however,
that the voice they heard getting louder belonged to the psychiatrist.
Some time later,
both men came back to the living room
The doctor had his jacket over his arm,
his necktie had been loosened
and his collar open
(in fact, the collar button was nt even there any more ).
As for the man,
he seemed totally unchanged.
"Hopelessly psychotic," muttered the psychiatrist.
"You will have to have him committed.
He has lost all awareness of reality.
If you want, I’ll call the hospital
and see if they have room."
But the man
said very calmly to the psychiatrist
"Now really,"
"what kind of therapy would you prescribe... for a dead man?
You do realize, doctor , of course
how ridiculous it would make you look
if they heard that you were trying to give therapy to a dead man?
Talk about losing your grip on reality!
The doctor started to answer,
but then
caught himself, and just left.
Next...... the family decided to bring in the clergy
well,, The family minister was not available.
So who should they get
Which type would be best?
Should they get the modern kind of pastor
with sophistication about psychological problems?
Or would it be better
a good old-fashioned fundamentalist?
someone said
"Let’s fight fire with fire,"
Now As it happened, that very evening
a well-known evangelist was in town
preaching at a nearby theater.
and when the preacher heard about the problem he rushed over,
he was thinking that a success with something like this.
.could really add something to the show
Once again,
the two men went into another room
the little group of family and friends
was waiting in the living room
they could here the voices behind the closed door.
Again, nothing that was audible, ,,they could not make out the words
again the rising tone,
again
never the man’s voice rising.
This time the clergyman came out alone
he looked at everyone,
.he seemed all shook up.
Then he kissed his little black book,
and bolted out the door.
Some of the family peeked into the room;
and
the man was fast asleep.
Then they decided
to call the family doctor
This doctor had known the man since he was a little boy,
and he was well known
not only for his medical reputation ... for patience and skill,
but he had this kind of old fashioned....down to earth wisdom.
He came right away
and after a couple of questions in front of everyone,
he said to the man ..
in a no-nonsense way,
"Tell me,..... do dead men bleed?"
"Of course not," said the man...dead men don’t bleed
"Then,"
said the doctor,
"would you allow me to make a small cut in your arm,
say
above the elbow?
I will treat it
; there’s no reason to worry about infection,
and we can see, once and for all,
whether you are dead."
again the man was not worried about anything
he simply said
"Doctor,
"Dead men do not get infections,
nor do they bleed,"
and he started to roll up his sleeve.
everyone was watching anxiously,
the doctor neatly slit the flesh,
and blood came spurting out.
There was a sigh of relief.. joy even
throughout the group.
Some laughed, others even applauded,
The doctor very quickly dressed the wound
and turned to everyone,
he said
"Well, I hope that puts an end
to this foolishness."
They were congratulating the doctor and thanking him
when they suddenly realized
that the man was headed for the door.
As he opened it, he turned to the group
and said, "I see that I was wrong...
dead men,
in fact, do bleed."
That’s the fable..
And of course its used as lesson
how deeply do get stuck in our denial and insist on our beliefs
no matter what anyone says , we get stubborn about our verison of the truth
I thought of that story
along with the words form Ephesians
and the very central truth of the gospel
we are alive..in Christ
so what’s the problem?
Aren’t we like the man in freidmans fable?
we keep insisting that we are dead
that we are dead men and dead women
we keep insisting
or acting as if we are spiritually dead
but the message from Ephesians this morning
says ...that we are not dead
well ok
yes
we used to be dead
we have been dead
and yes we might possibly still be dead
acting like we are dead
but the real truth
is that we have been raised with Christ
we are alive,, believe it or not
you are not dead..to the new life
So come alive.
.that the invitation
,the call..even the command of the Gospel
did you also here verse 10
we have been made alive
so we can do good deeds ..do good works
we are alive for Gods purpose...
for are being made alive for our true purpose of life
this is all part of that great faith language
spiritual understandings
about new birth.... new life
and being a new creation..
It’s the same idea as the born agin language in John 3
or the words about being in the light..and being alive
.but we are so good at denying ...this life.
How do we keep insisting that we are dead?
well..maybe it sound like this..
Listen to the words we use:
You have to look our for number one
Nothing ever changes
People never reelay change
he will always be that way
nothing good will ever come from her
or maybe..
"I can never get over this..
I will never be happy again"
Does that sound like words of the spiritual living or the dead..
we never did it that way before ?
this is hopeless.... We’re doomed
its will always be this way
its impossible
language of death
Whatever happened to the power of hope
and life
and new creation
as in
Christ has died and Christ is risen!
we are heading to the resurrection message on Easter morning
and part of that message is that if we can believe the resurrection
as the power of God
raising the dead
if you believe in the resurrection of Jesus
then you should be able to believe just about anything
right
what could be more impossible than that!
well how about your new resurrection..your new beginnings..
The resurrection in this world!
The overcoming of death and its powers
Y ou too are raised with Christ.
.in Christ
then we are opening the door
To power and vision that is beyond imagination
Easter in the resurrection of Christ says we too
a re a new creation
alive
yes we are dead to sin
we are dead to the powers of destruction a and oppression
dead to the power of greed
dead to whatever separates us from God and one another
dead to the power of violence
dead to the political powers of Caesar and Rome..or the rulers we have today
dead to the power of selfishness
dead to the powers of domination and injustice
Dead to all of that spirit killing behavior
but we are also alive
What are you alive to ?
alive to forgiveness. .reconciliation...
a live to the possibilities of peace..no matter what the nightly news seems to say
As the church
we are alive to mission and compassion
we are alive to the call of God
alive to the vision of God
where ther hungry are fed... they shall surdy war no more
we are alive to the kind community welcome...that gathers everyone
opening hearts...opening minds..opening the doors
going across the narrow boundaries of this world
In this new life in Christ
we are alive to the One who ate with tax collectors and sinners
bringing in .. the outcast
alive to the gospel of Gods redeemign love
life changing love
alive to prayer ..alive to the word of God
we are alive
to the life of faith hope and love
Jesus makes me alive to you ..
and you are being alive to the people next to you
to love your neighbor as you love yourself
alive to the pains of the world
to do as Paul
to suffer with those who suffer ..and to rejoice with those who rejoice
that’s life
so how is it with us this morning ?
more dead that alive
ready to come alive
As a church
as a person in your heart and soul .in your actions
are you open to the new ideas
the new surprises
are we alive to the urges of repentance and renewal
the new dream,,
the new courage
alive to the future
alive to the true life
again.. If you think
that this Easter resurrection thing is all about the time when you get put in a grave
well ..that’s just part of the message.
that is too small of a gospel
you are raised with Chrsit into new life.....Now..
And that what our ministry is all about,,,here at park church
in Jesus Christ..
raising the dead..
...learning how to be alive in this faith
I came that you may have life Jesus said in John 10
and have it abundantly..eternally..
Thats what we say..we believe... Paul is saying to the church stop acting like your dead..to God
Hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.
.you are alive..by grace
by love
by the gift of God
you are alive... say it to the person next to you....by the grace of God .. you are alive
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
