Sept 23 Confirmation notes

PUMC Sept 23 2007 Rory Swenson

Confirmation is always a great day and I have enjoyed getting to know the three of you a little more.Actually my favorite part of the whole confirmation journey
is the opportunity to get a sense of who you are
and hear your thoughts..

We got together on Wednesday evening for most of the school year last year..

And as always .there is a lot that we didn’t get covered.. You are not Bible experts

and really you still have a lot to learn about John Wesley and the United Methodist church and you have a lot of spiritual growing to do..

But thats ok
because thats just how it is, for all of us.
So we need you to be in Sunday classes and youth group.and mission trips and Bible studies and worship....from now

That means two things; I am going to use this a time to give another confirmation lesson to the class
and secondly, I use this a s time to remind you that confirmation is not an ending but a beginning.
I want you to know that this is not anything like graduation:
you are not graduating from your Christian education
you are not graduating from a class
you are not graduating
from the training program of the church

This is a beginning,
so instead of graduation,I want you to think more like matriculation.


Now... do you know what a matriculation ceremony is?
Matriculation is the admission ceremony

Its when you sign in to a school ..such as a college..
You enroll.
(We just went to one of those ceremonies for my daughter Sara)

matriculation

maybe that’s what this is: that means the confirmation program
was more like an application process with the admissions interviews and
you have now met some admission requirements with grace

Now
you are going to actually start the next level of learning
now
you are going to be officially in the membership program
now you are going to start
Formally
at the school of faith as a disciple of Jesus Christ
I like that.

.you are saying that now I will be a student in this discipline

not a graduation but a matriculation
not an ending but a beginning

As you start your formal admission
into the membership life of the church

I want to give you a couple of confirmation presents..

That’s what I have here over on the side.
And I’ve got a little story or a lesson to go with each one so let get to the presents


First of all

I got you a basket with a Bible in it.

and here’s the story that goes with the basket

This story goes way back to the days of the first monks
who lived in the deserts around Egypt.


One day there was a young man who came to an old hermit in the desert
and he wanted to know
....."How can I become holy and happy

but to do it quickly"

the old man said
Its easy, just go to one of those caves over there
and take your scriptures with you. Read them day and night and you will find what you are looking for.

So off he went...And he did what he was told to do then in three days he came back to the old Master
"How it going?"

The young man said its going terrible
he said he was bored
and his mind kept wandering

and he didn’t remember anything that he read

and not only that but he didn’t understand.

The old man just smiled


he said Don’t worry,You are doing fine. Go back and keep reading
every hour of the day but I want you to add something more;

get a basket and fil lit up with sand

and set it outside the front of your cave

then go down to the well
and get a bucket of fresh water

and pour it over the sand
do that twice a day

once in the morning and then again in the evening

then come back and see me in 7 days

to tell me how your doing.

So off the man went and again he did what he was told to do
and one week later he came back

Hows it going now?
the old man wanted to know

oh
Its still terrible

I fall asleep and my mind is still wandering

and I still don’t really understand it



ok now what about the sand?

and the young man said

“oh that...

well I pour the water in

just as you told me,

some of it leaks out of the basket

and some of it pools up at the top for a little while
and then it soaks into the sand”

Good said the old hermit

you are doing just fine

Now go back
and keep doing the same thing
and come back every week and tell me hows it going

again the man went off

and every week he came back ..had the same report

Nothing was happening at all.

One day though he came back and said
that something had changed

all the sand was gone fromthe basket.

“Good” said the old hermit


what do you mean good?
the young man said

I'm just as unholy as I was before and now im just poring water into a clean basket.

Yes , said the old man

(he had this twinkle in his eye)

and
don’t you see the same thing is happening to you..?

But you don’t see it..

You are the basket and the word of God is the water that you have been pouring over the sand.


That is the sand of your sins.or your needs
and your obstacles,your ignorance,your weakness, your prrde
your doubts and fears,
that is the sand
of your unhappiness
andyou impatience
or your selfishness


But the basket does not know
which drop of water washed away which grain of sand

but still
the sand just cant resist the water

in the same way you will not rmember

or even know
which word of God
washed away
which sin or trouble or barrier in your life

but everything that needs to change

will be changed.

As you let the word of God come into and over your life
again and again.

Your soul can’t stand up against the washing water of the Living word
as you let it soak into your life.

Some day , however

you will know what its like to be a clean basket
empty and more open
ready to carry
life or bread
or something that another person needs
you life will become a service and a gift to others.

So that why I gave youa basket and a Bible... let the word soak into you







and then ;second present; I got you a uniform... or a team jersey


here the story
Tom Long ..who teaches preaching
at one of our seminaries

talks about his step son

his step son
was a star cross country runner in high school

and for him cross country

was this whole way of life
they had doctrines or beliefs
so to speak
ideas about nutrition and exercise and aerobics

he believed
that you should fuel up on carbs the night before a race

and he believed in how important it was
to have a cool down period after a race

they had all these disciplines and rules

they encouraged each other
and pushed each other to do more

they learned a few techniques
to improve this or that..


he and the other runners
would get together
a lot of times before the sun was up

and they would runa few miles.

He ate a special diet
he would not drink any sugary pop

he went to bed early the night before a meet


he learned all this from his teammates
and from his coach
and he made it his own
He committed to it. Personally..

Now get this: Its the point I want to make

they had a high school year book .... like every other high school
and in that yearbook

there is a team picture that shows him being on the team.

But as Thomas Long puts it.
That picture merely shows that he was on the team

but did that make him a cross country runner?

Getting up at 5:30 AM to run seven miles with his team-mates is what made him a runner


doing those those other things that were talked about
thats what made him a runner

that is the same for Christianity


We are talking about a way of life

we have a set of practices
we have some beliefs and you do these things with other Christians

that what Christianity is all about

its not just being listed in the book
as a somebody on the team

its not just being in the picture
or even the confirmation picture
its showing up
getting up
to do the run in the race eof faith
doign the discipline

doing the work
loving
serving
praying..
Giving

Encouraging each other
being accountable
being coach able
Being here for worship and fellowship
getting on the mission team
Trusting
making peace
forgiving
doing good
stretching your spiritual muscles

following the spiritual diet of Gods word
its waking the walk..

So I gave you some kind of sports jersey to remind you
that you are called

to put un on this chrsitian life
and practice it..do it.

but it more than jsut the jersy

show up
for practice , run wit the team..
Don’t just be in the picture

with your white confirmation robe
even if it the confirmation Sunday picture

that is not what makes you into a Christian. And a member of the church

Its saying
yes to it
and making it your own
as part of the discipleship team

so those are the presents

matriculation presents
as you get admitted as a professing member
into the next step of your Christian jounrey

I hope you keep these things around as reminders
to let he Bible soak into your life
and to run the race.of faith. Do the actions
...............................................................
The Tom Long story is from Testimony p, 36, by Thomas G. Long Publisher Jossey-Bass

Megan McKenna, Keepers of the Story p. 101. was my source for those story from the Desert monastic traditions

Sermon conversations

The root meaning of the word "sermon" actually goes back to something closer to dialogue and conversation. Maybe this blog format is a way to do that. If further thoughts or questions come out of these sermon notes, or I need to clarify a typo, post your comments! Thanks

Bring it Home Easter 2007

Easter sermon 2007 PUMC “Go Home”

Christ is Risen ....that is the gospel of the church.

Now here’s the sermon.:

its very short..... Its to the point ..are you ready?

here it is......
“ Just go home.”

All of you
(Scott ...Jim, Loree.. Mary.. "Go home"
John ... Sara, ..Bob. Dorothy) etc //////////////

Go home!

Christ is risen..
Now be amazed and go home
.......................................................
really that’s a good Easter response

I’m not making this up.

I found it right here in the Bible.

You even heard it in the gospel lesson
the very last verse of the gospel reading from Luke

in verse 12
here...let me read it again:


“Peter got up and ran to the tomb;
he bent down
and saw the grave clothes by themselves..and nothing else.
Then he went back home
amazed at what had happened


you see..?.... he went back home

You know I’ve preached for about 30 years of Easter services
I have never noticed that verse before.
Now to be fair
some of the old manuscripts don’t even have this verse.
. (The New International version didn’t bother to translate it that way)

but this little note
is not just a fluke in Luke


I'm convinced that its supposed to be there..
Why?
because Johns gospel put it there as well..

Look it up.. John20 verse 10

Peter and this other disciple
ran to the tomb
they looked in
saw the grave clothes and they believed..

they didn’t understand it yet....
.but it says ‘they believed..

And in verse 10 it says
“then the disciples went home..”

So Now
in two of the gospels..it says” They went home”

We talked about this a little bit on Wednesday morning
in the bible study group

After something like that ...how do you just go home?!


We were puzzled....Didn’t have an answer

But I’ve been thinking about this ....and


that is what we do!

Its in this bible story ,,,,because that’s what we do!

After this Easter service

After you and I have made this Sunday morning run to the tomb
so to speak
after you and I have heard the Easter news

what are you gonna you do?

Well I know ,you might go to somebodies house ..you might go out to eat,..

But sooner or later
your gonna go back home!
you gotta go back home.


And that’s exactly what we re suppose to do!!!
bring it home.

Be amazed , . And then Somehow you gotta Go ahead
and Bring this gospel
bring .this truth ..take this experience home
..........................
Now listen

don’t lose me here!

Im sure There is a larger meaning to this going home

its gotta be a double meaning

so When I say bring it home

I don’t mean just a place with walls

but bring it here ....(.in here)
bring it home.
Into your life

in your heart..in your mind... and
in your soul

where you really live....deep inside of you

bring it home.

Christ is Risen..

Think about it..
pray about.
.study the scriptures.. .
.search your heart..
Open your mind.
let it be there

will you do that?

In the amazing wonder of it all.

And whatever you do....don’t forget it
....Don’t leave it here.. in the church

don’t leave it here in the Easter music
or the flowers
or even
just in your puzzled rational mind

but take it to your inner home

You gotta take this Easter thing all the way home
because
you know what?!

That’s where you need it..


You don’t need this faith just on a Sunday morning

You need it
Monday
Tues /wed /Thursday/ Frid /Saturday
24 /7
And You don’t need it just here in church when we get together..

you need it at school
and work .
.everywhere you go
you need this where ever you are
you gotta take it with you


Take it home

that means take it out it into this real world .

.your daily world

so when you go home and watch that news tonight

when you feel the pain of a war in Iraq
the famine of Sudan
when you see the hungry and the poor..
The corruption and the greed
the ruining of the environment
and the threat of terrorism
,,the tragedy of AIDS

when you are just plain down..

And the whole world seems down

then you can hear those words again..
.Christ is risen !

You will hear this Easter message that even the dead are raised.
And you will know what that means


..it means ....that all things are still possible
peace
is possible
healing is possible
. Change is possible
Easter tells us

the stones of impossibility... are rolled away...

So Listen to it..
Just believe it..
And take it home..

..
It will come to you ...close to home... in other ways as well.


maybe when you go home to that empty place at the table tonight
and you feel again your own dear grief..
(As many of us will do..)
As hard as it is..

Remember that Christ is risen
the dead shall live.
.love goes on
life goes on..

There is a peace that passes understanding

the light shine in the darkness ..
and the darkness does not over come it..
even the darkness of the tomb..
Sorrow and mourning shall flee away
and in the eternity of God
all is well.
All is well


On Easter morning
that promise is signed... sealed and delivered

just so you and I could take that assurance home
where you feel it most..
Where you need it most....

bring it home
...........................

when you feel the aches and pains of your own mortal body

then you go and look at the Easter tomb
where nothing of the body remains

the Gospels say only the linen wrappings remained

resurrection ...is telling us.. That life is more than this body..
The physical somehow
is gathered into the spiritual

Only the wrappings remain..

There is more to this life than meet the eyes

Easter tell us to look at the empty resurrection tomb

and then go home ..take it home
when you go through the valley of the shadow of death

take it home
you will be amazed

you really can take this all the way home

......
And maybe too
When you need to hear those words of Christ
saying to you
your sins are forgiven..
When you need to know how much you are loved..

When you need
so desperately to know.. that you can. begin again

...that hope is alive by the grace of God
then hear the word
that Christ is risen

forgiveness is real.. This wondrous love is still real


In the name of the Risen savior we are loved..
redeemed set free
free to
bring it home


On Easter Sunday

bring it all home
..........


But Most of all
just take this Savior with you as the very presence of God

Easter is a day to Bring Jesus home with you

still alive..
Not in the tomb of time and space
not bound to the pages of history

not just an idea or name
,or doctrine or a wish

not just far away in heaven
but a living revelation of God


I like the way Sister Joan Chittister puts it

one of the great Catholic writers of our day
she says
In Jesus Christ)
we are surely called to believe that God who is everywhere
is (still)with us.

And we are called to believe that this God is Energy and Love

(Did you hear that) energy and love

Not the grand Inquisitor
Not the great Circus master
Not the indifferent Professor who does distant research on our lives

God is the one who made for us... a good world

and walks with us... to hold us up.. as we go..”

To hold us up as we go


energy and Love

God with us..


We get to bring that kind of God home with us.

God is still making this good world
God is still giving us this energy and Love

God is still walking with us
holding us up as we go..

So lets go home in the presence of Jesus Christ
lets go home
with joy
with purpose with power

to be the witness..
and dare to dream... .

Share the good news..
write the check
say the word...
offer the hand
open the door
join the prayer.
Be the church

be the undefeated love ..alive and well.
that God has given us IN Jesus Christ



we get to believe it... even if we can not understand it

bring it home

.................................................

Thats what I hear In those simple words of Luke 24:12

amazed at what had happened
peter went home

that’s what God want us to do.

......................................................
For years
we have learned to say on Easter morning this traditional greeting “Christ is risen”

Christ is risen indeed

but this morning
lets me add another greeting.... as an early sending forth
its saying the same thing really

I’ll say Christ is risen
and you can respond
bring it home

lets do that
will you do that with me..
L: Christ is Risen .....
.C: Bring it home

now louder ,,,,Christ is risen.......
bring it home.....

louder ...
Christ is risen ...
bring it home

now quiet as a whisper

Christ is Risen ..... Bring it home..

Now pray it..
silently to your self as a prayer.

Christ is risen .....say the response as a silent prayer..
...............

That is my Easter prayer

that this risen savior will come to you ..as I know he will
and meet you at home
and finally be your home
and take you home.


Christ is Risen....let us be amazed and go home.

Nov 19 2006 Belonging to our Path

Nov 19 2006 PUMC Belonging to our Path

Megan Mckenna passes on a traditional story that goes something like this:

Once upon a time there was Jew named Abu Kassim who lived in a city in Turkey a long time ago
Now Abu was a rag seller and he worked very hard but luck was against him and he was always very poor.

Every morning Abu would walk up and down the street
trying to sell some rags.
“Rags for sale
rags for sale, Come and buy my rags”

But no one wanted any rags and Abu got desperately poor
he was so poor
that he was down to one torn old shirt. one ragged pair of pants
and no shoes at all.

And life was a hard struggle..

One day though,after he had been walking all morning
he sat down by the side of the road to take a little rest
and he opened up the little sack that his wife had given him
and he had a piece of crusty old bread for his lunch.
And as he took out his bread he saw an old man with long white bear coming down the roadcoming right toward him.

And he looked very tired so Abu greeted him..
“Good Day grandfather”
And the old man answered him
“Good day’

“Please,” said Abu,,
“you look so tired
why don’t you sit along side me and have some rest.”

And Abu offered him a piece of his bread.

Take this he said
You must be hungry I wish I had more to offer, but this is all I have.

The old man thanked him.. And took the bread and he ate it very slowly
when he finished eating the bread

he looked at Abu and said. You have a kind heart.
And I have the power to grant a wish
a special wish
Ask for anything you want..
and it shall be yours.

Abu Kassim was very surprised..and startled

O h he said..
if only I had a pair of shoes.

And all at once.

By some kind of miracle..
The man reached into Abus bag of rags
and pulled out some sandals.

Shiny brand new sandals.

Thank you! Thank you

Abu cried with delight This was something he could hardly believe

but right away he put on these new shoes.

They were made just for his feet. How comfortable they are
and how quickly he could walk in them.
.it was like they gave both speed and rest.. to his feet.

He knew they were the most wonderful shoes in the world..

more than he could imagine.
He turned around to thank the old man but he was gone!
And from that moment on when Abu put on those mysterious shoes.

His luck began to change.
Now he was walking faster than he ever walked before.
he would call out for the rags he was trying to sell,,

and people bought them
more and more
now he was taking home gold coins and profits every day.
Not long after that he opened his own shop.
He sold pants and shirts and skirts.
And best of all his prices were low..


He sold his clothes at a such a good price that even the poorest of the poor could afford to buy clothes..

and people came form all over the city..

The months went by..and the years went by
Abu breathed easier.

He built a house.
He had good clothes..
And he ate good food...not anything extragant....but just right
And he always remembered
to share the bulk of what he had with the poor.
He always shared with poor.
And all this time Abu kassim wore his sandals
those very same shoes.

Well of course ...as time went on they began to wear out..

they were now very shabby looking sandals,
a hole here
and tear there.
A rip or a crack.


One day
as he was talking to a neighbor
the neighbor said..
Abu what a fine shirt you have and some very nice pants
you even have a nice embroidered hat..

But what a shame
look at your shoes..
such ragged shoes for a man of your taste...who wears something like that!
I think it’s a disgrace..
So he looked at his sandals and this neighbor was right

and he was ashamed
he said to himself..
I have to get rid of these shoes
but how can I get rid of the shoes.
So the next day he went to the shoe shop
over to the cobbler and he got a new pair of shoes..some nice new sandals and he put them on..

And then on the way home he threw out his old sandals

he just tossed them into the river.

He watched them sink.. Happy really to be rid of them..

well
the very next morning 2 fisherman came knocking at his door..
Abu Kassim.... look at what we found in our nets..
And they held out his sandals.
All dripping and wet..
On no he thought to himself.
But.. he thanked them politely and sent them away.

How was he going to get rid of them.?

So then he went to the bath house.
He had them tucked under his arms
you know how things are always disappearing at the bath house.
So he left them there..

Someone was bound to pick them up.

And the next morning a small boy came to the door..
And he had the sandals..God Morning sir

I think your forget your sandals back in the bath house.
Again he thanked the boy and he took the sandles
what could he do.

Then another idea came to him.

He waited until the sun went down and the sky was dark

he took his shovel and went out of town out to a field and he dug a hole.

He buried the sandals way down deep ;
so deep that no one would find them..
He smiled
finally he was done with those worn out sandals.

But (You guessed it)
the very next day there was a knock at the door
this time it was soldiers.
But they didn’t have the sandals..

Looking very stern at Abu Kassim
they said..

Last night someone saw you burying a treasure out in the field..

That land belongs to the sultan
so any treasure that is hidden there belongs to him

you must dig it up. And give it to the Sultan right away.


Abu laughed as he went with the guards..and took them to the treasure..

They dug it up .. Just dirty old sandals.

But this time he knocked off the dirtand put them back on

they were as comfortable as ever.
And with them he walked as graceful as before.

My dear sandals he said.
I don’t know what I did to deserve you..
But you are beyond a doubt the best present I have ever had..

Then Abu kassim remembered that told man..
And a revelation came to him .

.and he knew who that was.
.that old man was Elijah the prophet.

Sent by God..
To help the people when they are really in need.

Abu Kassim wore those sandals. For as long as he lived.

No matter how many holes and rips and cracks they had..
No matter how many creaks and squeaks and strange looks they got for him.
Those sandals never wore out.. And Abu never went without them.
And over the years
as time went on..
Abu grew in wisdom.
He grew in generosity
and he had good friends.
Hope
Hope was with him all of his days.

In spite of changes in luck and life..

With al the ups and downs..
Everyone knew him by his sandals.
And by the way that he walked in life.

You could say
that he belonged to the one who sent the gift.

In a way
he belonged to his sandals..

That’s the story and the truth is
its our story
everyone one of us here has been given a pair of sandals

well, not literally... but you have been given a gift that helps you walk in life
you have been given way to walk
instead of sandals ....we are given a path

did you hear it in the psalm ??

Make me to know your ways O Lord
teach me your paths
lead me..
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness


all through the Psalms you hear about this path

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light to my path

all through the psalms and in the Bible
you hear about walking Gods path..walking in righteousness

Itis like a pair of sacred sandals through life,
given to us
put it on....it comes to us..
and even if seems old fashioned and worn out
its what we belong to .
Don't walk without it..

(Don’t toss it aside in terms of the gospel lesson today

especially when we get scared or anxious about the news

keeps your sandal on..belong to them

don’t leave the path
when you see wars and rumors of wars
and all the ups and downs

stick to the path
or as Jesus said Don’t be afraid when you see those things
.There will always be wars and rumors of wars..
Don’t be alarmed....don’t jump off the path

when false prophets and false promises ..all the other ideas..
come along
and all the other things that are trying to say follow me..
I’ll make you happy..I’‘ fix your problem..
Do it my way.. I’ll protect you I’ve got the answer..



. We need to stick to the true..path.
.the path of steadfast love
the path of God
the path that we have in Jesus Christ

it was Jesus Christ who said I am the way..

THAT COULD ALSO BE TRANSLATED
AS
I AM THE PATH
THE PATH OF LIFE..
I am the Pathway, the truth and the life

FOLLOW ME
.. Keep the path

Remember when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples in johns Gospel?

I think he was washing their feet as if.. he was baptizing their feet for this new path of servant hood and love..
And as we celebrate Brenda’s (Garrets) baptism today..

We are saying Brenda (Garret)

you have a path in Jesus Christ that belongs to you

God given..a gift.. in Jesus Christ..

That path brought you here today

and that path is yours for the rest of your life
for eternity
It is the path of Jesus
and it will bring you
to the communion table of forgiveness and community
it will lead you to generosity and wisdom and hope

it will lead you (him)to worship and prayer and caring for other.

it will fit your (his) life
its over 2000 year old. ..so yes,,it old fashioned....some people think its out of fashion....but its eternal
it will fit your life...and it belongs to you and you belong to it..

If the shoe fits.. wear it.





sandal story is adapted from Megan McKenna. One of her books on the Lenten readings
will add reference later.

July 8 2007

This is just an experiment.I am going to post my sermon notes from Sunday. It still has the typos and the odd spacing and phrasing that I use for my oral delivery but if you are determined enough, you might be able to make sense of it.
PUMC JULY 8, 2007 Luke 10 sending of the 70 Field Ed and the Art of Burglary

Once upon a time, far away , there was a family. This family was very well cared for by their father ; but their father was a burglar..a thief, by trade.
He was very good at what he did .Some people say he was the one of the best.
And so the family had every thing they needed. As the years went by, the older children all grew up and went off on their own ways.But one of the younger children watched his father with fascination and with sorrow. He could see that his father was slowing down. He couldn’t do the things that he used to do with such grace and ease. But there were younger children still to be raised in this family and he wondered who would be able to take care of them. Finally ,after thinking about this for a long time, this young son decided that he would be the one to follow in his father's footsteps.And so , respectfully ,he went to his father and said,
“Father... will you teach me the family trade?”
The father was delighted . At last there would be someone to follow him!
And so one night he took his son out on a raid. Before they left the father told the son what they were going to do that evening.
He went over the plans with him...told him the layout of the house and the grounds.
He told him the general steps for how they would steal the kind of things they wanted. So the father and the son were silent as they slipped into the grounds, past the fences and the dogs; past the servants and into the great house. The people were rich and the place was well guarded.But the father,leading his son, was so skilled.
Once inside,they tiptoed up stairs and they found huge wardrobes and chests full clothes,kimonos..and jewels.
After pointing to his son to go into one of these huge wardrobe closets
and telling him to take only the best,The father went on to look elsewhere.
The son of course obeyed. But as soon as he was inside the wardrobe,the father turned around,closed the door, slid the bolt over the latch and locked his son inside!
Then the father slipped back downstairs and went out the front door.
Then he started yelling and banging on the windows....
He was yelling "thief... thief..thief! Right away,chaos broke loose
dogs were barking,everyone was up and running around;looking for the intruders.
The father slipped away without being seen.
Now back inside the wardrobe closet that poor young men was sweating
and thinking of his father.He had no idea that his father could be so cruel .
This was a dangerous thing to do
It was a side of his father that he had never seen before; a man who could be so heartless to leave his son alone and in such jeopardy;
not only deserting him but setting him up to be caught
The son was desperate and about to panic. This was hopeless!

Mean while,the residents of the house realized that the thieves had already left.
There was no sign of them and nothing seemed to be broken or missing.

Yet, inside the closet the young man was trying to figure out how to get out without getting caught. He calmed himself down. And he made himself think carefully
Then this idea came to him.. He got up and made this scratching sound or the sound of a rat that was trapped. A young women heard the sound and carefully opened th latch bolt from the door. And as soon as the young man heard the bolt slide away he pushed open the door and ran. He remembered instinctively, the way he and his father had come in. He ran for his life , out of the house ,across the grounds of the estate. But he was spotted. The moon was full that night. The servants were after him in a flash. Suddenly while he was running, he remembered a large well...more like a cistern, just off the path. He picked up a large stone and dumped it into the well and then he kept on running. The servants chasing him heard the sound of the splash and thought the thief had fallen in.
So they gathered around the well,looking down into the dark,
looking to find this bugler thrashing in the water or trying to get out.

Meanwhile,the young man went running all the way home to the safety of his house.

He ran in, slammed the door and turned to see his father facing him.

The father had this huge grin. His arms were open wide and waiting to hug him.
The boy was fuming at his father.... blaming him for this trick,this deception,
when he heard the father say to him. “Congratulations.... you have learned the art of burglary....you are truly worthy to follow in my footsteps.

That is the end of the story. Well I know it’s a strange parable. It’s a story from the Buddhist teaching tradition.
Of course you know the story is not about stealing and deception at all.
(so don’t get hung up on that part of the story)

It is the deeper lesson about learning and its about figuring out things,
facing things that you didn’t plan to deal with;it's about being a problem solver
...its about leaning to discover new insights and new kinds of power when you are in new territory and under pressure. Maybe its about facing your fears and being pushed way out of your comfort zone.
And the father knows that somehow,this is how his son is going to learn how to be his follower and learn the art,and to survive and to grow.


Now take that story and put it along side the gospel lesson in Luke 10
I hear something like that story in the way that Jesus sends out these followers.
Go on ,he said..Out on your own ...go on ahead of me..

But I m sending you,(Now get this!)....like sheep among wolves...actually its like lambs out in the wolf pack.Eugene Peterson has the words.. "Be careful.. this is hazardous work."
But you notice that Jesus also said that the harvest is ready
In one sense he is telling them that the place is rich with what we are looking for and the time is right,its going to be good picking. The harvest is ready.
But it is hazardous...dangerous...pray for help,Jesus says..

And then.listen to the other words in here: travel light,
no extra luggage,not even a purse or a begging bag or shoes,
Don’t stop and get all wrapped up In the usual formalities and customs that might slow you down.
NOW...What does all of this mean for us...?

I hear a sense of living in a new way,a new level of trust.
What if Jesus is saying to us United Methodists today ..."stop hauling around your old baggage,lighten your load for the sake of ministry...Get rid of the things that you don’t need any more;anything that will slow you down or keep you from your effectiveness.
Go out front and move ahead..out of the ordinary routines and practices.
What if Jesus is also sending those 70 disciples..and sending us...out to learn different ways of living and serving...Not with the usual baggage with your begging bags and shoes and social customs that you think you just have to have.

....
I cant imagine all the questions those 7o must have had:

"Jesus,how could you do this to us, you are not even coming with us and now you won't even let us even take a back pack. We can't do it that way!
And we are supposed to go into places that may or may not welcome us !
And we are supposed to heal the sick,and we are supposed to preach the presence
and the nearness....the power of God ...the kingdom of God has come near to you..

Jesus,how do we know.. we can do any of this ?

But then starting in verse 17,we hear about the return of the 70 ...and they come back ...amazed! I think they surprised themselves.

Even the demons obeyed us when we gave a command in your name. They came back saying “,this works.. this is possible...this is real;we can do this.!
Now they are believers...

Here is the question : Would they have figured that out if they had just been watching Jesus do those things ? “Oh we know Jesus can do it..”
But now its their first hand experience.They have gone solo so to speak..

Kind of Like the young son having to figure his own way out
of that locked cabinet.They discover something about their resources and possibilities. They can face the demons.

Or as Jesus adds;the snakes and the scorpions and everything else that the enemy has...But they needed to figure that out.
This is field education. And I'm convinced that ultimately ministry becomes field education and first hand experience..or it becomes not that much at all!

And then Jesus says in verse 20...well ....the thing to be celebrating
is not your authority but the factthat God has authority and God's power is with you

But again..it was something they had to discover and experience on their own.
They needed to go out and walk the talk and get off the sidelines;
Just as the son in that burglary story had to learn.

Let my try to bring all of this closer to the church today.We have had 36 years of continuous membership decline for the united Methodist church here in the United States.When I started as a pastor 26 years ago we had 9 million members.Now its about 8 million. (I didn't personally lose a million members..but I have felt it.)

This kind of decline is also true try for Lutherans, Presbyterians, UCC and Episcopal and a lot of other mainline churches. A big part of that is plain old demographics.. ...And several factors are involved but what it also means is
that we can not just keep doing the same old thing. New efforts have to be made;
new ideas have to be tried;new ground has to get covered.

We can't just do business as usual and say "that's who we are and that isthe only way we do it." So maybe we need to strip down and drop some baggage. Old institutions behaviors,and traditions have to be examined.
The Annual conference did some pruning this year. We are going to have one less district...from 6 to 5; kind of like leaving some baggage I suppose. Don’t misunderstand me...I am not saying that District superintendents are just baggage!)

But that’s not enough. My experience is that we united Methodists are too passive and too dependent and to much in our comfort zones. We don't go out enough with our own local initiative and creativity.
Sometimes we wait for the conference to come and tell us what to do and we expect the conference to give us a program and so on. We stay on the sidelines.
"They" have to solve the problem. And soemtimes as a denomiantion we do have some wonderful programs and resources...such as the Igniting Ministry materials.
But the gospel lesson this morning gives us a different model:
"You go ahead and do it"..figure it out..learn to be a problem solver.Learn to be a problem solver

The fields is ready; the wolves are out there too. You may be afraid. But go face the unknown.Get out there and live by God!
Don’t just live by your institutional labels and the old baggage of this “is how we do it.”
I know, the wolves of habit and custom and resistance to change are going to be there..and they bite hard....maybe you have been bit a few times already.
But the language of United Methodist leadership today is now telling us
to be bold ...take a risk; be willing to experiment-face the wolves.

Are you willing do that? In a deeper way, that’s who we really are as United Methodists. The genius of the early Methodist movement was that it started something different ...and they got out of the Church buildings;
they went to the streets and the prisons and the marketplaces and to the poor
and they had to leave behind some of the high church trappings...and John and Charles Wesley both struggled with this.They had to do some things..that for them seemed religiously improper or not formal enough
Still..they invented new music... and new organizations and rules.
They had to live and learn by prayer.... and the creativity of the holy spirit
They had to rely on their spiritual wits.
It was controversial.It was unsettling. They often had disagreements...but it was alive; it was field education. How do we do that today?

Here in the Minnesota conference we have set two imperatives;
Hear that?
Imperatives..not options or suggestions or nice ideas.
Things that must done.... they are so important.. Its urgent:
reach new people...young people...unchurched people...
People of new cultural and ethnic presence in our communities...

And also cultivate spiritual vitality.
What will it take for us to reach new people?
You gotta see them..go to them,,invite them ..include them.....be willing to adapt for them. And its up to you

What does it take to cultivate spiritual vitality? I'm looking at some new spiritual formation study groups this fall. I hope you will be there.Not just hear about it; But try it.
What it will it take for you to grow?
for you to learn the art of discipleship..unless you do it.
the art of prayer ...unless you do it
the art of compassion and sacrifice or forgiveness or service;
unless you do it.
What will it take for you to learn the art of true community?
Don’t we have to just try and do it,,,
even it if seems to be going to far?
How do you think you will learn the art of trust and patience unless you let yourself be stretched beyond your comfort..your trust and your patience
unless you just get put out there to do it..

Is Jesus sending you? Is Jesus commissioning Park United Methodist Church to go out into the field?

*The art of Burglary is a Buddhist teaching story that I found in Megan McKennas book Blessings and Woes

Sept 16 2007 Lost, in church

The sermon is posted with my usual disclaimers about punctuation, spacing, etc. I tried to tighten it up to fit this blog space. It is an oral communication form...so I bend the writing rules. And I just don't have time to clean this up! Consider it a set of notes.

PUMC Sept 16, 2007 Luke 15:1-10

Have you ever been lost? I don’t mean lost in the way that Steve Fosset has been lost right now and people are trying to find him and his plane. And I don’t mean lost in the woods or lost in Minneapolis and St Paul , the way I usually get lost taking the wrong turn.I suppose I gotta learn my way to Hamline now.
I mean lost. And I know that here in the church we could talk about lost souls and being spiritually lost...we know that kind of language and we could talk about the ways we can get lost in drugs or alcohol or some abusive living...some destructive behavior.
Of course you can get lost that way but I’m not going talk about that kind of lost.

And I know we can get also get lost in America with all our stuff and the rat race and a consumer lifestyle. We get lost in the ‘me first values’ and “we are number one” kind of thinking. And that’s another way to get seriously and spiritually lost but I want to bring this closer to home... as in ‘the church”...do you get lost... in the church ?
I don’t mean this building ... but in the church,, as people of God?
Do you ..do we, ever get lost.?

I think we do... I’ve been there.. I have been lost. I’ve seen a lot of people get lost right in the church life.

You hardly know its happening until you realize you’re just not where you should be.

Lost, as in missing the point ; lost as in not being close to Jesus.
As in lost our way with Jesus .Ever been lost?
There is a story told by Fred Craddock,
a retired minister from the UMC seminary at Emory University in Atlanta.
He tells about reading for the first time, Albert Schweitzer’s book,
Quest for the Historical Jesus.
Craddock said he was about twenty years old when he read that famous book.
As he read it he thought, “This Christology is weak material.He read through the book.
He marked it up, crossed out paragraphs, put big question marks in the margins. He said that he was very critical. Then.. not long after he read the book, he heard that Schweitzer was coming to this country.
He was coming to play a dedication concert on a new organ in a big church up in in Cleveland.
Now remember, Schweitzer was a philosopher, a theologian, a concert organist,
a medical doctor, and a pastor.
Fred Craddock was down in Knoxville, Tennessee.
So he got a ticket on the Greyhound Bus going from Knoxville to Cleveland.
He said that all the time he was on the bus
traveling up there
he had his book out, and he was going over his notes again.
He had a pad of paper with him and he was writing down questions.
He had the page references in his notes so that when he had a chance to talk with Schweitzer, he could say,

“On page so and so, you said this, and I don’t believe it,”
and then follow that up with,
“On page so and so, you said this, and that contradicts the other.”
Things like that. Oh.. He was ready.
He went to the concert.... It was a great concert. When it was over
he ran into the fellowship hall, and he sat down in the front row,
the announcement had said that there would be a time of refreshment and fellowship afterwards. He had all his questions laid out in his lap.
Finally Schweitzer walked in. with shaggy hair,
a big, white mustache,
stooped over, ...seventy-five years old
He was carrying a little cup of tea and a little plate with a couple of goodies on it.
Schweitzer walked up to the microphone in front of the room,
and said,
“You have been so kind to me, so hospitable.
I thank you very much. I can’t stay very long.
You see I operate a little medical clinic down in Lambarene in Africa.
My people are there. My people are dying. My people are hungry.
My people are diseased. I need to go back.
If any of you here have the love of Jesus in you, would you consider coming with me?”
Craddock said he looked at the questions in his lap.
They were utterly stupid.
He said, “In that moment I was changed.
I knew what it was to be a Christian, and I hoped someday I would be.”

You hear that.?
He had gotten lost but then realized that he was lost and he wanted to be found
he got found!
Ever been lost like that ?
Lost in all our little church head trips and lost in our debates of theology and doctrine
and politics and so on
and who’s right, and who is really right and who’s just plain wrong
....lost in our self importance..and our opinions but in the mean time
we are not quite loving Jesus and doing the love of Jesus; answering the call.,,,finding the lost.., healing . Feeding, teaching, serving,
You see that’s the kind of lost

that I think Jesus is getting us to see in those scribes or those pharisees as they are stereotyped in the gospels. Maybe we get lost.. like they get lost...
They maybe had a lot of pious and moral talk but did they care about that tax collector ?

Im sure they had all kinds of reasons why they should not want them:
Those traitors; those money grabbers.. those godless puppets of Rome
So they had their reasons. But they didn’t have the love of God.

Who is really lost here in these verses?

And those sinners well..still,
they are sinners.. Sin is sin...Outcasts..

They’re just not right.
But you see that’s who Jesus Found,and loved and ate with, welcomed.. tax collectors and sinners

Jesus didn’t get lost.
I think sometimes we get lost..

How about this?
These two stories are about finding this one who got lost;like finding that one lost sheep
Leave the 99. Now before you think that this shepherd is foolish; remember ,probably that shepherd had help with a flock that size. So the 99 were not left alone . But that one that got lost
was valued and missed and so the shepherd goes looking until he finds it ,,,,until he finds it!
And the story of the woman with the coin ;
Same point . You don’t just say “Well I can afford to lose that coin I still got 9"
I got 90% ..it s only a 10 percent loss.

That’s not the lesson!
What I hear in these parables is that there are no acceptable losses
Everyone counts..
No exclusion
no omission
no de- valuing
no acceptance of loss
Do you believe that?

I heard a story about an inner city pastor who was leading a visitor through the church on a day when they were feeding homeless men
in the dining hall. The guests were lined up in the hallway waiting for lunch
as the pastor led the visitor through the building, introducing her to some of the men.

He said, “We are in the business of saving souls here.”
And the woman, looking at these scruffy looking men, said,
“Oh, I can see that. .. They certainly need it.” And the pastor said to her
“Well.. No, ,,,not their souls, I mean our souls”…(from hardness of heart.)
Ever been lost like that ?
because we starting thinking of some people as acceptable losses
we start over-looking people People who don’t fit
they fall between the cracks they just don’t get it..
They are not our type
its there own fault..the unworthy
well
at least we got the nine and the ninety
that’s enough
but what happens to my heart and my soul
and the soul of a church
the soul of a community
when we as start accepting ..."acceptable losses"

We get lost
we lose our souls;our sensitivity; our deepness in grace,
when we stop caring, stop reaching, stop looking,
stop valuing, and treasuring any person.
If we dismiss or ignore a segment of our society
well....

This is one of those slippery slopes...if they are somehow worth-less;
Do I have to help them?
Do they have equal rights?
Do I have to even keep them around?
"They are a burden on society"

you see that slippery slope?
we don’t want them..Get rid of them
then our souls are in danger of being lost
the soul of America is in danger of being lost

Statistically
you know the rich are getting richer
and the poor are getting poor
are we ,,in the name of God
..ok with that?
Acceptable losses?

Can Christians ignore the poverty in the world
the refugees ..the wars
the Aids pandemic....as acceptable losses

Are we ok with that?

Some people do get left out ...just from this church life

some people have never been personally invited by anyone
to come to church
and experience a community of faith hope and love

are we ok with that ?
some people have never heard a real loving version of the story of Jesus
are we ok with that?
Do we settle for "acceptable losses"?

You know the old saying “Good enough, is the enemy of excellence.

Jesus is giving a us a picture of the greatness of God
Jesus in this gospel lesson teach us about excellence in ministry
excellence in evangelism
excellence in love
by finding even that last one

the pharisees in this story did “ good enough”
they settled for ‘good enough” ...got a few

Jesus... the excellent way..gets em all...all the sheep ..all the coins
in amazing grace says
I want you all
God loves you all.

With Fullness ....completely
until he finds it
Enough said..

Ever been lost.? In the church
How about in the middle of a meeting?

Now I know we’ve all been to church meetings where we go a little off the subject and
you are not exactly following the agenda.

We get talking about the weather; (“you know they got snow on Friday morning up in Merrifield and Nisswa ?!”)

and well
you get talking about this and that and so and so..
Say.. did you here about that football game that Michgian lost?

Well now that's distracted.
Or maybe...
we get lost in some project
Three times I was in a church
when we were picking church carpeting..
(it was easy here..no problem )

But it got almost bad.. one time at another church
....purple or red?
Do you think Jesus cares about the color of a carpet? Unless there some environmental or ethical reason?)
I don't think Jesus cares, unless we get lost in the carpet!

In a church I think that when you lose the big picture and you get lost in all these little things

then you’ve lost track
you get lost.when you forget what we are really here for

We are here to form our lives , in the life of Jesus,
to be disciples

9I said last week I was going to talk about expectations again..so there I just did)

We are here in Park church to let the love of God happen in and through us.

to find the lost and if we don’t do that we are getting lost
that means
that
Lets say the finance committee ;
if you think its your job to just balance the budget
and read the reports
and keep l the expenses down
well then you got lost
Because really
its about growing money for ministry..
Helping us to become giving and generous people
Its about dedicating our gifts. Faithfully.. For the work of God.
If you lose sight of that... then you got lost.
Now we know that in our finance committee.

..Or evangelism; we know that it s not just getting people to sign up and be new church members and its not just advertising. Its reaching out to people
and connecting them to a faith community so they can grew as disciples of Jesus Christ..Lose that in the church and your lost.

Sunday school..we know we are not just entertaining the kids;.we are telling the stories of Jesus and his love.
.
Choir you are not here just to entertain us and sound good
and do your music thing .
its music ministry...praising God .
Forget that and your lost.
Trustees ...they know its not just making sure the building looks good
Its having a good building
that houses a good ministry...its making space for Jesus to use.


Don’t lose that in the church
its the vision. It is the call
It’s where were supposed to be.

Are you there or are you off lost somewhere else?

Henri Nouwen said something that helps me from getting so lost
he said

“The question which must guide all organizing activity in a parish..(in a church)
is not how to keep them busy but how to keep them from being so busy
that they no longer hear the voice of God who speaks in silence.’


Whats he saying? We cant get so busy that we don’t listen prayerfully to the quiet voice, the calling, the guidance of God.

That’s how you get lost
when you are not listening
when you cant hear where God is,
and where you are called to be ,

What if we kept a practice of listening in prayerful silence
and scripture , at every meeting, every function of the church.....
spent time with that question
to guide us---
God ,are we
where you put us.?
.Are we going to be where you want us to be?
Are we with you?

You see, then you are not lost.
when we are living the Christ life of love
we are not lost
when we care about everyone .with no exception
then we are not lost
when we listen to God
we wont be lost.

Praise be to God who finds the lost.


1)Fred B. Craddock, Craddock Stories, Mike Graves and Richad F. Ward, eds. (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2001), pp. 125-126. I adapted the version also from Jim Standiford, First UMC San Diego

2) I picked up the story about the inner city pastor from a sermon by Jack Harnish at First UMC Birmingham MI (Beth's hometown church. My mother in law sends me the sermons!)

3 ) Nouwen...Way of the Heart

July 15 2007 sermon notes

At least a couple people said they appreciated the sermon notes and encouraged me to do it again. The versions differed slightly between the two services and I have a missing paragraph that must be in my notes back at church. I might add them later. Again, you will have to creatively read through my typos and irregular spacing and punctuation. The transfer into the blog format makes some irregular spacing too!

PUMC July 15 2007 Another look at the Good Samaritan

I’m sure that when I say “Good Samaritan”- right away you think of being a good neighbor and helping people when they are in trouble.

Be a "good Samaritan" That phrase has just taken on it s own meaning in our language;
being a nice person when people are in trouble...generosity and compassion . I could make that the whole point of this sermon. It’s a good point.

The world has a lot of people beaten up and robbed and left behind. People need help: refugees,,,natural disasters... The AIDs pandemic.. Accidents...sickness..poverty ..abuse..loneliness...addictions..the list goes on.

( a lot of ways of getting beaten up in life)
We need a whole lot more of these good Samaritans ; who are willing to stop and get involved and even, as you hear in the gospel lesson ,be willing to pick up the bill ....make the offering..Personally pay the price.

Be a good Samaritan.

Here in Minnesota..we know how to do that, we do that pretty well .
Maybe its part of the Minnesota nice. I noticed something on the news last week
in a recent study the Midwest,and especially Minneapolis S/t Paul area
compared to other major cities came in first place for the level of volunteerism.
And I’m thinking that most of Minnesota would rank up at the top
for the number of volunteer hours and participation, it seems to run pretty high around here in the Brainerd/ Baxter area too.

I bet if I wanted a show of hands for everyone who does some kind of volunteering..
I would see a lot hands up this morning.

We know about being good Samaritans. And for us a lot of that is because of our faith: love and healing and helping..serving, those are core values for us as followers of Christ. . And anything I can do or say to help us live out those values..well that ‘s what I want to say : Go do it..

As a church, that’s why we support mission project...and take special offering
.and things like soup kitchen, habitat for humanity ,food shelf, Fare for all..
Nothing but Nets, Interfaith Hospitality network,, ...local volunteering....as I mentioned.

Again,the list goes on. I don’t really have to preach that sermon. (so if you want to....you can go home now!)

.We know how to be good Samaritans.
But////
That’s not really what this gospel lesson is about; its not quite the point of this gospel lesson.
The gospel lesson of the good Samaritan is an answer
to a different question..

Remember the question.?
This lawyer....this young religion scholar, is talking to Jesus.

He has has summarized the law: to love the lord your God with all your heart soul, mind, and strength; and to love your neighbor as you love yourself.
And Jesus says that yes, that is the right answer; that is what real life is all about!

And then he wants to know “who is my neighbor.?

It says he was looking for loop hole or a way to justify himself.
He wants to know how far this neighbor thing has to go?. Do I have to love everybody? Who is my neighbor? That is a good question!

That’s when Jesus tells the parable. So this parable is going to answer that question.
Who is my neighbor?
And maybe you already know this but the key part of this story
is that a Samaritan is going to be that neighbor.
But what is a Samaritan?It is not just some nice guy as we use it today . we need to get the background and setting back in these Bible days

Samaritans were a group of people..and a religion;.a nation..or an ethnic and cultural group,.that lived right next to the Jewish people.

And the two groups.....
Jews and Samaritans
both claimed to be descendants of Moses.
and they both claimed to be the chosen peopel
they both claimed to be the true followers of the Law.
.they both had different temples..
They were in competition so to speak

and they both claimed that the other group
had corrupted the true faith and worship of God

so when Jesus talks about a Samaritan to this Jewish scholar

a Samaritan...was almost a dirty word.
This was was a despised person ..and a heretic
in the common Jewish thinking of the day...

They were considered to be religiously corrupt and impure ..

Sometimes fights and riots broke out between Jews and Samaritans.

It was dangerous for them to be in each others territories and you can see reference in the New Testament about whether or not Jesus traveled through Samaria or went around Samaria, as most Jews did back then

(Maybe this is something like Sunnies and Shiites
being in each others territories in Iraq;...but I might be misunderstanding that situation..so don’t push it too far)

To put it very simply if you were a jew in that age
you didn't expect much that was good from a Samaritan or you didn’t feel much of an obligation toward them.You didn’t consider a Samaritan to be the neighbor that you had to really care about
...you were in your rights to exclude the Samaritan..
You just don’t want them around,you wouldn’t trust them and so on

You get the point

so
Who is my neighbor
becomes a question of inclusion and acceptance and responsibility

how far does it go.
.do I have to love everybody?

and Jesus used the example of someone who just would not be normally included in the neighborhood.

Do you see what he is doing ?

Jesus is pushing ....
pushing down the mental and spiritual walls of exclusiveness

he is opening up the sense of neighbor and community

Neighborhood as Jesus does it;is not about what country you are from

what temple you worship in.
.what political group you follow
what you eat and drink or wear
.what language you speak

And maybe it is not even about your religious beliefs..

Neighborhood is about overcoming the barriers that we put up in our societies and in churches and our personal altitudes


Neighborhood and community is described in the example of this Samaritan
who went to his enemy and overcame his own reluctance
his own religious prejudice..
his own cultural traditions;overcame his own stereotypes ;and his own traditions of discrimination; overcame his own hatred perhaps
maybe even overcame his own previous bad experience;

Overcame his fear... overcame anything that that would keep him
from seeing a fellow human being and helping this person left along the road..

And Jesus said that’s the example to follow
Do what this Samaritan did; verse 37 clearly says Go and do likewise.
(Easier said than done!)
The Samaritan enlarged his neighborhood!

The parable of the good Samaritan is also a picture of the way Jesus lived his life
Jesus didn’t just talk like that..he lived like that..

Jesus had an inclusiveness that was just plain upsetting to a lot of people in his day..

You gotta know this; .Im sure you do
Do you know what the biggest the biggest complaint about Jesus
was?
H ate with with tax collectors and sinners.

He ate with the wrong kind of people
he accepted the unacceptable

Jesus treated the outsiders like they were insiders..

Hospitality invitation... welcoming ..these were practices of Jesus:
we see him healing the Canaanite women.. The roman centurions son...and the lepers .....all of them were outsiders..

That was the style of Jesus ..as the embodied spirit of God.
Now a days we call it inclusiveness.
This is a major value for me...you probably figured that out...

..for me that is the spirit of Jesus ,,it’s an act of grace..
And it is how we are faithful to the Gospel...

I like to think that it’s the the same core value and spirit behind our United Methodist slogan of open hearts ..Open Minds ..Open doors.
I hope you hear that from me. You are welcome here..

Who ever you are. And that means that diversity has to be a sign and a result of our community

Neighbor becomes a wide open word..//it is you, plural!

Think about what that means.
we don’t agree on everything..

We have liberal and conservative; democrat ,,,republican,, green party ,,and so on.
On just about any social issue we have different opinions among us..

That is a sign of true community for me...as I understand the ministry of Jesus Christ. And what it means to be the church..
Thats the kind of church that I want to be a part of..

But you know what ?not everybody agrees with me
Imagine that.!
For some voices in the church diversity and pluralism and tolerance
are not acceptable values....
.in fact those are bad things..the way they see it..

They are threatened by those values..that somehow it undermines the purity of the Gospel...
Well as much as I value inclusiveness; as much as I say everyone is welcome.maybe there is a sene of exclusiveness that we should have

Maybe I am overstating the principle of inclusiveness
and maybe we should have some boundaries and borders in the neighborhood

I’m on slippery ground here.But I got sparked by Brian Maclaren's latest book The Secret Message of Jesus . He has a chapter about the borders of the kingdom
and he says we cant just be naively inclusive.
So he talks about something called “purposeful inclusion”and he says some exclusiveness is necessary.
In other way we really should not just let everybody in..


He gives three examples. He says:
If the kingdom of God were a soccer club it could welcome children and adults; males and females;beginners and stars...- but it could not welcome people who hated soccer and wanted to replace it with kick boxing for example
If the kingdom of God were a hospital it could accept sick people needing help; it could accept doctors and nurses who wanted to serve and cure sick people; it could welcome guests who wanted to visit the sick
but it could not welcome people coming in to kidnap babies from the nursery nor could it welcome phony doctors who presented to care just so they could cause pain ; nor could it welcome people whose purpose is to unplug the equipment in the ICU.

"If the kingdom of God were a symphony,
Mclaren says..
it would welcome anyone who had a desire to learn to play music
--from tuba player to piccolo players, from violinists to percussionists.
It would accept beginners and master musicians, probably by pairing up the novices with mentors who could help them to learn.
But it could not welcome people who hated music or who wanted to shout and scream and disrupt rehearsals and concerts; that would ruin the music for everyone and destroy the symphony. True, it would try to influence music haters to become music lovers, but it couldn't accept them into the symphony until they wanted to be there
because of a love of music."

So where does that put us? What do you think of the Mclarens examples?
Is there a church version of that?

Maybe we should say:
If you want to love Jesus ;if you want to love God with all your heart soul mind and strength; if you want to love your neighbor
as you love yourselves
if you want to help anybody who needs help no matter who they are if
then join us or more precisely;come and follow Jesus .

Follow this Jesus who eats with tax collectors and sinners.
Follow Jesus who is out pulling people from the ditch
no matter who they are..
Follow Jesus who goes to help those people that have been left out
Follow Jesus who said love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
follow this Jesus who says his neighborhood includes anybody who practices compassion...anybody who wants to learn the true life of love.
It’s the neighborhood of love/
that is the purpose -ful inclusion
but as Mclaren puts it..and I quote
“the kingdom of God has a purpose, and the purpose is not every ones cup of tea”

but
If that’s your desire..
We may not be there yet..but if it is your desire..
If you want to join Jesus in that purpose..of gathering and welcoming
if you want to move away form the neighborhood of judgment and division and
if you to a t least try and find ways of talking better together
if you want to live with a change of heart and mind.
If you are willing to live in the neighborhood of .repentance and forgiveness conversion,,and renewal

then..You are already living in the neighborhood..

Who is your neighbor?

Now the question, do you still want to be a Good Samaritan?

Aug 26, 2007 notes

Here it is, odd spacing and typos as usual. The ad libing was a little different between the two services but this will give you some idea of what it was.

Aug 26 sermon Sabbath / Luke 13:10-17 PUMC

All this traveling that I did on vacation to Michigan and Ohio, reminded me of a story and the story I think is going to take us to the gospel lesson this morning

It goes like this ... once upon a time; A king was traveling with his child through the wilderness.
And as you know when a king travels, he does not travel alone. The whole entourage goes along with ministers, guards,
attendants and servants, all kinds of people ; just ready to serve the king and do his will.
But suddenly, one day as they traveled along, this whole procession came to a stop
The king's child wanted something.
"Water," said the crown prince.
"I want water."
So the king called together his cabinet to deal with this crisis.
"My son is thirsty," he said to his ministers.
But how do we get water..way out here in the wilderness?
Finally after a lot of discussion two ideas were presented to the king
the commander of the royal cavalry said ‘I know what to do. I will send out my ten best riders
with the ten fastest horses. "They will ride to the next village and they will fill up their water skins.
And in less than an hour, they will have water for the prince."

Then the royal engineer spoke up.He had another idea :He said "I will l put my men and equipment to work." "They will build a derrick and we can sink a well right here, on the very spot at which we have stopped.Before the day is out, there will be water for the prince."

The king decided to follow the engineer's plan and soon the royal engineers were boring a well through the desert sand and rock.
Early in the evening they reached a vein of water and the prince's got his drink of water
"But Why," the prince wanted to know ....
after he had his water. "Why did you make your men dig a well in the desert?
After all, we had an easier way and a faster way just to get some water.
"Well, yes ,my son," said the king, that was situation we had today
But maybe one day, years from now in the future,
you just might be traveling this way again. And maybe you will be alone,
and maybe you won't have all the power and privilege that you have now .
Then, the well that we dug today will be here to quench your thirst."

"But father," said the prince, in a few years the sands of time will cover up this well,
and stop the water and even the memory of this will disappear . "My son," said the king, "
you have spoken with wisdom and with foresight. So this,, is what we will do. We will mark the site of this well on our maps, and we will protect our maps from the ravages of time.
And years from now if you know the exact spot at which this well has been sunk,
you will be able to reopen it with a little effort and toil. And in fact said the king
we will do this at every camp we make on this journey . "We shall dig wells and mark their places on our map. We will record the characteristics of each well
with instruction on how to open that well. So whenever, and under whatever circumstances,
you travel this route, you will be able to find the water that water will help you on your journey."
That' s the story. (*Source,credit unknown at this time)
This morning we have followed this map called the Christian tradition we have followed the map of scripture and we have come to a well. Long ago God provided for us.
God knew that we would need spiritual water in this journey so God dug wells for us all along the way.. (9:30 service) ..baptism..as we celebrate Henry’s baptism..
.is like a well of hope and forgiveness and renewal for us.... and we are invited to open the well day by day wash ourselves in this spiritual water of life and love and new birth
Again and again.. every day to renew ourselves baptism is a well of identity
that we are children of God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ
but there are other wells,,,each of them unique and varied for us along the way
Every Bible story, every lesson, every parableis like a well to uncover..
All of them have been put here for us...
And you can see one of those particular wells in the gospel lesson; it is this well of Sabbath..
That’s the issue in the Gospel lesson today
a women who has been bent over For 18 years.. Comes to the synagogue
and Jesus sees her...
She doesn’t say anything ,but Jesus sees her/ calls her over /heals her /
lifts her up.. "Straightens her up" according to some of the translations...
And she praises God. But some other people are there;
the leader of the synagogue... is angry because Jesus did this on the Sabbath..
You are not supposed to do any work on the Sabbath. ..its one of the ten commandments
and they had all kind of rules and guidelines about what qualifies as work....all of them trying to protect you from accidentally breaking this law..laws meant, in good devotion to help you .
I probably told you before that when I was in Jerusalem
there was the Sabbath elevator in the King Solomon hotel.. It automatically stopped on every floor so you didn’t have to push a button and use electricity and the Sabbath toilet paper roll had the squares pre cut so you weren’t even tearing off the paper..
Well ..you can be pretty careful on this Sabbath thing and we need to here the devotion tha tis intended in those traditions
but also in that kind of conversation, Jesus says, wait a minute.... if you have a donkey or an ox that needs water on the sabbath
of course you untie them.. You give them a drink of water (and in sabbath laws... you are always allowed to relieve suffering on the Sabbath)
Sabbath is not about rules and religious requirements... its about people and it is about God and real relationships
Sabbath, to use the image of that thirsty donkey or ox, sabbath is our time to drink the water and be renewed and restored..

You get that?
really Sabbath is not just a time
Sabbath is not just a day of the week
like Saturday or maybe Sunday....and I e heard a lot of debate over that over the years... but it misses the point.. that is just a tool or a stage ..or a space for the real Sabbath
Sabbath is an experience...
Sabbath is a spiritual reality
sabbath is a gift to receive
the purpose of sabbath as Jesus sees it.. Is to heal us..
You see that here in the lesson
Sabbath happens
when we get called over by God.
.just as Jesus saw that women and called her to him
Sabbath is when we let ourselves be called into the presence of God
and we let ourselves be touched by God
Sabbath
is when we let God work in us
Sabbath is when we let God lift us up..
Sabbath is when...as Jesus said it in verse 16,
we get set free ...from bondage..
Sabbath is when we reconnect to the exodus from slavery
Sabbath is when we re-enter
the redemption and trust of God ....that sets us free
Sabbath is being visibly described in this gospel lesson
. That why I love the image of this bent over women
This is not just about being physically bent over..
don’t go just literal on this.
Because this is a spiritual picture... in the living word of God
Don’t forget
that when Jesus did a miracle it was like a story being acted out..with a spiritual message for us
a miracle was a living illustration ..it was spiritual drama..with a truth.. for people to see
This women... bent over..
Is a picture of humanity
we are that bent over women
I am this bent over women
we get chained by the burdens of life
and we get bent over from the loads of guilt
or fear and shame and all the pressures
all the "have to’s..and "gotta do’s"
or just the tiredness of getting through day and paying the bills
and doing the work or just trying to get it right
and you get bent over
physically sometimes..
But also
in your heart..in your head.. Your attitude, your thinking
in your soul..in your core
and your spiritual vision is just looking down
Just play with the image of these words.. Bent over
we can't look up
and we cant lift our heads anymore.... we just look at the ground..
And life is heavy..
But Jesus sees that ..and we get noticed.
And are set free
That’s what sabbath is about
it is hope and it is healing
and That’s the well of wisdom that we need to pay attention to..

But do we.???. Do you have Sabbath in your life ?
do you ever open this well? Are you thirsty ?
..
Slow down
go a part
pray
worship.
Read the Bible..slowly
Listen to Gods loving call..
. we all have this bent over women inside of us
w e all have the burdens that drain us and weigh us down
no exception
and God gives us this Sabbath rhythm
this wisdom..
this commandment
.this principle..for our own good.
so we can be set free from our burden
God knows what is good for us.
let me say it again
Sabbath is a practice
to remember the greater power of god
and to rest in the peace and the goodness of God
to let yourselves be gospeled
(I made that up but you know what I mean)
But here’s the big question
where, how do you have Sabbath?

I know Im still learning this for myself..
Sometime during the week.
.during the day...
is there a time..set apart..
But more than just a time on the schedule
is there an experience, a space,
a spiritual moment
when you don’t have to be in control
you don’t have to be fixing the world
or even fixing yourself for that matter
you can just stop
and let yourself be.
Present
Noticed and touched by Gods love
listening

Its about being
not doing
its about receiving
instead of producing
is about letting God call us and reach out to us
it about letting God touch
you with grace and intimacy..and wholeness
letting Gods love ..happen
and then
we are able to praise God for the gift of life in new way.
.with our heads up in amazement.
.able to look around.. , new perspective, And see Jesus

As I said
I see this Sabbath healing story as being like a holy well
that God the ancient and great traveler has dug for us...
In our busy society...and hectic living
its been covered up
and buried in the sand
and people are dying of thirst.
but we have the map.
Don’t overlook the well.
I want to point ahead to a class that is going to start on Sept 16
on Sunday evenings... it called the spiritual life.
I thin k it could be a sabbatical experience
.I am very impressed by it..
.I want to do this with you and really what its going to do is take us
to these ancient wells for the water of life..All we have to do is follow our own Christian map..And uncover the ancient wells..I hope you join me..

SERMON NOTES

For those of you who are motivated enough to work your way through my sermon notes, this is where they are. Thanks for your interest!