Oct 28 Global Memory Loss

Oct 28, 2007 Global memory

I had this strangest thing happen to me a couple weeks ago.

I was working on the stewardship sermon for last Sunday
and for this Sunday
and I remembered this article, a ‘sermon illustration” article I was saving on the computer ; it was about the burden of money and it talked about the history of money and some of the stranger forms of money .
For example,
there was an old culture in the South Pacific that literally, had this huge form of money; they used 18 foot high rings made of stone..
Weighed about 15 tons

And then for smaller change you had smaller stone rings
that only weighed about a hundred pounds.

..You hauled them around with a carrying pole that went through the hole in the middle of the stone ring

( I suppose you had to really think twice before you carried around any cash like that)

I thought who ever heard having money that ways hundreds of pounds or even a ton ?
Giant money wheels!
and then I realized..oh we still have
that ..today
.we call them cars....Giant money wheels!

Then the article talked about the ancient Spartans back in Greece;
they had coins that seemed a little more normal
but they didn’t use silver or copper to make their coins
they used iron coins,..little iron disks
that way
they got reminded
that money was heavy.
it was a burden.

Now maybe those old cultures were on to something.

There was a deep wisdom in that, in fact,
Jesus and the early church gave us that kind of wisdom too

Look at I Timothy 6 and you hear these words that say watch out for greed. It can tempt you and trap you.. It can cause you pain.
The love of money (not money itself, but the power or love of money..is the root of all evil.

For two Sundays in a row now,we’ve talked about how much Jesus mentioned money and the role of giving as a spiritual practice.

...Anyway I was going to copy that article about the burden of money.
.and when I highlighted it for “copy” on the computer so I could put it into my set of sermon notes,
That’s when this strange thing happened

All of a sudden the computer started to make its working and processing sounds..
kind of clicking an humming way and
the little light is blinking.

.and then these words flashed on to the screen.

“Not enough global, memory available to preform this task.”

No enough global memory!

What does that mean? it sounds like a serious problem..global!!!

and then my computer got locked up ..it froze up.
..and I had to do a manual shut down..
Because I didn’t have enough “global memory”.

Like I said
I have no idea what that means in computer talk..
but this was the message..

I think it was a great metaphor....
think about what I was doing?


I was trying to copy a message on the burden of money.

But we don’t have the global memory to handle that reality.

Spiritually speaking, we don’t have the global memory to properly deal with money

.I told this story to the Wednesday lectionary group
and somebody said..
“Oh God talked to you through your computer!”

I don’t know .....

When it comes to the real use and purpose of money do you think we have a global memory loss?
We cant handle it...
We cant seem to copy it from one part of our life , to the next!

Is that why we have poverty?

Is that why we have people living without food and shelter and medicine
and water ?

“Not enough global memory available for this task”

Is that why there is such a difference between the rich and the poor in the world.

Is economic injustice the result of a global memory loss?


Do you know that just about every study you will ever find is going to say that we could end world hunger?

We can feed the world

We can end deep poverty..but its a matter of the will
spiritual, moral and political will,,,
and its matter of distribution

Some people say that the Christian population alone..has enough wealth,
if we really tithed ..for example..we could solve the problem

But then
that sign flashes on

“Not enough global memory available for this task.”
And we get locked up.

We don’t have enough global memory to do what we need to do

We forget
maybe we don’t want to hear it..

Somehow we just cant copy the message..
.the inner files get corrupted..

(Are you with me)


Do you and I remember ..in our daily living..
When your paying the bills,,and making the plans,,and going down town or watching tv..

Can we still remember what Jesus said about giving.. And sharing and caring..

“Give excepting nothing in return”

Love one one another as I have loved you

do we remember..really what he said
about being brothers ans sisters and children of God
that we are all connected to each other....

and we are witnesses ..and servants and disciples

Can you remember
what he said about losing your life, giving your life.. Taking up the cross
to find your real life

Can I remember..really..
the story of Lazarus ..the beggar at the rich man's gate.
When I am the rich man..?

Do we forget what he said about worrying about your clothes and food..
and what he said about bigger barns..
and false security
in the lesson you heard from Luke 12

Or
do we .. forget
in practical ways.. That the earth is the Lords and the fullness (the abundance) thereof

Do you think think we forget
as a nation
the biblical vision of caring for the stranger
the widows and the orphans.. the vulnerable..the left out

“Not enough global memory available for this task”

.....well,,you know what I mean..

But
,,maybe the calling of the church is
first of all

to remember

to restore the files
to fix the memory problem

can we want and chose to remember
something about money
the use of our gifts
the use of our life.?

Maybe we are here to be the global memory; to do what needs to be done.

There is a wonderful little Jewish story
about a rabbi in a Russian city years ago
in another century


the rabbi was thinking about the direction and sense of purpose in his life,

he went out for a walk late at night
out and around in the city
and he came to a part of the town that was guarded

it was a part of the town
where the richer people had hired someone to patrol the neighborhood

and this guard .
.this night watchman
saw the rabbi out in the dark
late at night and he shouted to the rabbi"Who are you? And what are you doing here?"
"Excuse me?" Said the rabbi.
"The guard said it again
...., ‘Who are you and what are you doing here?!’"

the rabbi, stopped for a moment
and didn’t say a word

and then finally
he said to the guard
, "How much do you get paid every day?"
The guard said
"What does that have to do with you?"
The rabbi said,
"I will pay you ..twice as much...
if you will just ask me those same two questions every day:
Who are you? And what are you doing here?"



Those are the questions that we need to remember on days like this

personally
and as a church;
Who are we
and what are we doing here.?

But we forget it.
Continually
.amnesia is the human problem

global memory loss happens
when we forget the great question and the deeper answers.

And it seems to me
as I said already

that when we get down to thinking about our money and our possessions and our egos and our faith...we get this financial amnesia.

What is the money for
why is it here.
Who does it serve?

What are we suppose to do with it?
But
that’s what we have to ask ,,as the church.. In the name of Jesus Christ
this where the faith comes back into play
Faith give us something to remember

Faith gives us Jesus
and the word of God
in this part of life,

What are we supposed to remember?

Let me say it this way

There is a Jewish Spanish story.
Almost one thousand years ago,
in the Moslem days of Spain,

there was a Jewish Rabbi ...named Samuel the Prince.

Rabbi Samuel was very wise,
and he was very trusted and very soon he became the Sultan's treasurer.

Well..this caused some jealously in the courts
and
rumors got started
that Rabbi Samuel was embezzling money from the royal treasury.
Of course the Sultan heard about the rumors..because that was the plan
.
So he decided to put the Rabbi to the test.

One day,
without any warning,
he called in the Rabbi
and ordered him to do a full accounting of his personal wealth.
Tell me about all the money that you have!

Rabbi Samuel was surprised by this ...
but you just don’t refuse the Sultan!

so He sat down at a table,
and he started writing..and writing
as fast as he could

half an hour later, he stopped,

he looked at the list silently,

and handed it over to the Sultan.
The Sultan read the inventory very carefully,

and then he slammed it down
with anger on the table.

How dare you lie to me.rabbi!

this is just a part of your wealth.
I know you have more than this
your hiding soemthign
I personally
have given you way more than what you are listing here as your income

My advisors must been telling the truth about you

You must be cheating me in your financial affairs

and so I will personally take awayeverything you own.

Guards, ...take this man away!'

But 'Your Majesty', the rabbi said, 'you asked me for an report of my wealth.

And As you can plainly see,my worldly possessions are not truly mine.

At any time,they can be taken away by robbers,
by war ...or natural disaster

. In fact, your Majesty ,
You have just proved it yourself
right now
you have just taken this money away from me
with a single command
The only possession I really have is the money that can never be taken from me;
that is ..the money I have given to charity.

You see, as a Jew I am taught by by the Torah to give one tenth of my income to those in need.
The figure that I gave you,
your Majesty,, was only the total
of all the money that I have given away to charity.
I listed only the money that I have given for others.

Because only that is my true wealth

That is the only benefit that cannot be taken away from me,

The Sultan listened to all of this
he was moved by that wisdom

and the rabbi was given a greater position in that kingdom

Thats the story

but you heard that same message before
Jesus said the same thing!

you heard it the words of Luke 12 about where your real treasure is.

maybe that means
that the real treasure that you have
is the not the money that you have in the bank
or in your pocket
in you property or your pension plan

but your real treasure
is what is written on the estimate of giving card
and what you shared this year.

Maybe the only money you have
is the not the money you a e keeping

but the money your giving..

Is there enough global memory for this task?

maybe tha t
means that what Park Church has in the financial statement
isnt the money that we have on hand ,
but the money that flowed through our hands

maybe we should celebrate the expenses
even more than the income..

maybe
instead of saying that the assets of park church are the dollars and the value of the building
and the cash on hand

but ..more so it is
the value of what has happened here.
In you ..and through you..

Remember that budget I sent out...
that said ...down that one side
priceless.. priceless ....prices less
and it listed the ministries of this church
priceless
lives changes
people celebrated
laughter given
hope lifted up
gospel proclaimed
hungry people fed
homeless given shelter
the cup of water given
the community shared
the lessons learned
the worship
the sacraments
the times gathered around the bible
the prayers
the tears
the deep silence
the children..and the growing
the people joining us this year.
the people whose names we are going to read next week..
the names of the people we know
the mystery felt
the beauty seen
the thanksgiving in the heart
the peace that passes understanding
the amazing grace
the calling and somehow the saying
yes.
To .something ..someone.
beyond and within..
To Jesus Christ
saying yes
to God saying yes
to the needs of the world
saying yes to one another in the soul
The life
this life of love
...priceless..

you see that’s what we have
that can never be taken way
that is the treasure that cannot be touched by moth or rust

the spiritual ..heavenly treasures.
that is what Jesus is saying to us
and giving us
and helping us to remember..
And when we restore that memory
we have enough memory to do the task

we can use the blessings of this life..
.right down to the dollars and cents.
Having enough memory to be followers of Jesus in ministry


If we spend some 280,000 dollars in the budget.. in ministry. this year

Then maybe That is what we have still rely have.

Only what we have given away...the treasure that cannot be taken away..

I think that’s what we celebrate on this gift of faith commitment Sunday

We are celebrating what we we really have ; and we are getting our memory back.
Little by little
in what we are doing right here.

I believe Jesus is restoring the global memory.

I pray for a new ..good ..large memory so there is enough here at Park church
to perform this task.
Amen

Oct 14 God's Reminders

Oct 14 2007 Park UMC Rory Swenson

There is a Russian Jewish children’s story called
As Big as an Egg* and it is a story that teaches about sharing and it teaches us a very Biblical principle. It goes something like this .

Once upon a time back in Russia there was a Jewish man named Chaim. Chaim had already had a long day at work and he was cold and tired but he was standing in a line in front of the bakery.

All he really wanted to do was just go home. He just wanted to get warm and say his prayers and go to bed.
.but this was during the war in Russia ...and times were hard
and there was hardly any food
But Chaim had his ration card and that card said that he was allowed to stand in this line, twice a week,to get his loaf of bread and this was his day to be in the bread line

So now he was thinking about that bread... he thought about how he was going to soak that bread in some hot tea and bite it off in little piecesand enjoy every little piece of that bread

He was going to make it last as long as possible.

Finally the line had moved, and he got his bread and headed home with his loaf of bread;and of course that bread had to last him for 4 days.

But just as he turned around to go home, there
of all people
was the old widow Hanna , coming toward him.

And is heart sank,well actually it was more than that ... he felt this anger in himself

This woman was always around whenever he got his bread. She had nothing else to do
except collect bread for other people

He didn’t want to give her any of his, but she was on him in a flash

She had a way of looking right into your eyes and she gave you this deep smile
and she would say
“Bread.?”
And then she would open up her sack and you could look inside that bag
and you could see all these chunks of bread that other people had shared.

They had torn off chunks of bread from their loaves

“Please” she begged
“there are so many people who are old and crippled and sick
and they cant wait in the bread lines out in this cold

Just a little piece or two ?
Pulled from your loaf so they can eat too.?”

Well honestly, he didn’t want to give her anything at all.

He didn’t feel like he had enough for himself. hH was barely getting by..

He just wished that he had not been spotted by her.
But he was trapped so he pulled off a piece of bread about the size of an egg
and he threw it in the sack with the other pieces..

Hana smiled ,and gave him a blessing and she said thanks with the words

“May you live long and prosper.. to do many more good deeds.”
Chaim just mumbled back,‘yeah ...yeah...”and he tried to get away as fast as he could

Back home he made his hot tea; he could feel the steam coming from the cup
and he ate his bread ,nice and slow, he chewed on every bite and enjoyed the taste
Every bite was so good but there was never enough

He was still kicking himself for not getting away from Hana in time
and losing that piece of bread

Next time, he said.,“I m going to go to different bakery and she wont be there to bother me.”
Then he said his prayers and he went to sleep.
And you know he was still dreaming about food as he went to sleep

The next day
he came home from work thinking about how good that bread and tea would be
and as he opened up the door to his little apartmen the was shocked to see a rat running across the room and disappearing into a hole.

The rat’s tail was wagging at him...almost like a finger scolding him;
right away Chaim thought about his bread
Oh no!
sure enough,
there was a piece of bread missing, about the size of an egg

He was going to have to be more careful .... but first he got down on his hands and knees and he plugged up every hole he could find
then
(now he was even more tired than he was before)
he washed his hands
said the blessings
and very slowly
he ate his bread
he was very careful with the rest of that loaf

The next time he got bread, he picked another bakery
and sure enough

Hanna was not there with her bag and her begging.

Nobody was there to make him feel guilty or angry;
nothing to bother his conscience ...or make him think.
So he went back home and enjoyed his bread
and then the next night when he got home.... he opened the door
and again he saw that rat and it was like it was wagging its tail....
like it was shaking his finger at him
as he headed down a hole in the floor

Oh no..not the bread again !

He grabbed his bread
and there it was a missing piece;just about the size of an egg

well Chaim said a quick blessing and he ate ;
then he got his loaf of bread and wrapped it up and put it on the highest shelf

and he tried to make a little wall around itwith other things on the shelf
so nothing could get to the bread

The next evening
he came home and guess what ?
That rat went running off a soon as he opened the door to his room
...all he could see was that rats tail; just like a scold ing wagging finger getting waived at him

and of course his bread was missing another piece
(how big was it?)

About the size of an egg
this time
he was determined to save his bread

so after he prayed and ate his bread
he wrapped up his loaf of bread in some paper

and he tied a string around it.

. And he hung it from the ceiling so it would be safe


The next day he came home

and just as he was opening the door

What!!..... not again!

that rat was going across the room with that tail
just like some scolding finger
wagging away at him again

he pulled the bread down from the ceiling
and ..yep.. a piece was gone
about the size of an egg

he sat ....and he prayed the blessing
and he thought about the bread
something was wrong

what was it?

.finally he smiled to himself
and he knew ...

he realized

all of this bread
just did not belong to him

some of it belong to hannas begging bag

it belonged to the people
who couldn’t wait in line
and the people who had been left out..

it simply had to be shared

and he knew he should be grateful
that he had a ration card..

and he was guaranteed
at least two loaves of bread every week

he really had what he needed

so that night
he slept well
and the next day he went to stand in the bread line
back at the same old bakery


and Hana was hovering around

and as soon as he got his loaf of bread

there she was..... with that smile
and that collection bag

“bread ....bread ..just a piece of bread ?”

this time Chaim tore off two pieces
good sized pieces
about the size of a large egg
two large eggs

she smiled back
and said
may you live long ....and do well.... so you can do more good deeds

Hannah closed her sack and
Chaim went off back home and when he opened the door

he saw that rat with its tail running across the room

but this time that rats tail seemed to be waiving goodbye
and he was not surprised
that he never saw Hannas little helper, the rat, after that

he was not surprised at all.


Well you get message
at least I hope you do.


So..... does God put Hanna on your path ?
or does God send us rats to teach us those things..?

(I’m not going to say that God is like a rat.)

But we can be absolutely clear that God has put things in our life to teach us about sharing
and God does give me Bible lessons to guide my conscience

and God does give us scripture lessons
that teach us about who really owns the bread
God has given us reminders.

This year our stewardship campaign is built on I Corthinians 13:13

and in that section.
.Paul has been teaching the corinthans about what is most important. in the church
.and he pares it down to three things; faith, hope and love

he says
those are the things that really last
when you get right down to it......
and then he says that love becomes the real point of it all...
Eventually everything ends up as love.
but



.we are going to use those themes
as the great gifts for these next three years ..faith hope and love..
and this year
the theme is the great gift of faith.


Faith.is your relationship with gGd..faith is a living trust. Of the heart

.
Faith is not just an idea or a doctrine

Faith is letting God lead us...fromthe inside and out..

.and the stewardship committee said lets tie that in with what the Bible says about giving.
Giving is rooted in faith.

Now when a committee in the church
wants to be Biblical..thats a good thing..isnt it?

But do you know what the Bible says. about money and the wealth and giving?

Do you know what the Bible says about being financially faithful...

And maybe you don’t want to know..

but thats not a small topic..

First of all.
If you want to know what the bible says on this ..especially the Old Testament..
then you have to know about the tithe and tithing...

Now those are words that your not going to hear on Wall street or on TV;
its Bible talk and it means 10% or 1 tenth
' all through the Bible
I could give you verse after verse ..
..(I gave you some of those verses in the church newsletter.. )

. But I tenth is Gods share

That’s the minimum ... there is more beyond that ..
but ten percent belongs to God..

. And if you do the Bible study you find out that God’s share was put into the ‘storehouse..”
1 tenth of the produce,, the crops...the income of the day..

...it became Gods community property... So it was used to feed people
And It was for the Levites

..the Levites were the priestly tribe and the religious class in ancient Israel
....they didn’t get a share of the land to live on

so the tithe was used to support the religious life of the people

(maybe you can see how that would apply today
when we talk about the church budget ...support for the “religious system”)

And the tithe ,,,,,also in the Bible....
is used to care for the poor
and those who didn’t get in on the harvest and so on..
(Support for missions and relief etc.).

But there is another layer of the tithe..
and that is another basic teaching point..of the tithe ..and this is what I really want you to hear..out of this “tithe” message

It teaches you...
as a very practical reminder..when you give 1/10,
you get reminded that you don’t own this stuff
Its not really yours ..
you are just using it,, you are a steward ..a manager..
Because
it all belongs to God.
“The earth is the lords and the fullness there of..”

And it teaches you that God gave you,
in one way or another,. everythign you have.
..
God is the source of everything..

God is the giver
and we are called to see the tithe
as a way of saying thanks....

(.and jump now to the Gospel lesson with the ten lepers..isn’t Jesus saying that giving thanks is a core.. faithful response..note that one out of ten..a tithe...said thanks!
-----------------
Now all o f that is that probably more than you can absorb,maybe you can get it into your “head” ..as an idea but it’s a lot to get into your heart and your soul.
As part of your life

So Let me take you on the short cut

when the church
with
the guidance of the Bible
and the holy spirit
and the life of Jesus Christ

talks about money
and our spending
and the wealth

all this financial stewardship stuff..

we do it because it is about our faith.

. its about your real life ..deep down
and your relationship with God

If you want to grow in your faith, then you have to ..eventually ...
deal with the grip of money..and the spirit of your giving..
and the role of your possessions in your life!

This is not easy..it might be one of the hardest parts for us as Christians in this country.

But Jesus said ;we cannot have divided loyalties.
He said you cannot serve both God and mammon or wealth
-------------
Henri Nouwen said
_If money touches our relationships with family members
as well as the world beyond our home,
it also reaches into our inner life.”

How does money reach into your inner life?

That the most improtant of this conversation this morning!!!!

The New testament says that money is something that can tempt us
and control us
and make us greedy
or stingy ..or resentful (James says it’s the cause of wars!)
or it make us worried. Or it gives us a false sense of security
or somehow it becomes a spiritual danger.. Money is a spiritual issue..
It gets inside of us!

In fact
that warning about money and possession
is found in just about every major religious tradition of the world..
Buddhist, Islam,, Native American , Jewish Christian, Hindu..its all there.

Why do you think that is?

Do you think there is some real wisdom in that warning?

So we have to ask; every day I suppose ..at least every Sunday when the offering plate comes around;is my financial business in the spiritual relationship that it needs to be?


The Christian tradition is here to help you do that..at least to hear the call; by asking you to give.....and to grow a faithful and generous spirit in you.

That is our calling...to form your spiritual life....to shape your spirit according to Jesus Christ

In a sense,
we are the ‘Hanas” in your life

the Bible is like Hanna.
.the offering envelope is like Hanna..
The church is like Hanna

And I know it is something...that sometimes,
we don’t want to deal with

So we go to a different bakery ,..we go to a different church..
We skip that Sunday.... or we just ignore the topic.

I don’t want to say we are a the rat that nibbles away at your bread..

But .you get the point

If I didn’t bother you ( Am I bothering you?)
or remind you..as a pastor...
In the name of Christ.

.I would not be faithful to God

I would not be presenting the Bible to you..
And if you don’t like
or agree with what I say

that oks...I struggle with it too....this is not easy...its a life long process..

But then..
go tell God
go argue
with the Bible..go do the soul searching .
Look at your “inside” spiritual stuff...

because ultimately its not coming from me.

And its not the finance committee..

I believe it is about the faith,
This is about what God wants you to do..
As part of the Christian faith

And I also believe that God wants to do more with this church

with this ministry
with you..
God has bigger plans for this Park United Methodist church

something has been happening here
and will happen even more..
Whenever we get faithful.. Faithful things happen..

Until then,tell me if you are avoiding Hanna
and if you have been noticing any rats.
. Nibbling away in your heart
or in life.

I look forward to the great gift of faith..
as big as an egg..
or maybe just the size of a mustard seed.

The story is adapted from Megan MeKenna, Blessings and Woes. P, 60 Orbis Books 1999
she also cites As Big as an Egg by Rochel Sandman*

Sept 30 2007 Bible Presentation Sunday

Sept 30. 2007 PUMC Rory Swenson “The Bible is..”

I get to do another one of my favorite things this morning.
We get to give out Bibles to third graders and confirmation students.
And I am wondering ,how many of us still have a Bible that you got in about third grade?
How many of you have a Bible that you got for confirmation?
And then take a minute and tell somebody next to you about your first Bible.

When did you get it and who gave it to you?
What did it feel like to get that Bible?
Do you still have it? No that for just a minute or 2

Now another question:what is a favorite verse or a verse that you think of most often?
Finally, is there anybody here who does not have a Bible ?

Because if you don’t then I have a Bible for you;... you can see me at the end of the service.

Now up until Thursday evening I was going to talk about what the Bible is.

I was going to talk about the Bible as a way to hear God’s voice to us.
... we do speak of It as God’s Word..and we are called into this dialogue of listening and relationship

I was also going to talk about the Bible as a standard for living

and I was going to talk about the Bible as a the source for our identity ...
that's why I had those verses put into the bulletin insert this week

I listed some verses that tell us who we are
so maybe you could save that insert and use them as prayer reminders this week of who you are;

And all that is true

But there was this story that I’ve know about for several years
that has been waiting for its turn to be told and it kept coming back to me this week

I got this idea again and again ,“tell that story this week..”
Drop those other notes,Go get that story

and I realized that it is also a story about what the Bible really is....

Except that it’s a zen Buddhist story and its about how the Buddhist scriptures
the sutras, got printed in Japanese language

Well
its still a story that can speak to us about what the bible really is..

Heres the “jist” of to the story..and its based in history

Tetsugen,
was a follower of Zen in Japan, in the 1600s and he became a monk when he was just a young teenager. He wanted to become a holy person so he obeyed the discipline of the monastery where he listened, he studied ,chanted and he learned


But very early on he dreamed of having the Buddhist teachings printed in the Japanese language . Up until this time they were only printed in Chinese:
all the scripture and the chants
the koans the parables and the stories;
all had to be read in Chinese

so only the most dedicated and determined people were able to do this
You had to learn Chinese before you could even start to study and of course,
not everybody could do that

so you can see why Tetsugen wanted to translate the words

and then
he wanted to have 7000 copies printed
That was his dream and his devotion to the scriptures;
so that the lay people of Japan
could read this in their own languages
and they too could be inspired ..and they too could become holier in their own lives...
(We had the same kind of challenges and issues in western Christianity , trying to get the Bible printed into the common languages of the people, for example English or German, rather than just Latin)

But this was a huge project ; translating and then carving all those letters on to wood blocks for printing...it would take about 60,000 wood blocks to make this translation ;of course it was very expensive

yet Tetsugen was driven by this dream and his own devotion to tho scriptures
and wanting to share this wisdom and this life with the people.

He became a leader in his own monastery and then became a master also at a young age ;then he started to teach outside the monastery ,out in the villages
or in the town s and cities,soon
he was invited to teach with the scholars and the businessmen and the government officials
He was a famous teacher and as he taught in these places
he was able to charge for his lectures; he also collected donations for his project
sometimes he would get a hundred pieces of gold
..but most of the time
he got just a few coins.

. Still, he was grateful for every donation and he valued them all just the same

. After doing this for ten years.. He had enough money to hire a translator,

He could now by the paper and have the paper prepared,
and have the print blocks made.

After ten years he could finally have the books for the people

But just as he was about to give the money to the translator and get the project in motion, there was typhoon and heavy rains
and the Uji river overflowed .Homes were ruined, bridges and roads were destroyed and the rice crop was lost ;
after that there was a famine..


The very young and the very old were the first to die
but soon everyone was in danger
there was no seed rice..for the next crop
Tetsugen looked at the suffering of the people and he thought,

“How can I make books when the people who are going to read them.
Are starving to death”

And so he took all the money he had saved in those ten years
and he sent away to get rice .to save the people.
He gave away everything he had for the hungry

As Japan began to recover
Testugen still had his dream to translate the scriptures so he started to go out and speak once gain,
to collect for the project..

More traveling ,,more begging..
He begged from every one and anyone ;always grateful for the gifts..

Again it took him several years to collect enough money

by now the cost of the materials had gotten higher
but finally he was ready with the translator
and the paper and the person to carve the printing blocks


But again. Tragedy struck
there was an epidemic; disease was everywhere.
The people were two weak to work the fields..
’people needed medicine and they needed food.
.and so again Tetsugne spent all of the money
to help the people


and then For a third time
he started his work, all over; speaking , teaching, writing,
collecting donations..

He begged shamelessly but he was begging from people who had given donations before and sometimes people would say to him

What did you do with the money that we already gave you for this project.?

But he never gave up on his dream, and his devotion to the scriptures and how he wanted to share them with his own people
well

again after twenty years his wish was fulfilled.
He had enough money ;this time
no disasters came along,
the translator was paid

the wood printing blocks were made
the paper was printed.

And in 1681
7000. copes of the sutras
., the prayers and the teachings
were made for the people of Japan

Testsugen was not a young man anymore but his devotion was shared
and it was lived in his translation

You can still go to a monastery in a Kyoto Japan
and you can see Four of those little printing blocks that made the first edition of sutras
.
I'm told that
The tour guide in that monastery museum
will tell you this..
They say that Testsugin
actually made three sets of sutras,
not one
but three translations of those scriptures

and that the first two invisible sets

surpass even the last.

The first 2 sets of scripture are far superior and much more to be valued.

You get the message

The best translation of the scriptures came in the acts of devotion
and self lessness and compassion .as he helped the people

When Tesugun used the scripture
to become food and medicine and the rebuilding of lives

that is what really taught the wisdom and gave holiness to the people

Because he loved those sutras , those scriptures ;
he also loved the people those scriptures were for
because he knew what those teachings taught, he know what he really had to do.
because he wanted to share those scriptures; he also knew that he had to share with the people in need

He could not do one without the other.

That what I want us to hear to day as we present these Bible and have our kind of Bible Sunday.

Can you really love the Bible without loving the people the bible is for?
Can you love God’s word without loving Gods world..and God’s vision for the you in that world?

Can you be devoted to God’s word
without being devoted to gods work
Doesn’t one lead tot he other?


That’s the lesson that I hear in our Bible as well..
The true giving of the scriptures happens when we give love and life

the true translating of the bible
happens when change our action
s and respond the hungry and the poor

The true teaching of the Bible
happens when we do what the Bible teaches us to do
and we begin to live the kind of world
and form the kind of future that God points out for us

That is the vision of the scriptures where they study war no more
where the hungry are fed
the outcasts are regathered and the lost are found
in the good ness of God

Do you think God want us to translate that into our real lives somehow?

Maybe that what the Bible really is

it s a translation of Gods will
.wanting to happen in us..and thorough us.....
a translation of Gods wisdom

a translation of Gods love into your world, your mind, your action, your being

Is the translation only in the pages of this wonderful book?
or

do we make those other invisible translations
those more precious translation
in the living of our lives

as we become
those sacrificial and holy
stories of faith and hope and love..
Can you make that translation?

the Bible is meant to be translated... into life..

Go back to the gospel lesson today

maybe the true devotion to the Bible as the word of God
comes when we do see the Lazarus at our own gates of the world..

and we listen to the scriptures

We listen to the warnings and calls of Moses
and the prophets

and yes we listen
and do the the words of Jesus
who did indeed raise from the dead...

Jesus is very clearly saying we already have the scriptures to lead us!
Now do it! Will we listen to it..Will we translate it!

That the kind of living translation that the bible
..as the word of God ,is trying to be

There is an old gospel poem and song
that talks about the gospel according to you

and that you are the gospel
you are the bible

that most people are actually going to read...

Are you good translation.? I hope that as a church we are trying to be a good modern translation
that takes to days complex issues
and todays challenges
and tries to solve them

with the same kind of transformative love, and creative hospitality
and selfless sacrifice and
ultimate trust..
that Jesus revealed as the way

now thats a transaltion
of the bible to be treasured.. Its seems like a very rare translation!

The Bible printed in a book
is to be cherished and prayed and studied..

But most of all it is to be embodied.
.taken to heart and lived..

Maybe that's why we see Jesus Christ as the incarnation of the word
..the living Word...Jesus became the word


Let me close with lesson form the Jewish tradition
Rabbi David Wolpe
tells about a man who went up to a very wise rabbi and said

Rabbi I don’t want to boast
but I consider myself a very devout and learned Jew.
I have been through the Talmud three times in my studies.

The rabbi smiled back at him and nodded
“Admirable
Very admirable
But my friend, I have a question for you?
How much of the Talmud has been through you?”


Maybe we have to ask the question :how much of the bible has been though us..?
Gotten into us..
Moved us ..changed us.. Formed us.

What is the Bible ...? As people of faith..I think we have to say

The Bible is God word to create us and recreated us. The bible is Gods word
that is meant to be translated and gone through us.
All of us and each of us

How much of the bible is going through you.?
That is how we personally answer, what the Bible is.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
....(My version of the Tetsugin story is a compilation of the material from the wikipedia entry for Tetsugen as well as Megan Mckenna's version in Keepers of the Story p. 50 Orbis Press

The rabbi and Talmud story is From M. McKenna Prophets,,p. 1 , she cites Rabbi David Wolpe