Nov 2009

Nov 22, 2009 PUMC Phil 4:11ff

I picked out the reading from Philippians

just for this morning..
It seems to be a thanksgiving lesson


Paul is wring this letter

from a Roman prison....

.we need to know that background..
a prison...
or a jail.....maybe in chains..

Nothing good or comfortable about that.
I cant imagine what those conditions were like

. and yet
yet..
this is one of his most joyful
and positive letters

over and over it talks about gratitude and thanksgiving

and concentrating on the good..

He talks about being content or satisfied

whether he has a little or a lot...

. he says I’ve been been full and I’ve been hungry


Paul seems to have a spirit of gratitude that is unconditional.

.something that is not is not based on circumstance..

He seems to have a steadiness or a center

he seem to have grateful spirit or a grateful heart.

he calls it the secret..The answer
or the wisdom
that is there

through all the ups and downs of life.

.and it seems to me that’s what spiritual gratitude is really about ..


I’m thinking there area t least two kind s of gratitude

the firs t one is Conditional Gratitude ...when things are good.
.I m grateful
and I say thanks.

I think just about everybody knows about this kind of gratitude

thats what the thanksging holiday is..I suppose,, for most of us in the country

This is not a bad thing
its being thankful

when we have something good In our life
when we have the abundance

and something goes well

we should see it..and celebrate it..

. Maybe this is gratitude for your family..
And for your health
and whatever wealth you might have

that’s the gratitude
of counting your blessings.....name them one by one..see what you have

And even though we have this recession going on

and I know that people have lost their jobs
and theirs homes.
.and things are not want they used to be
for a lot of people

this circumstantial gratitude
still
invites you to look at what you have ....
and give thanks..
don’t ignore whatever good things you still have..
look for the good..
Don’t deny what is still good in your life

(thanksgiving invites you to do that.)


but then
there is this other kind of gratitude

I don’t know what to call it
,maybe just spiritual gratitude..



This is the kind of gratitude
Paul is taking about here..a different kind of contentment.

This is Paul’s secret strength.
.inner strength

And maybe

it come s down to just being thankful for God.. (Period)

a spirit of god in your life..
the gratitude of faith .

.Paul talks about this strength from God...(not strength from good circumstances)

but This inner joy or trust

Again, Paul
is still thankful
in

all the ups and downs of life
Paul says that he has learned this..
“I have learned to be content”
learning is a process

Im still working on that..I think we all are..
.it’s a learning curve..
But I want to learn this..
With prayer..and spiritual practices...

by following Jesus..
I want to learn ..the grateful spirit that Paul points to,



Paul.
.and the rest of the bible says it also

Circumstances change

And that’s a fact of life

but Gods presence

Gods love God holds on your life.



Whats that bible verse

the grass withers,
,the flower fades. but the word of the lord stands forever


God does not fail..

there is the greater
core goodness.

.that Paul ...knows about..
Paul believes in that

he lives in that.

And it keeps him thankful

lin fact in this same letter

Paul says rejoice in God always
(Rejoice inthe lord always, again I say rejoice)

then he says live with gentleness..
Don’t be anxious
pray with thanksgiving

he talks about peacefulness.
A steadiness.

I think that is the spirit of thanksgiving that the church is talking about.

. The thankful spirit
of faith in God..
No matter what the circumstance e might be..


I don’t know if we can ever get that I n our heads. (Intellectually)

But I believe I you can get it ..in your heart...in that deeper level..


.
let me say it a better way

with a story.. (Spiritual lesson are always better in a story. that’s why Jesus told stories

this is another story from the Hasidic Jewish tradition

a story from the bel shem tov.

.he was a famous teacher..a rabbi

form the early 1700s in eastern Europe
and of course th stories have become legends with a lesson

this one is called THE HOLY SABBATH BEANS



Once, the Baal Shem Tov
called his closest disciples,

his closest students

and he s aid to them

"My friends,
I'd like to show you something

this is something
that you've never seen before

. Just be sure
that you stay close to me next Sabbath."


They were all excited with anticipation,

they could barely wait for the next Sabbath to arrive.

When Sabbath finally came

they eagerly surrounded the BaalShem Tov during his prayers

. Suddenly,

they saw the Baal Shem Tov glance over to the side of the Synagogue.


They looked over

and they saw a pauper
this poor man

and he was praying intensely
and with great joy.

But
they didn't notice anything that seemed very special about the man.

After the prayers,

the Baal Shem Tov called for his disciples to join him.

They walked together,

quietly

they came to the pauper's house,

(it really wasn’t much of a place

and they stood outside the front door,

and they listened to the conversation

between the poor man and
his wife.
he greeted her with a joyful voice

"Good Sabbath, my sweet wife,"
.
She answered back to him

"And a restful
and holy Sabbath to you
my dearest husband,"



Then the husband


sang Shalom Aleichem (Peace to you),

and some other ancient spiritual greetings .

Then he said to his wife,

"Please
bring out the wine for Kiddush ..for the Sabbath blessing

but The man and the woman were so poor

they didn’t have any money for wine.


So instead
she
put two little rolls of bread
in front of him and said,

"My dear husband,
we don't have any wine ...

so make Kiddush ..say the blessing
over these two rolls of bread."

"Okay then," the poor man answered,

"We will make Kiddush over the two loaves of bread

and they will taste just as good as the best wine.. could ever be
After they finished the SABBAT blessing
over the two rolls of bread,

the poor man said


now "My dearest wife,

please serve the fish

and let us experience (the joy of Sabbath).

His wife came out with a plate of cooked beans


and she placed a spoonful pf beans

on each of their plates.

Then she said

"May it be God's will that these beans
have the taste of a wonderful fish delicacy."

Then They ate the beans

and their faces were bright .. with delight and inner joy.


Then the poor man began to sing Sabbath songs.

"Thank God we lack nothing to celebrate the holy Sabbath,"

we have everything that is needed

"Let us have the soup now."

Well there was no soup

as They both took
another spoonful of beans.

"Oh, this Sabbath we really have a wonderful soup,"

they said to each other.

Then they had a third spoonful of beans
for the meat dish

and a fourth spoonful as a dessert.

"Come, sweet wife,
the poor man said

now let us dance to celebrate the Sabbath,"



So they both got up from the table

and began to dance.

"Our dancing,"
commented the man,

"fulfills the saying of our Rabbis,

'He who properly sanctifies the Sabbath will earn a great
reward.' "

As they danced around their Sabbath table,

they laughed to each other, ..

.as they enjoyed the reward of the moment

"How fortunate we are!

how good is our lot."

The students that were watching this scene,
started to feel a warm glow well up in themselves.

The Baal Shem Tov said in a whisper.

"I see that all of you
are experiencing the gift of enjoying the Sabbath

just as much as this poor man and his wife

have been enjoying their Sabbath.

You should know

that it is not the earthly food that they tasted,
but the Sabbath itself."

And so it was.


I want you to hold on to that phrase..

It is not the earthly food that they tasted
but the Sabbath itself..



Well I would love once again to sit down in small group

or with each other
and ask you

what do you hear in that story

I think this is a wonderful thanksgiving story

Even though its not about a thanksgiving dinner

it is certainly about another dinner
the Sabbath meal

but as you heard
or I hope you heard in the story

it is not so much about the food at all
is it..?

but the gratitude. the giftness
the spirit of it all

the bel shem tov said..

It is not the earthly food that they tasted.

.but the Sabbath itself


That the real thanksgiving part of the story for me

now

I hope your thanksgiving dinner isn’t getting down
to just a plate of beans


go ahead and enjoy
whatever abundance can come to your table..


But what will you really be tasting?

will you taste just some turkey or potatoes or pie..


Or will you be able to taste thanksgiving itself
the real essence of the holiday


taste the gratitude
and the giftedness of life

taste a deeper kind of goodness

taste the other spices of life
taste the fruit of the spirit

which is love joy peace;;kindness,,gentleness
savor the riches of life

that goes far beyond anything you could put on a table

taste the holiness
..hidden behind it all..or deep inside of it all.

That’s we are really

we are hungry for grateful hearts

hungering for..

a sacred and essential goodness...
that maybe defies reason


a something of the soul



thanksgiving ultimately/ spiritually

Comes down to the mystery
that everything...everything.
is a gift from God.
.beyond imagination ..we live in a generosity ....
Of eternity..

the good ness of god..that does not fail
in the end..
All will be well..
Wholeness..redemption.. shalom

Thanks giving

is not what is on the table

its what is on your heart...from God

it is that
richness of love and grace

that we see in Jesus Christ
.Taste that.....for thanksgiving

now that a feast.


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


..
‘;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

As we baptize little Thaddeus today..

We are also saying that
He is mysterious. secretly
faithfully
joined to that essential goodness s of life

..he too
is going to be raised to hear that story of Gods love in jesus Christ


he too
really is what his name means

Thaddeus means Gods gift

his name itself ...is a name that points to giftedness and gratitude.


Thats how we see him....
and we are saying thanks to God

but in this baptism we are also s giving him back to god...
we are saying God...
shape him and grow him..
Raise him
With faith and hope and love

make him one of your disciple to do good. In this world


May that be the divine sprit that washes him

and renews him all the days of his life\
let god be his strength
so baptism too is an act of thanksgiving

Baptism is thanks and giving.


Sabbath Beans story is © 2004 Baal Shem Tov Foundation – a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization.
“Dedicated to spreading the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov” –www.baalshemtov.com


------------------------------------------------------------------

Nov 15 2009 hannah and Prayer

what if This picture of Hanna in I Samuel this morning is a picture of prayer..

Did you get the image, or at least the feeling, of deep intense prayer.?

.prayer from the center of the heart..
and nothing is holding her back


prayer out of some deep pain ....b ut perhaps also
from a place of some deep hope

deep faith / deep love and desire

I see this as follow up to the lesson last week , about longing for God (Ps 42)

I see that same kind of desire with Hanna
and the yearning to be a blessing for God

she has felt that she was barren and worthless to God
and to the world.
.
The story is about moving from barrenness to blessing

spiritual barrenness to spiritual blessing

As she pours out her heart...............

it says she was praying silently... her lips were moving...



it says in some translations she was pouring our her soul

just hold on to that phrase for this image of prayer..


Now let me bring that out with a story from India
.I think it will help us see something in the story of Hanna as well


Its about an emperor, and a peasant women and prayer

Once upon a time

there was an emperor named Akiba


he was good leader and just and fair

..but every once in a while

the burdens of being a good ruler Would get to him


and he would need to go out hunting for the day


just to get away from it all..


Of course being an emperor

he would bring along his servants and a few guards for the hunt as well.

But in this day they had not gotten anything.

. Not even the sight of a deer.

And the emperor was frustrated and annoyed.

This was not turning out to be the kind of relaxing and joyful day that he needed

and so

he began to take out his feelings on the servants and members of the court who traveled along.

Then it came time for the prayers....

So...faithful to there tradition

they got off their horses and gathered together for the ritual.

They knelt down facing to the east

With their heads touching to the ground.

But akaba.


.even though he was saying the prayers

and following all the practices...


Still had a lot of things on his mind...

The worries of the kingdom/
his desire to go home with a good deer from the hunt,
he wanted

to have some sense of contentment.


.some good feeling/ before he would have to go back and face all those decisions

..all that work and responsibility

so many people depending on him..


He was thinking how he never really got to get away from his work


And now here it was and god..the compassionate one. Was not even letting him enjoy the simple satisfaction of a good hunt.

He blessed God in his prayers..


But he was hoping that after the prayers.
His luck would change

and he would get a chance to catch something

Now..
at the same time..while this was going on..



deep in the heart of the forest.

There was an older women

she was married..

And early that same morning..

Her husband had gone off into the woods

she was getting very worried

because he had been gone for a long time/ longer than it should have taken him.

And she loved him deeply

and was afraid that something had happened to him.



now just at the same time that akaba the Emperor and all his servants were kneeling down on the ground....to pray


she decided to go off looking for her husband..


Pretty soon she was just frantic..


. Running in every direction.

.up and down the trails

backtracking where she had been before.

More and more worried about her husband.



and in the intensify of her search..

She wasn’t watching where she was going..


And somehow..

She managed to actually trip over the emperor himself..

Because he was down there
bowed down in prayer..

.and she wasn’t looking down on the ground.


Well she got up..

Didn’t even pay attention to the emperor..

And ran off once again...deeper into the forest.


Looking so intently for her husband

The emperor was very annoyed..

But he finished his prayers along with everyone else..

And them.

Since eye was th emperor after all.

He sent some of his soldiers to go and find that women who had tripped over him,

and bring her back .


In the meantime

the women found her husband

. And she was filled with joy.


He was old..and not feeling well..


And he need her help

he had fallen

and she was helping him to get back to the house.

But the soldiers found her and dragged her back to the emperor.



he was giving her quite a scolding..


She needed to know what she had done!

.didn’t you notice

that you had tripped over somebody ?

and not only that..but he was the emperor..

Didn’t she even notice that.


She simply said..

What were you doing down there on the ground in the first place.

He said I was saying my prayers

and she said to the emperor


you were saying your prayers..

kneeling..face down to the ground

facing east.. With your head touching the earth



supposedly praying to the great Lord of the universe..

And still you noticed
that some one tripped over you.?!


What kind of concentration is that


she went on to say

While here I am

simply chasing after my husband..whom I love dearly


and so I did not notice you


You see
I was paying attention to my search
and my devotion


but you.


.if you
if you said your prayers better


you would have been paying more attention to the lord of the universe

and your search and your devotion


and then if you had been doing that..
you would not have even noticed
when someone fell over you.


The emperor listened to these worlds


and he was embarrassed.


Its true.. He had been distracted..in his attention...he had been self centered in his attention
while she..had not..

So in fact he gave the women some gifts..to honor her..

and sent her back to her home ..to her beloved husband..

And later

whenever
the emperor prayed.

He was not concerned about anything else

but God..
The compassionate One

and how he kept his attention on his prayer


and whenever somebody asked him

how he learned to pray that way..

He told them about a simple peasant women


who loved her husband..
And concentrated on the devotion.

And taught him to love the lord of the universe

and what prayer really was..




I m sure we could hear that story at several different levels.
It raises all kinds of questions

maybe we could see that the women is a picture of prayer

because she is passionate...
In her search

are you passionate in your prayer...

Or maybe she is picture of prayer

because what she is doing
an example of caring.

.she is up and moving ,
,taking action in her search for her husband

could determined..caring action be a picture of prayer? ..I think so



prayer as compassion
Passionate prayer that comes from deep within us.
prayer...as devotion..prayer as focus.
.prayer as the concentration of heart...

All of that fits in ..


But it reminded me of a definition of prayer from Simone Weil a french philosopher

she said
absolutely unmixed attention was prayer..

Prayer as absolutely unmixed attention





it seems to me
that the way the woman in the story was whole heartedly searching for her Husband

.. That was unmixed attention


in fact

many spiritual traditions
including some voices in Judaism and Christianity..

Would say that learning to pay attention

is a basic spiritual practice for prayer..
..........
When I was on renewal leave this summer

we spent a day on a spiritual retreat

and we learned about some Buddhist traditions

and for the meal time
we were told to eat without talking..eat in silence
...
Just pay attention to the experience of the food and the eating,
chew each bite
maybe 20 times or more

..slowly...deliberate taste it.
. And pay attention to it..

Thich Nhat Hanh.
.is a Buddhist monk who has written some great material in the Buddhist /Christian dialogue and how we can understand each other

he talks about the mediation practice of mindfulness when you eat

and he says Don't put anything else into your mouth, like your projects, your worries, your fear, just put the carrot in.
And when you chew, chew only the carrot,
not your projects or your ideas.
( The Path of Emancipation: Talks from a 21-Day Mindfulness Retreat)

but you know that not the not the way I normally eat...

even when I say a pray... before I eat (,,and I usually do that)

but then.. I still don’t pay that much attention to the food..
Do you?
Im more distracted when I eat.
I don’t really treat the gift of food like a blessing
..I don’t really turn my meals into act of thankfulness .

.but paying attention to it.
even though I said “Thank you god..in my prayer..bless this food

Wouldn’t it be more..a true prayer or deeper prayer
a meal time prayer
or a table grace

If I I actually continued to to thank God
by paying attention,, and treasured this gift of food as the blessing that it is..
Don’t just say a table prayer.

.but let that time become prayer at the table

I think you can adapt that..so that it also a time to pay loving attention to the people with you the table..
Try it some time.
... some people would call this the prayer of mindfulness..
Being present to the gifts of God


Prayer as unmixed attention.

Where and when do you come close to that ?
maybe your prayer times
Are those moments
when you lose yourself in the satisfaction of some good project.
..or some time
..maybe holding or playing with a child
or a grandchild
or working with the garden
or on some walk .
or maybe in music,
,when it just holds your attention and moves you along

in the moments
when you got caught up in something that touches your heart for good..and for God

That s a moment of prayer.

One of the biggest ways that we misunderstand prayer.

is that we make it too complicated..

or we define it in just very narrow ways
we make it into something that is beyond us. or limited to the church

We seem to have made up a lot of narrow religious definitions of what prayer is.
..
And Im also sure that at least 99 percent of us. Want to learn and grow in our prayer life

Well I am still learning more and more about prayer as well.

.and Im seeing that prayer

is simply being with God

prayer is paying attention.
.trying to be awake
to the presence of God
notice..watching for God
in all the experiences of Life
I think that what Paul pointed to when he said pray without ceasing...

.live prayerfully. Live .intentionally..
prayer is listening
and opening the eyes and ears of the heart

and prayer
is simply opening myself to God
with whatever honesty I have in my life at that time .

..being honest with my ups and downs
being honest and open with my life

paying attention to God in whatever yearnings and worries
and pains and fears I might have.

That what I see in Hanna this morning...
Pouring out her soul
paying attention to her life
she comes with such a passion
..such freedom

as she comes before God..

I would say that she comes to God with all her heart.. soul ,mind and strength

remember when Jesus said that the most important thing of all
was to love God
with all your heart soul mind and strength
and to love your neighbors as yourself

that sounds like a guide for prayer as well

it sound s like mindfulness...heartfulnes
.soul fullness
unmixed attention

Now Here is the homework for the week
(Can I give you homework)
Follow this lesson plan

pay attention to something....in a prayerful way
use it as a lesson to practice on
to grow your prayer life
pay attention to some person..
Some experience..it might be some problem
.something around you or in you
or
in the words about Hanna
Listen for the ways that you might be pouring out your soul.

What do you do..soulfully...?

Maybe we can hear the invitation to do the same
simply pray like that..
Pray from the inside..
Pray with your soul
pray with the honesty and with an open and passionate attention...that comes from the center of your life.
.from the heart
give your prayerful attention
this week in some way of love.
Pray with love.
.maybe that’s also what it means to pray in the name of Jesus Christ
And to pray for Gods will to be done
it means
To pray with love..

I think that’s the prayer life we are a looking for

pray.. in whatever way takes your heart..to God..

Amen


M Mckenna is my source for this story of the women and the emperor
McKenna Parables 98

Sorry I have not posted for so long. Of course I went 8 Sundays without writing a sermon while I was on a renewal leave in Australia and New Zealand...but will try to catch up soon.
Last Sunday we had a chidren's musical during the services, and the Sunday before that, pastor Jeff preached at Park church

Sunday Services at Park church are 9:30 and 11:15 plus we have added a midweek communion time at noon (12:05) Wednesdays.
We often have an audio recording of the Sunday service, available at the church office.
Thanks for checking in!
With metta...........

and blessings
Rory

the chest of drawers

I got it

at rummage sale

it was 35 dollars

The person

said that her grandmother had it

(or maybe it was a great grandma )

it was old and very well used

　

even though it had had some ornate decorations

the top was covered up with lots of scratches

the person showed me where as kid

she had scratched her name into the top

　

it was interesting piece

And we could use it,,

least thats what I told myself

I needed a project like that

so I started refinishing it

　

The scratches on the top were just in the varnish

and they came right out

but then

I noticed

that it had this chunk of wood splintered off in the back

(But it was just in the the back)

and some of the old stain

was actually covering up some tough stains

.

and there were some other scratches

that were a little deeper

even a gouge or too

this furniture had been though a few repairs

some of the repairs

were pretty good

I could see some old staples

in the drawers corners

and then

there was the place where

It had been hit with a hammer

right in the front

...had those hammer head dents

　

　

but I kept working on it

and some

of those wear marks and hammer marks

(we could call them stress marks

maybe some antiquing)

and basically

its going to work out



I think it looks pretty good

its got character

I would say ..its one of a kind...you cant buy something like that.

now

somebody else

might have lookd at that chest of drawers

and said

that’s just a beat up old piece of furniture

not worth much at all

maybe its junk

it had already sat there

for a day without being sold



but I saw

some thing there..



Im thinking

that we are like that old chest of drawers



wouldn’t you like to be treated like that chest of of drawers

in this way



Don’t you want somebody to look at you

and see something in you

　

despite or inspite of

what you might look like

on the outside

and what has happened in your life

　

here is the question

What is in you

behind the damage

and the stains

and the scratches

and the wear and the tear ?

what is inside of you?

underneath the homemade self repairs

that maybe worked out

or maybe they didn’t ..



but nevertheless its what happened

　

isnt there something in side of you



that is deeper

than the hammer marks

so to speak



well there is

there is

something like that in you

and in the church

we call that your soul



you got soul



we are the kind of people

l who believe in things that cant always be seen

we believe in things like souls

You have an inner design and a beauty

　

you have a value and character

that is still there

always there

even though your outside



your surface life

your circumstances

might not

look like much sometimes

　

　

you are a soul

　

　twe are gods children

we are spiritual being

with a living connection to God

　

　

we are not just what goes on in the surface s of our life

ths is abid deal!!!



we need to hear that again and again

we are not just our conditions

you are not just a body

not just a gender

not just a nationality

not just a job

not just a number

not just

any of those conditions or circumstances

　

of course all of that of Touches you

shapes you.



.its part of your identiy

don’t misunderstand me. .its all wrapped up with you

and in many way its your story



just as the dresser has a story



So and so

carved her name in this place



and it has this broken part



that Happened

And all that



that furniture

was in a certain house

it had its history

so do we all



but you

are still something else

There is still



that essential design and value

within you

a diserability

this character of your own

..a uniqueness

you are a child of God

and Gods sees you that way

　

you are a beloved soul

no matter what has happened

God sees that in you

god loves you that way deeply



God see through the damages



and the wear and tear and



all of the ‘whatever"



god see your inner wonder



and treasures your soul

thats good news isnt it

do you believe that?



Do live liek that and behave like that

　

It means that you are seen with grace

Living with grace

is to see... and

to be seen

the way

that Jesus sees you



We see still need to be a church

like that today



Chrsitians that

sees that beauty and worth in every person



we need to be people

who can see beyond the surface

\can see

the trashed

abused

the stained

Patched up

and stilll love them



because we still know who

we all are

we know

that you are still a treasure

maybe there on the inside

and By god

by god grace

we are going to treat you that way

we do not discount people

or toss them away

we are in the restoration business



the refinishing work of Jesus Christ



let God love you at that core

at the center

in your soul

And love everyone else through you

　

at your..true life.

How is it with you soul

as you leave the doors



of ths sanctuary this morning

walk out of here as a living soul

and as best you can.

.by the Help of God

do not hurt a living soul

PUMC March 22 2009 R Swenson Text Ephesians reading for the day
While were spiritually dead in our disobedience God brought us to life with Christ.
Hear that.?. Even when we were dead through our trespasses .. God made us alive together with Christ or in Christ..
by grace... you have been saved..
And raised us up.. With him.
.hear that? raised up ..that s resurrection ...language
we are alive ....you are alive..
What does that mean
or more importantly do you believe it ?
do yo believe that you really are alive
Rabbi Edwin Friedman . A great family systems therapist..
wrote this fable about a man who believed he was a dead
I tell it this way...one evening
a man came home .... and announced that he was dead
.Of course , some of his neighbors
tried to show him
how foolish this idea was.
Just look they said ...you’re walking .... and dead men cannot move themselves.
You cant be dead.. because your thinking,
you’re brain is functioning, your breathing
and those after all
are typical examples of being alive
But none of that had any effect on the man
No matter what reason they came up with
no matter how sensible the argument was
the man insisted ...that he was dead.
He answered their arguments with great skill.
He seemed to have a way of constantly putting the burden of proof back on them
. He never came right out and said, "Prove it."
But that was the message that he implied,
not so much by how he answered
as by how he avoided giving any answer at all.
Every now and then
someone thought,
"Now, I’ve pinned him down,"
now I’ve got evidence that he is alive..its so obvious.. no one could deny it.
But then he would use his trump:
"If I am dead, ..he would say ..then you don’t exist either,
because the living do not talk... or travel with the dead

Eventually
most of his friends and neighbors ..just quit arguing with him
and the few that were left
including his own family,
got very afraid
Several of them came to the same conclusion:
He had gone mad, or at the very least,
he was suffering from an erratic mental process.
Maybe it was Exhaustion from work, ?
A brain tumor?
He needs a rest,
we’ll call a doctor,
perhaps a psychiatrist,
maybe the family physician,
or call the minister.

The man, however,
was not upset by any of these suggestions.
He shrugged them off without even making any reply
and finally he said,
"I don’t know what’s the matter with you all.
It is just absurd
to think of a dead man ...as tired,
let alone sick."

His wife,
was almost literally beside herself
and she was thinking to herself
("If he believes this,
then how can he say that?
If he does that, .......how can he think this?")
the fear and the frustration in the house was so intense
they needed some outside help
so they invited a psychiatrist to interview him.
After some preliminary questions,
the doctor wanted to see the man alone.
And the man
agreed.
The two of them went into another room
and closed the door.
Now and then
you could hear a voice getting louder from the room
though nothing could be understood.
It was clear, however,
that the voice they heard getting louder belonged to the psychiatrist.
Some time later,
both men came back to the living room
The doctor had his jacket over his arm,
his necktie had been loosened
and his collar open
(in fact, the collar button was nt even there any more ).
As for the man,
he seemed totally unchanged.
"Hopelessly psychotic," muttered the psychiatrist.
"You will have to have him committed.
He has lost all awareness of reality.
If you want, I’ll call the hospital
and see if they have room."
But the man
said very calmly to the psychiatrist
"Now really,"
"what kind of therapy would you prescribe... for a dead man?
You do realize, doctor , of course
how ridiculous it would make you look
if they heard that you were trying to give therapy to a dead man?
Talk about losing your grip on reality!
The doctor started to answer,
but then
caught himself, and just left.

Next...... the family decided to bring in the clergy
well,, The family minister was not available.
So who should they get
Which type would be best?
Should they get the modern kind of pastor
with sophistication about psychological problems?
Or would it be better
a good old-fashioned fundamentalist?
someone said
"Let’s fight fire with fire,"
Now As it happened, that very evening
a well-known evangelist was in town
preaching at a nearby theater.

and when the preacher heard about the problem he rushed over,
he was thinking that a success with something like this.
.could really add something to the show
Once again,
the two men went into another room
the little group of family and friends
was waiting in the living room
they could here the voices behind the closed door.
Again, nothing that was audible, ,,they could not make out the words
again the rising tone,
again
never the man’s voice rising.
This time the clergyman came out alone
he looked at everyone,
.he seemed all shook up.
Then he kissed his little black book,
and bolted out the door.

Some of the family peeked into the room;
and
the man was fast asleep.
Then they decided
to call the family doctor
This doctor had known the man since he was a little boy,
and he was well known
not only for his medical reputation ... for patience and skill,
but he had this kind of old fashioned....down to earth wisdom.
He came right away
and after a couple of questions in front of everyone,
he said to the man ..
in a no-nonsense way,
"Tell me,..... do dead men bleed?"

"Of course not," said the man...dead men don’t bleed
"Then,"
said the doctor,
"would you allow me to make a small cut in your arm,
say
above the elbow?
I will treat it
; there’s no reason to worry about infection,
and we can see, once and for all,
whether you are dead."

again the man was not worried about anything
he simply said
"Doctor,
"Dead men do not get infections,
nor do they bleed,"
and he started to roll up his sleeve.
everyone was watching anxiously,
the doctor neatly slit the flesh,
and blood came spurting out.
There was a sigh of relief.. joy even
throughout the group.
Some laughed, others even applauded,
The doctor very quickly dressed the wound
and turned to everyone,
he said
"Well, I hope that puts an end
to this foolishness."
They were congratulating the doctor and thanking him
when they suddenly realized
that the man was headed for the door.
As he opened it, he turned to the group
and said, "I see that I was wrong...
dead men,
in fact, do bleed."
That’s the fable..
And of course its used as lesson

how deeply do get stuck in our denial and insist on our beliefs
no matter what anyone says , we get stubborn about our verison of the truth

I thought of that story
along with the words form Ephesians
and the very central truth of the gospel
we are alive..in Christ
so what’s the problem?

Aren’t we like the man in freidmans fable?
we keep insisting that we are dead
that we are dead men and dead women
we keep insisting
or acting as if we are spiritually dead
but the message from Ephesians this morning
says ...that we are not dead

well ok
yes
we used to be dead
we have been dead
and yes we might possibly still be dead
acting like we are dead
but the real truth
is that we have been raised with Christ
we are alive,, believe it or not
you are not dead..to the new life
So come alive.
.that the invitation
,the call..even the command of the Gospel
did you also here verse 10
we have been made alive
so we can do good deeds ..do good works
we are alive for Gods purpose...
for are being made alive for our true purpose of life
this is all part of that great faith language
spiritual understandings
about new birth.... new life
and being a new creation..
It’s the same idea as the born agin language in John 3
or the words about being in the light..and being alive
.but we are so good at denying ...this life.
How do we keep insisting that we are dead?
well..maybe it sound like this..
Listen to the words we use:
You have to look our for number one
Nothing ever changes
People never reelay change
he will always be that way
nothing good will ever come from her
or maybe..
"I can never get over this..
I will never be happy again"
Does that sound like words of the spiritual living or the dead..
we never did it that way before ?
this is hopeless.... We’re doomed
its will always be this way
its impossible
language of death
Whatever happened to the power of hope
and life
and new creation
as in
Christ has died and Christ is risen!
we are heading to the resurrection message on Easter morning
and part of that message is that if we can believe the resurrection
as the power of God
raising the dead
if you believe in the resurrection of Jesus
then you should be able to believe just about anything
right
what could be more impossible than that!
well how about your new resurrection..your new beginnings..
The resurrection in this world!
The overcoming of death and its powers
Y ou too are raised with Christ.
.in Christ
then we are opening the door
To power and vision that is beyond imagination
Easter in the resurrection of Christ says we too
a re a new creation
alive
yes we are dead to sin
we are dead to the powers of destruction a and oppression
dead to the power of greed
dead to whatever separates us from God and one another
dead to the power of violence
dead to the political powers of Caesar and Rome..or the rulers we have today
dead to the power of selfishness
dead to the powers of domination and injustice
Dead to all of that spirit killing behavior
but we are also alive
What are you alive to ?
alive to forgiveness. .reconciliation...
a live to the possibilities of peace..no matter what the nightly news seems to say
As the church
we are alive to mission and compassion
we are alive to the call of God
alive to the vision of God
where ther hungry are fed... they shall surdy war no more
we are alive to the kind community welcome...that gathers everyone
opening hearts...opening minds..opening the doors
going across the narrow boundaries of this world
In this new life in Christ
we are alive to the One who ate with tax collectors and sinners
bringing in .. the outcast
alive to the gospel of Gods redeemign love
life changing love
alive to prayer ..alive to the word of God
we are alive
to the life of faith hope and love
Jesus makes me alive to you ..
and you are being alive to the people next to you
to love your neighbor as you love yourself
alive to the pains of the world
to do as Paul
to suffer with those who suffer ..and to rejoice with those who rejoice
that’s life
so how is it with us this morning ?
more dead that alive
ready to come alive
As a church
as a person in your heart and soul .in your actions
are you open to the new ideas
the new surprises
are we alive to the urges of repentance and renewal
the new dream,,
the new courage
alive to the future
alive to the true life
again.. If you think
that this Easter resurrection thing is all about the time when you get put in a grave
well ..that’s just part of the message.
that is too small of a gospel
you are raised with Chrsit into new life.....Now..
And that what our ministry is all about,,,here at park church
in Jesus Christ..
raising the dead..
...learning how to be alive in this faith
I came that you may have life Jesus said in John 10
and have it abundantly..eternally..
Thats what we say..we believe... Paul is saying to the church stop acting like your dead..to God
Hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.
.you are alive..by grace
by love
by the gift of God
you are alive... say it to the person next to you....by the grace of God .. you are alive

March 15 2009 PUMC
The cleansing of the temple
this is powerful scene
and it is one of those events that made it into all four of the gospels
that alone should tell you how significant..or maybe controversial this was
in fact it becomes part of the trial against jesus
according to Mark
they accused Jesus of saying he could destroy the temple made with hands
and build a new one
not made with hands in three days..
You heared echos eof that inthe gospel from john that we read this morning
of course we understand this to be a reference
to the temple of the risen christ
Jesus Christ ..and the community of the risen Christ .....that is our new temple
Mark also says
that this is the reason
that the religious authorities
started looking for a way to kill Jesus ... get if of him
now hes gone to far
hmm
I suppose that when you start criticizing religion.. now thats where you get in deep trouble
that’s tue isnt it...has your relgion been criticised recently
do you think if I started criticizing your beleifs and your practices
you might get defensive ..even hostile
or if I started to make too many changes here at park church..
.really shook things up..confronted some things
I bet you would start looking for away to get rid of me...call the ds maybe..
well
lets not go there
back to the scriptures
.... imagine the situation..... Jesus is doing this in the temple
understand
this is not in the inner part of the temple
but its on the temple grounds
its all temple area
so still
is Jesus going into this most holy place
the religious center of it all
the pride and joy of Jerusalem
and he is doing more than talking and criticizing
he ‘s lashing away with this whip
Tables are getting knocked over
cages are getting opened
the sacrificial livestock
and the sacrificial pigeons or doves
are getting driven out..
Maybe running around loose
someone chasing them
trying to catch them
and coins are falling and rolling around on the stone floor

Jeus is shouting
He even quoting scripture
something about a house of prayer
being turned into a market place
or even a den of thieves..
Well the money changers are there
just doing a religious service you could say
theyr e helping out with the temple procedures
what jesus is stopping is
..business as usual..
These are the daily operations so to speak
these people are allowed to be there
Money changers for example..
You gotta change those idolatrous, impure, roman coins
roman coins
have graven images on them
you cant make an offering or pay the temple tax with those
pagan coins
any foreign
coins
have to be turned into Jewish coins
so you can make the right offering
somebody has to provide that service..you need money changers.
And if your there for a sacrifice
you want to buy one locally ...you cant alwsy bring one along from another country..
Buy it when you get there
make sure you’ve got an animal thats been inspected and approved..
.certified to be clean
thats up to code
you don’t give God some scrubby old sick animal
something blemished for an offering
you get a good one
God deserves the best
this is all jsut a part of doing religious business
but Jesus
must have felt that the nature of it all
maybe the motive
maybe the effect
or
the spirit was wrong
yes there was abuse
maybe people we were getting overcharged or cheated
especially during the high holy days
business went up
it was a supply and demand market
get the pilgrims or tourists so to speak

well it happens..
maybe it was the idea of manipulating a profit out of peoples spiritual needs
taking advantage of peoples guilt or fear..or deepest needs
(I think I’ve seen that happen a few times in church history .
I don’t want to name some famous tv preachers..or big time evangelists..but I have some suspicion)

or maybe iti s simply the idea that
you could market your way
into the presence of God .
That you could buy your influence with God
pay for your sins
buy your peace
buy your forgiveness somehow
Somehow your relationship had to be brokered
it didn’t seem right
.we could get into layers of symbolism and interpretation and speculation
The gospoelesson today said zeal for Gods house is consuming him:
fulfilling the scriptures
but what was Jesus doing and saying ?
what was the problem
the corruption
what was he righteously angry about?

it would be interesting to do that interpreting...and studying
but im not sure if it would be faithful today ...
And to what Jesus was doing,
if we only t talked about the situation back then
it always easier to talk about the situation back then... talk about "them"
it seems to me
that
if we dare
If we dare ...then we might ask Jesus to come into our temple
into our places of worship
into our religious centers
into our religious practices
into the sanctuaries of the church
come here to park church
maybe even into the temple of our own hearts
come in my soul place
and help us see through the business as usual patterns
that maybe we don’t see anymore
maybe there are ways that we have lost sigh of the goal or missed the point
it does happen
remind sme of the story about a westerner
who went to the east to get some spiritual wisdon
so he went and found a spiritual master to teach him
he became
a disciple
in a group that lived a life of extreme poverty
they believed that all you nended was a loincloth and begging bowl
so he started this new simple life
that went on for a couple of years
studying and praying and learning the disciplines
by then ..the
spiritual master was very pleased with the man's progress
he said
Im going to he let you go on your own now
and Im going to be up in the mountains on pilgrimage
so the master left.
This man was living in a little brush and stick shelter where he slept at night
he was doing ok
.
One day,
he discover that the rats had eaten his loincloth some time in the night
he was very embarrassed
as he went out to beg for anew one
he had to use his begging bowl as a modesty cover.
The villagers were nice enough to give him a new loin cloth,

But after few days
rats ate that one, too.
And he had to go beggin again
Actually this happened
several more tiems
and the disciple had enough of this embarrassment
So he got himself a cat.
That took care of the rats,
but the cat was pregnant
and pretty soon he had several cats
and they needed food
so now
when he begged for his food
he had to also beg for milk
for his cats as well.
And this was cutting into his mediation time
"This won't do," he thought.
"I'll just get a goat
so I can have some milk."
Tha t will solve my problem and simplify my life
So he traded off some of the better cats
to get a goat
it wasn’t much of a goat
but at least now he had milk for the cats
and he wouldn’t have to beg so much
but then you know
he couldnt just let the goat go wandering off
causing trouble in the village ...goats can cause trouble if they are loose
He had to tie it up
so now
he had to go get grass and feed for the goat
and the goat also turned out
out be pregnant
now he had even more goats to take care
and he had less time to do any praying and meditating
So he decided to grow some plants to feed the goats
just a little garden
But that was using up his time..watering and weeding..and all that.. so he decided
to hire a worker
to take care fo the goats and also take care of a little garden
And the worker could could use as that garden for his pay
maybe work on shares
that worked out very well
but it turned out to be more than one person could handle
so he added another worker because the operation got a little bigger
well he didn’t have time to manage the workers..


so he decided to get married
and let his wife take care of the workers
of course you cant have a wife living in a little brush house
so he had to build a better house


several more years went by
After a time,
the disciple became the wealthiest man in the village.
One day The guru
,his old master was traveling by there
and stopped in.
He was shocked to see that his student was now living
in the nicest house in the whole village
with servants and luxuries
"What is the meaning of this?"
he asked his disciple.
How did this happen
"You won't believe this,
sir,"
the man replied.
"But there was just no other way I could keep my loincloth."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
that is a parable of our situation
I think that happens in the church again and again and again


adjustment,, distractions,, business.... Complications........
...................we have added on a lot from the time Jesus
traveling around with some disciples
or Paul meeting with some people in there homes
sharing their possession
praying and studying together and doing good.
..loving others
welcoming the tax collectors and the sinners .... and the foreigners
reaching out to the left out..
..livng the way of the cross
not the way of Rome with it opulence and power..
But the way of the cross
the servanthood life
forming this christlike community

I wonder if Jesus or Peter or Paul
would look at the church today
and hardly recognize it
and would wonder ... What happened

Do we ever look at the way the church is today
with our layers of institutions
and rituals and building
and wealth ..hierarchies...
and systems and rules ..
and personality issues and pet causes and turf protection...
..misguided loyalties..our patriotisins and our ideologies

Did we just get used to it being this way
. business as usual ...its always been that way
......................

do you ever personally look at how we practice and interpret
the Christian life today
and the way we live
Can you see Jesus the master saying
what happened here
how did you Christians get so rich
and comfortable
and busy with all these other things
how did you get to be so divided
from each other
how did you get so distracted
into these political debates and ideological labels
while you ignore the need s of people

disconnecting from the poor
how did we get so locked into our narrow views of judging who is right and who is wrong
How did this happen
How did we get so complicated..
....
wel what do we do?
do we have to go back and just recreate a primitive First century ..barebones chrsitinaity.....(soem people think thats the answer)
Do we leave all the church stuff behind.. ? Soem chruches pride themselves as beng non denominational..as if thats more pure....I don’t think so..

don’t misundersant me..
we need to adapt
grow
Organize in new ways to be in ministry

we need tools and resources to do that with
we need systems..
we needs institutions..we need money..
we need talent. We need plans.. We need levels of basic maintenance
................................
But do we lose the purpose in the process?

We cant afford to do that..!
we have to know our mission
.our purpose ,our spirit..we need that in every congregation.. here in you

why ..again
because Business as usual..without the main purpose
is becoming a barrier ...
There was recent survey that said
the percentage. of people who call themselves in some way Christian
has dropped more than 11% in a generation
heres a quote I pulled out of the report
"In a nation that has long been mostly Christian
, "the challenge to Christianity … does not come from other religions but from a rejection of all forms of organized religion,"
you hear that?
our business as usual..is now turning people away
it needs to be reexamined
we are not being seen as a house of prayer for all people

Maybe Jesus is trying to sweep the church clean ...trying to tell us something ..as painful
as controversial as it might seem..(the tables are being turned in the church ..are we going to accept the change)
..like it or not.. Chrsitianity is now in a time of re-formation
Can we pray...reform us..and cleanse us... Jesus ?

Will our churches dare to listen to those
who can see
something more than our business as usual routines

I am excited by several things happening in the United Methodist church these days
I think jeus is cleaning us ..re-newing us..
when we practice the gospel imperatives being highlighted here in the Minnesota conference
do you know what they are ?
To cultivate spiritual vitality
and to reach new people for Christ
..............................
Or I think of the Three Simple Rules
the general rules from John Wesley
that are being re discovered again
first do no harm
do good,
stay in love with God
thats going to help clean up our business as usual thinking
or another thing that is happening
is is called Re think church
and you will hear more about that latter
but lets see church as a verb
something you do .not just something that you go to


all these are tools..
to help us be true to the purpose and the spirit..and the vision of Jeus Chrsit
;lent is a time to ask ourselves
Are we alive to the spirit of Christ?
..living in the world changing power of Gods love!
are we keeping our life in Christ... alive "as a prayer for all people"!!

we are the spiritual temple of God
.and anything that keeps us away from that..
well
maybe we need to check it out
and clean it up.
.but first let the cleaning start here..
Cleaning the temple here
maybe that is precisely why we read this lesson of the cleansing of the temple
in the soul searching
house cleaning season of Lent...
..

Park UMC march 1 2009 Lent 1
I was just thinking about this first Sunday in lent
and if you follow the lectioanary
the three year cycle fo lessons assigned for the Sunday
the first Sunday of lent is always one of the gospel lessons
about the temptation of Jesus
now normally
when that happens
we actually name the Sunday after that scripture lesson or topic
last week
for example
was about the transfiguration
so it was called transfiguration Sunday
or the festival of the transfiguration
Pentecost is called Pentecost Sunday

and so on
Maybe we should call this morning.. temptation Sunday
the festival of the temptation
A Celebration of temptation
I think that could have some possibilities
I bet some of you could get pretty creative with that
peter Johnson could have fun one
.which
now
that I think about it might be a good reason
to not have something called temptation Sunday
Leslie Hobson heard me talk about this idea
and she said we already have a celebration of temptation and its called Mardi gras

ok enough of that...back on subject
two of the gospel versions for the the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness
get a little more detailed
they give us three examples of temptations
but Matthew and Luke don’t list them in the same order
which I don’t think is all that important

but Jesus gets
tempted to turn these stones into bread
or to show some special privilege or divine protection by jumping off the high point of the temple...
. And having God send angels to rescue him

And then to rule over kingdoms of the world..if he would just worship the devil


And these are versions of power fame or protection...
they are temptations of the ego
temptations of the flesh
would be an old way to put it.
But Mark
which most scholars tell us is actually the oldest of the gospels
the first one written down
Mark didn’t get into those three details
...just that Jesus was tempted..
And he overcame temptation....
That’s marks main point
All of this comes right after his baptism
Mark says it happened
immediately
just as he is about to live out his baptism
and set the path. for his ministry
he gets tempted
for forty days and forty nights
That’s a symbolic number in the bible
for this time of tempting and being shaped
the Hebrew people in Exodus were in the wilderness for 40 years
the story of Noah and the great flood
was about forty days and forty nights
Elijah had some 4o day experiences
Moses was on the mountain getting the law for 4o days
so this is not just a number that t you count on a calendar

This is is a period of revelation and struggling and learning
it represents being prepared . and changed
and it goes of course
e with our own 4o days of lent..
40 days of preparation and growing

So lets follow Mark this morning
and think about temptation
not with the kind of pattern from Luke and Matthew
but in larger terms of faithfulness
ministry and how we live our Christian life
Im thinking about one general temptation
the temptation to deny our temptations

We might be tempted
to deny the fact
that we have to deal with our temptation

This insight one come from verse 12
it says
it says that the spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness
were going to get biblical here in the Greek
The word is the same one that you use to catapult a stone...its like ballistic
its thrown
.
Eugene Peterson in the message
says that the spirit pushed him out into the wild
actually that a mild translation
its more like the spirit tossed him ..
forced him.
Projected him
this is a very forceful word

why would spirit do that..why that language?
think about that
do you ever have to be forced into something that just needs to be done?
God knows that you and I cannot
and will not spiritually grow
unless we deeply, honestly
face the powers of our inner life and our conditions,
but we don’t naturally do that..
are there some things in life
that you wont look at
unless you get forced into it..
im thinking we all have some topics
, that we are touchy about..
don’t want to talk about it..
Might be your finances .,, or something painful from your family
don’t want to have to feel it or deal with it
parts of our lives..
I think that the Spirt knows
we have to be forced into some of this spiritual work
and we have to let that happen
if you don’t face your real temptations
Could you also be resisting Gods work in your life
You are refusing to do your faith..work
if you don’t face your demons


,Temptations sort us out
thy reveal things about ourselves
The word for temptation
can also be translated as testing or trying
so you could also call this
the testing in the wilderness..
a time of self discovery ..examination
sorting yourself out
have to look at our selves .
.and see what is really there
testing the strength .
.maybe exposing something
look at our compulsion
our needs
our ego stuff
our passion
our fear
our true values and loyalties
our motives
Who wants to do that!
(but couldn’t it also be healing and freeing)
you also might find some gifts and blessings
..maybe the higher power
gets revealed in the wilderness

a gain
emphasizing
according to this scripture...it is required by the holy spirit
and if we don’t do that
we are simply not going to grow .,, as people of faith
Does that make sense with your expreicne?
Have you had those discovery expediencies in your life
Maybe they were horrible at the time..
but now look back..
. at what that this has done for you...
what happened because you went into the the wilderness

Let me say this another way
On Tuesday the pest control guy from plunketts
stopped in here at church
he came by the office
and said he was from Plunketts
..he said I just want you to know
I will be walking around in the church
checking my monitors
monitors
I suppose that’s a fancier word for bug trap
but pest control in the church
Looking for bugs and ants and spiders and hopefully not any mice
pest control in the church
Now that idea could preach
because what about
the pests that are more like spiritual pests
we need to have some spiritual pest control
emotional
social pest control

we better not talk about some people in the church being like a pest

But we
all have to take care of our own pest control
attitudes
Prejudices
Ideas
that need to examined,
,the grudges that we nurse
entitlements ... I deserve this..
the resentment
that we wont let go of
pests
it is tempting to say that we have no problems to deal
....................
What s that silly little song..

well there aint no bugs on me
there may be bugs
on some of you mugs
but there aint no bugs on me
but there is..
Lent is pest control time
its testing time
time for monitoring
And we need to see what’s out there
creeping around in the world
and in here
thats what confession is about
isnt?
its soul searching
and examining
reading the Bible As a guide
prayer
Reflection
getting some ashes on Ash Wednesday
to say that we are mortal
.and frail and need to repent.
.and believe the gospel
being honest
getting real with our selves

The spiritual practices
the act of Following Jesus
taking up the cross
self denial
the tools of Christianity
those are all gifts
to help us do that monitoring
but as I said
it tempting
to say that we don’t need to do that
there is a verse in
I John 8
that says
if we say we have no sin ..we deceive ourselves
hear that
we deceive ourselves
its interesting
that the other word for the devil or Satan is the deceiver
the liar

We resist deception
by going into the wilderness
and facing up to ourselves
face the deceiver

Getting monitored
and saying yeh
I got to watch out for the pests
or they take over
and spread diseases
and they multiply
and cause spiritual pestilence.
That’s what the word "pest"
actually comes from
pestilence
plague disease .... we get sick if ignore the spiritual pests
So the first thing we do in lent
on this temptation Sunday
is to say yes
we have to deal with our temptations
with our egos
with our forces that can plague us
our sin
...
Well..
How do you become aware of that.?
I already mentioned confession, prayer, bible study
but That’s also the idea behind this giving up something for lent

That idea of some kind of fasting
Has a great wisdom to it.
And fasting is going to be the spiritual practice for the month of march
...
its another form of pest monitoring
its so that we can get reminded
in at least some way
that we need to resist temptation
in some way..
It becomes a little sample experience of the bigger Picture
fasting
giving up something..
Is also a time to Get in touch withe power of those forces ..those hungers
those habits maybe
that operate in our lives un checked
trying resisting something
that you like..
and then you see how strong it is
Now believe me this gets a lot deeper
than just giving up meat on Friday
or giving up chocolate or ice cream

or smoking
or tv..
or whatever.
but we have to get in touch
with our deep addictions..the power of those things
and our deepest struggles
the pains that drive them


again it is tempting
to just play it off easy
And simply not do it.
---------------------------------------
I wonder if that is the reason that lent..
Is no longer done in many churches and
attendance tends to be down for those special lenten events
There might be several reason for that
(Sometimes we are just boring and dreary and out of touch )
but it could also be
avoidance
We are a "feel good" society
and it shows up in religious trends
this is serious hard stuff.
In the language of the scriptures

the temptation is fierce out their
the temptations fierce in here
in this wilderness
Its about wilderness untamed..
Frightening
barren..life threatening
with the wild beasts
is the way Mark put it..
or as the others gospel
say Jesus was hungry
he was famished
He felt his needs
His temptation was real
probably in ways that we cant fully imagine,,
but he passed through the testing
the soul searching
and the good News is
we are now led by his path
and held by his promise
he opened the way beyond the wilderness
to be with us ...fed by his grace..
in the journey

so People of park church
I invite you to consider your temptations
and first of all be aware of them
admit them
face them and name them
and do not take them lightly ..
And you will have to do that in some personal way
what is your version of the wilderness
at this time..


what is it for you, ..that you know Is an issue
or a struggle
I cant name that for you..
But you can ..you can

if you dare to be in the wilderness
will you make that part of your lenten experience
follow the example of Jesus
face the temptation struggle
but also let Jesus go with you
as the wilderness guide
Go there with One
who will bring you through
to the other side
amen

Jan 18, 2009 Come and see
I don’t normally start a sermon with the Book of Discipline
its usually not a big attention getter
the book of discipline is our book of church laws
it’s the constitution and by laws, I suppose, of our denomination
And every four years it can be changed or revised by General Conference
I want to tell you about a couple of changes that im truly excited about
and it has to do with our membership vows
you’ve already heard me talk about some of this
when we do the membership vows
for years
we have said its about our prayers
our presence
our gifts and our service

it makes a nice four point sermon
and whenever
we have a baptism
for example
we use those words and for confirmation and joining the congregation
prayers /presence/ gifts and service
Now we have added something else
We have added witness
prayers/ presence/ gifts /service and witness
if you’re a member your going to do that
it’s a promsie ...its a requirement //I suppose
But do .you witness?
I don’t think you can get grandfathered under the old version
the new vows apply to every member
Have you been a witness?
do you know how to witness
do we have a witness as a congregation?
what is the witness..what are we talking about ?

And im going to say more about that witnessing later on

but here’s the other change that I want to highlight.
. Open up your hymnal to page 38 for example
you see that first paragraph? in the black ink
this is for people coming into the United Methodist church
it says
as members of Chrsits universal church
will you be loyal to the United Methodist church and do all in your power
to strengthen its ministries
I understand what this was trying to say
to strength and commit your self to United Methodist ministries
This is an important ministry
as United Methodist we have a great Wesleyan tradition
I We want to change individual lives and we want to change the world
and we have mission work and ministries that go around the world
we are a huge church
we do big things That I want to support
but I used to catch myself
on this loyalty part..
(Im kind touchy about that world)
Will you be loyal to the united Methodist church
loyalty is a deep word for me.
Should I be asking you asking you to be loyal to the Untied Methodist church?
I think we have one loyalty
firs t and foremost
and its not to a denomination
or an institution
as good as it might be

Im thinking that my loyalty ..our loyalty is to God
it is to Jesus Christ..
And the new wording... Makes that more clear.
Now The membership wording is
will you be loyal to Christ
through the United Methodist church// and do all in your power to strengthen its ministries
What we are about here; is not just the united Methodist church
not just park U m Church
not just an institution
this is not "I pledge allegiant to this special church club "
with my membership
this is bigger and deeper .
its about faith and spirt.! And relationship to Jesus Christ/.
And you know what ?
you already had that figured out...
Im thinking
that you’re here this morning
because This is about Jesus Christ first
you are here to be a Christian
And if we didn’t
have a Untied Methodist church
you would proabbly be a Christian
in some other church
you would probably just be somewhere else..
Because its about Jesus for you
and if you are thinking
that this is
all about the United Methodist church
and your just here because you got your membership here
..and maybe you grew up here...
maybe you been a Methodist all your life
..and you got this great Methodist family tradition

well god love you.. That’s great..
Thank you
but ..thinking deeper.
.isnt there something else going on.
Isn t about Jesus Christ.
In some ways as Methodists
we are supposed to be like John the Baptist
we have had John the Baptist in a few of the Gospel lessons lately
People kept going to John the Baptist
h’s out there saying
repent
prepare the way of the lord
but he kept pointing them to Jesus
John came to give testimony..John was a witness
he kept saying
don’t settle for me
don’t stop here
Im just the helper.
look over there
look at Jesus..
He s the one
we United Methodists in that sense should be baptists.
Let me explain that
we should be baptists .... As in John the Baptist
Pointing to Jesus.....Seeing the main point
That was his witness..
Now
whats that got to do with the membership vows..

Remember we are witnesses
as member of park United Methodist church you are a witness
we tell about something else..
we verify the truth of something.. We point out something
How do you do that..?
What do think of when I say witnessing
what’s coming to mind for you
witnessing
well maybe you’ve got some bad experiences
with that people who come to "witness" to you
Katie Schneider Bryan
our district superintendent
wrote about this in the district newsletter
she talks about non aggressive evangelism
if you’re a typical United Methodist
The idea of evangelism or witnessing Can make you kinda nervous

and people have been abused in the name of evangelism
she talks about a peanuts cartoon
Lucy is talking to her brother Linus
Lucy says
I would have made a good evangelist. ...
do you know that kid who sits behind me at school
I convinced him that my religion
is better than his religion

Linus wants to know how she did that
and she says
I hit him with my lunch box

maybe you’ve been hit by a lunch box about faith by somebody
and you don’t like it one bit


But that lunch box evangelism
that kind of witness
simply is not Christian
Is is not witnessing to jeus Christ.
. Because Jesus Chrsit. Is about love ..The Bibel says God is love
and Paul says
in I Corthns 13 love is kind
love is not arrogant or rude

love does not insist on its own way
I think we could substitute the word witness
and then say that Christian witnessing
is kind
christian witnessing
is not boastful or arrogant or rude
it does not insist on its way.
......................................
There was speaker at the a clergy retreat this week
and he talked
about sitting next to somebody on a plane
and the person next to him found out that he was a pastor
and so they got to taking about church a
and the young woman said
Im spiritual but not religious
and then she went on to talk about how
she had basically given up on the church thing
because even though we talk about love all the time in the church
She did not experience love
She felt that the people in the church didnt really want to hear her opinions
or what she believed
it was like
she just wasn’t going them right answers
or she was somehow not up to some standards
she felt treated like she was second class
she felt inadequate
so she left it.
She said
I don’t experience God there
------------
That was a milder kind of lunch box evanglism..
It didn’t work
and Im sure that the church didn’t even know it was coming across like that
makes you think..
are we really witnessing to Jesus Christ
as a spirt of welcome
a spirit of community
a Holy spirit of grace
and forgiveness and dignity ..room for differences
....when Jesus ate with the tax collectors and sinners .
when he fellowshiped with the outcasts of his day
What a sense of dignity and respect
they were being given in his presence
.they were experiencing God..
As .genuine love and attention
I hope that’s what people feel and experience from us here
and from you personally
is that your witness..personally?
Im sure we fall short but ..
at least we have the desire
seems,to me
that when we truely get it right
on this open hearts /open minds //open doors
people are going to get a good witness for Jesus Christ.
I think the membership vows are calling us to be that kind of a witness

But now let me get to the gospel lesson
because ti too is about witnessing.

its there in the words "come and see" in John 2:46
Heres the setting ; Jesus sees Phillp
and says to him ....Follow Me
and then Phillip finds Nathaniel.... and he starts talking about Jesus, he says we found the one
and hes from Nazareth...
Nazareth?
can anything good come from there.. Is that possible/
And then PHILIP says
come and see..
Or See for yourself.
Is how Eugene Peterson put it.
But come and see

Now that’s a different kind of evangelism than Lucy and the lunch box.
Call it the Phillip style of Evangelism
it s invitational and welcoming .... come and see
come and see where Jesus is
come and see what Jesus does . see who he is with
Come and see
What Jesus is teaching and preaching
come and see what is happening
And you get the idea
that philip doesnt want to keep Jesus a secret.
. He want others to come and see..
But Use your own eyes..
do your own thinking.. Bring your own questions?
Don’t just take my word for it
He wants to share The life of Jesus Chrsit
and so do we!
We want to share the power of grace and forgiveness..in all its rich variety
we want to share
the vision of the world
as God meant it to be..
A world without poverty and violence
World of compassion..and community
And prayer
And we are called to be the witnesses
that say
come and see
see what we are seeing ...because of jeus
,,but also see it for yourself

On Wednesday at our church conference
I was inviting people to think about this verse
come and see
and I asked you to think about what excites you in park church
want do you want to point too
that has touched you
what do you want people to see.
.and
Mary talked about how she has felt a welcome here
when she did not have a church..
she has felt welcomed here
and I heard about the work of the mens group
and what they have built at star lake camp..
we heard about the United Methodist women
we heard about meaningful worship..
and youth group
and the fair both.. Or bible studies
we heard about trying to get involved with the coalition to end poverty in Crow wing county.
(So do you invite people into those things also )
but again
why does that happen ..wahts the motivation/.the inspiration
Because of Jesus Christ..
Because if we did not have some love to share
or some calling to pursue
if we did not want to say yes to the holy spirit in our life
we wouldn’t be doing this..
It points to the evidence of God at work

But I do think
that we can do to a better job of saying
that this is about Jesus Chrsit
this is about God
this is about the holy spirit.. Thi is our spiritual formation work
That is our motivation....we do this because it s how God works in us..
We do it ,,,because that how we see God around us
Because anything less than that... is not enough..

.we Unite Methodists
need to be more clear as witnesses
by being able to talk about and practice the life of prayer
that moves us.
Talk about the things that inspire you..
talk abotu the bible verses that guide you
..or point you to God.
.and what
we are passionate about..
and why
and how it is ..so essential to who we are,,because it’s a God thing

Gods spirit
Is Pulling us and calling us.
Maybe we need to tell our own stories
about forgiveness or belonging..or changing our lives
and how we have hope
sometimes we have hope
that is just there
or sometimes
we have a sense of peace that passes understanding
in our souls
just because we do ..in the life of faith...
.it’s the spirit in us
(Anybody give me an amen on that .give me a witness!)
And maybe the best thing we can say is
Come and see ..
come and see for yourself

its witnessing
its evangelism.
.its pointing beyond ourselves .
.pointing to Jesus
And then finally
I think that speaking and telling our story of Jesus
..is at the heart of being a witness
we have a story to tell
we have a story that give us life
we have a story in the life and death and in the teaching of Jesus
we have Gospel
and it has a power that Just comes alive in us..
I like the Story
Martin Buber tells about his grandfather who was paralyzed
one time the grandfather
was telling a story about his famous teacher
the bell shem Tov
and so the grandfather
started telling and describing how the bel shem tov
used to jump up and down and even dance around
when he was praying
but the paralyzed grandfather
got so wrapped up
and animated in telling the story
That he himself
actually stood up
and started to dance around
to show them
just how his teacher used to do it
and from that moment on
the grandfather was cured
I don’t know what to think of that story
except to say
that we too
have a story to tel;..about our Master. Jesus
and I believe

when we tell it
with passion and enthusiasm
when we get into it
when we believe
what we preach
when we follow Jesus
it changes us
when we try to actually show somebody else
want the gospel story is about
what Jesus taught
when we start acting it out for others.
we get so caught up in it..
..we get saved
we get healed
spiritual things happen in us
come and see
how the story of Jesus enlivens us
come and see
how the story of Gods love
gets us moving
come and see
how the story of abundant life
is happening
That’s the witness that we can make in Jesus Christ
come and see,
invite others to come and see.