Sermon Notes for March 4, 2007

March 4, 2007
The Hidden Treasure
Mark 4:30-32, Mathew 13:44

1. Before we get into discussing the two parables for today, I would like to say some basic things about parables in general and about Jesus use of parables in his teaching.

First of all, we must ask ourselves: “What is a parable? Well, by definition, a parable is a brief, succinct story, in prose or verse, that illustrates a moral or religious lesson. For instance, it differs from a fable -- in that it excludes animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as actors that assume speech and other powers of mankind.

For instance, for the sake of comparison, we might consider one of Aesop’s famous fables like the one about the ant and the grasshopper. How many of you remember the story of The Ant and the Grasshopper? It goes like this:

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest. "Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?" "I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same." "Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer.

Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

2. Now, we must realize that lots of religious teachers all over the world have taught with stories and parables. For instance here is a story about the Buddha who used a similar image of the mustard seed to get a point across: It goes like this:

There was a young woman name Kisa Gotami. She had an only son, and he died. In her grief she carried the dead child to all her neighbors, asking them for medicine, and the people said: "She has lost her senses. The boy is dead.” At length Kisa Gotami met a man who replied to her request: "I cannot give thee medicine for thy child, but I know a physician who can." The girl said: "Pray tell me, sir; who is it?" And the man replied: "Go to Sakyamuni, the Buddha."

Kisa Gotami went to the Buddha and cried: "Lord and Master, give me the medicine that will cure my boy." The Buddha answered: "I want a handful of mustard-seed." And when the girl in her joy promised to procure it, the Buddha added: "The mustard-seed must be taken from a house where no one has lost a child, husband, parent, or friend." Poor Kisa Gotami now went from house to house, and the people pitied her and said: "Here is mustard-seed; take it!" But when she asked “Did a son or daughter, a father or mother, die in your family?" They all answered her: "Alas the living are few, but the dead are many. Do not remind us of our deepest grief." And, so, Kisa discovered that there was no house but some beloved one had died in it.

Now, Kisa Gotami became very weary and hopeless, and she sat down at the wayside, watching the lights of the city, as they flickered up and were extinguished again. At last the darkness of the night reigned everywhere. And she considered the fate of men, that their lives flicker up and are extinguished. And she thought to herself: "How selfish am I in my grief! Death is common to all; yet in this valley of desolation there is a path that leads to immortality to those who have surrendered all selfishness."

And then it goes on to give the Buddhist answer to all suffering. It’s no exactly the Christian answer, but my point is that it is a good story which teaches wisdom in the face of sorrow and grief all from the Buddhist perspective. And we don’t need to become Buddhists to learn from other religions from time to time.

3. But my main point is that, when Jesus told parables, he did not create a whole new literary genre. Rather, he made use of a genre which was already of long tradition and which was familiar to all throughout the Mediterranean and the whole world. In fact, in Greece and Rome, parables were often employed by rhetoricians, politicians and philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle. For instance, Aristotle even talks about parables in his famous book on Rhetoric. And, in Israel parables were uttered by prophets and wise men and they even appear in the oldest books of the Old Testament.

4. So, as did many religious teachers and the rabbis of his time, Jesus also used simple word-pictures, called parables, to help people understand who God is and what his kingdom or reign is like. Jesus’ images and characters were taken from everyday life in order to create a miniature play or drama to illustrate his message. His stories appealed to the young and old, poor and rich, and to the learned and unlearned as well. In fact, over a third of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke contain parables told by Jesus.

5. Jesus’ parables are therefore clever word-pictures which are designed to challenge the mind to discover anew what God is like and to emotionally move the heart to make a response to God's love and truth. And so Jesus used the ordinary everyday things of life to point to another order of reality which is “hidden, yet visible” to those who had "eyes to see" and "ears to hear". His parables are therefore much like the buried treasure waiting to be discovered in the field (Matt. 13:44).

So, we may ask, “How can ordinary everyday images and stories, such as hidden treasure, a tiny mustard seed, a determined woman looking for her lost coin, a barren fig tree, the pearl of great price, the uninvited wedding guests, portray timeless and extraordinary truths?”

6. Well, Jesus taught primarily by the use of comparisons like the parable of the mustard seed:
To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed... (Mark 4:30-31).

From this we see that God's kingdom or reign is like what happens in Jesus' stories. And it is important to realize that Jesus’ comparisons have to do with the whole process, and not simply with an object or person alone. This is because, while his parables are rooted in a specific time and place, they nonetheless speak of timeless realities to people of every time and place – even to us today.

So, Jesus' parables often have a double meaning. First, there is the literal meaning, apparent to anyone who has experience with the subject matter. But beyond the literal meaning lies a deeper meaning -- a beneath-the-surface lesson about God's truth and his kingdom.
For example, the parable of the leaven (see Matthew 13:33) describes the simple transformation of dough into bread by the inclusion of the yeast. Simple enough and this, then, points to the deeper reality that we are being transformed by God's love when we allow his word and Spirit to take root in our hearts. And, in turn, we are called to become the leaven that transforms the society in which we live and work.

For instance, Jerome, an early church father and biblical scholar wrote that: "The marrow of a parable is different from the promise of its surface, and like as gold is sought for in the earth, the kernel in a nut and the hidden fruit in the prickly covering of chestnuts, so in parables we must search more deeply after the divine meaning."

7. Jesus' parables often also involve an element of surprise or an unexpected twist. We are sometimes taken off guard by the progression of the story. The parable moves from the very familiar and understandable aspects of experience to a sudden turn of events or a remarkable comparison which challenges the hearer and invites further reflection.

For example, why should a shepherd go through a lot of bother and even risk his life to find one lost sheep when ninety-nine are in his safe keeping? Well, this illustrates the shepherd's concern for one lost sheep and his willingness to risk his own life for it -- tells us a lot about God's concern for his each of us – no matter how lost we may feel at times.

In addition, Jesus told his disciples that not everyone would understand his parables.

"To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not hear (Luke 8:10)."

Did Jesus mean to say that he was deliberately confusing his listeners? Very likely not -- because Jesus was speaking from experience and was aware that some of those who heard his parables refused to understand them. It was not that they could not intellectually understand them, but rather, their hearts were closed to what Jesus was saying. They had already made up their minds to not believe.

And so, Jesus knew that God can only reveal the secrets of his kingdom to the humble and trusting person who acknowledges the need for God and for his truth. As a result, the parables of Jesus will only enlighten us if we approach them with an open mind and heart and are ready to let them challenge us. But, if we approach them with the conviction that we already know the answer, then we, too, may look but not see, listen but not hear or understand.

7. So, for us today, when reading the parables it is important to not get bogged down to much in the details of the story. The main point is what counts. In addition, we should be aware that Jesus often throws in a surprise or unexpected twist. These challenge the hearer and invite us to reflect. Jesus meant for his parables to provoke a response. If we listen with faith and humility then each will understand as we are able -- to receive what Jesus wishes to speak to each of us individually and therefore they will obviously mean different things to different people. In short, we may not entirely agree about the meaning of each parable. That’s okay.

8. So, much for the background on parables. Let’s move on to the parable of the Mustard Seed.

PASS AROUND MUSTARD SEEDS

Now, to understand this parable we need to know a couple of things about mustard seeds and plants.
a. The seed IS very small (but so is an acorn compared to an oak tree. So the size of the seed is not critical.
b. The mustard plant is not extraordinarily large – like the famous Cedars of Lebanon which grow to over 100 feet high and are mentioned in the Bible over 75 times. So, size is not critical.
c. The mustard seed does, however, grow fast and tends to get out of control and birds do like the seeds.

So, for the listeners to Jesus' parable, a mustard seed could only grow into a small bush-not more than four feet high and only a few birds would be able to make a bedraggled nest in its branches.

As a symbol, therefore, the mustard seed is the reverse of what the Israelites at the time had in mind when they envisaged the Kingdom of God. They believed that, through Israel, God would establish his sovereignty and rule over all the nations of the world (like the mighty Cedars of Lebanon). Yet, the parable clearly states that the Kingdom of God has nothing to do with a vindictive triumph over one's enemies or worldly success as was expected by Jesus’ listeners (or by us).

9. One interpretation of this parable might be then that, if you think that your church, your nation, or your ethnic group is going to be delivered by God, and enjoy a magnificent triumph--or if you expect that the whole world is going to be converted to Jesus Christ--you are mistaken; it isn't going to happen. What the Gospel is interested in -- is you. Not what you can do; just plain you.


In the bulletin I have also included other possible suggestions. Such as the mustard seed being a metaphor for the growth of the Christian faith – from such a small beginning. Or the fact that
The mustard seed rapidly goes to seed and continues growing and often can get out of control. Could this mean that God’s word is not something that is under our control? In other words, is the church merely what we want it to be – or is to be what God wants it to be?

Or, as I first suggested is it just about you or me? Is it how something which appears to be insignificant – such as the power of God’s love … has the ability to transform people’s lives?

In other words, is it about growth? Is faith something that grows like a plant – mysteriously within us? Does it have a life of its own? If so, how should we take care of our faith and keep it going?

10. We will come back to the mustard seed parable again next week.
Now, let us touch briefly on the parable of the hidden treasure.

On surface it seems pretty straight forward. Except that it
appears to be a little extreme, perhaps. Give up everything you have? What on earth would be so valuable that you would give up everything you have? Wouldn’t that involve a pretty big risk? It must, then be something very valuable indeed! What is this kingdom of God which is a buried treasure?

Now, part of the problem, as I have said before, is that we do not live in a kingdom today in America. Hence, the word kingdom is a bit unfamiliar to us today. So, I would like to substitute another word: reality. For, in Jesus times, kingdoms were reality for most people. Not just political reality but also religious. And, as one biblical commentator has said, “When Jesus said in the K of G the ‘last shall be first’ he was saying something very radical.” Because the only kingdom everyone knew was the Roman Empire. And in the Roman Empire the last were not first!

11. How many kingdoms do you live in? How many realities do you live in?

TALK ABOUT THE REALITIES:

FAMILY
SCHOOL
WORK
COMMUNITY – BEMIDJI
STATE – MINNESOTA
NATION – AMERICA
RELATIONSHIPS/MARRIAGE – FRIENDS
MONEY
CHURCH

How important are these realities in your life? Which is
the most important? How do they affect your life?

Now, what is the kingdom of God? What is the reality of
God in this life?

Is it: Faith in God?
Trust in God?
A relationship with God?
A spiritual life?
A relationship with other people of faith who love
And care about us?
Is it: inner peace?
Is it salvation and forgiveness for sin?
Is it: knowing God loves and cares about you?

Or is it all of these things?

12. Now let us suppose that something bad happened to you?

Suppose you lost your job or went broke?
Suppose your marriage failed?
Suppose your health failed?
Suppose you lose a loved on?
Suppose your friend desert you or you discover they weren’t
Really your friends?
Suppose you commit a crime or sin or become addicted to
Drugs?
Suppose you even die?

What then? Will God forsake you? Will God stop loving you?
Well, Jesus’ answer is “No!” Not even if we are the lost sheep.

And, so, if God will not forsake you … then maybe all is not lost, right? Maybe if God loves you – then all things are possible asSt. Paul says, “What shall separate me from the love of God …

Nothing!”

How important is this to us – how valuable is it?

Now, then, the question is if you discover that God loves you …(and remember the treasure is not something you made or caused to happen … it is something that is discovered) …? Well, it would be the greatest reality in all the world, would it not?

And what would Jesus say? “Think about it!” “Think about it!”

And so we will come back to these two parables next week and more as well – I hope you are keeping up with your Lenten Bible study.

Let us pray …

Sermon Notes for February 25, 2007

February 25, 2007
“The True Vine”
John 15:1-5

FIRST READ THE PARABLE OF THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT.

1. To begin with, since we are doing the parables for Lent and not all of you were here on Ash Wednesday, I want to say a few more words about the parable of the “Return of the Unclean Spirit” which I found to be quite enlightening. In fact, I am actually finding this whole process a lot more interesting than I expected. I guess, like many of you, when it came to the parables I either didn’t get it … or I had heard them before and wasn’t interested.

But, perhaps, as we get older, we find new insights and things that previously didn’t make sense – suddenly take on new meaning. Isn’t that the way it goes sometimes?

Or, perhaps since I have been taking time off to be involved in prayer and meditation … at least twice a year … I find myself coming at things in a new way. And I hope that this can somehow be conveyed to you as well. And I am hopeful that some or all of you will take time to be involved as we go along.

2. Now, as I have been saying, as we know, the whole emphasis on Lent has traditionally been on self-denial, penitence, and confession of sins. And while this is not a bad idea and while we should always be always reminded of the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice at Easter…it gets old at times.

And so, people’s enthusiasm for repeating the same old phrases loses some of its impact. As a result, I think that what is needed is some fresh look at things from time to time.

Which is what we are trying to do during Lent: namely get involved in understanding Jesus parables as a way of deepening our understanding of God’s Kingdom, our place in it, and what God’s purpose is for our lives.



3. In this light, the parable of the “Unclean Spirit” is not difficult to understand if we take a good look at it.

The direct meaning of the parable is that a man who is struggling with some demon or difficulty in life … and finally it leaves him. Feeling that he has rid himself of this problem the man does nothing. His house is in perfect order, clean as a whistle. However, there is only one problem – the house is empty. In short, having gotten rid of the problem – the man is content to do nothing.

Ever have that happen to you? You know, you are struggling with some problem, some worry, some anxiety in your life and finally, finally, it gets solved and you say, “Great, now I am just going to sit back and relax.” And, boom! What happens? A new set of problems show up and you are back in the soup again.

In a way, it is kind of like retirement. People think after working all their lives that retirement will just be a piece of cake. Don’t have to get up in the morning until you feel like it, no particular place to go, nothing to worry about … and what happens? Life can suddenly become so boring you can’t stand it. Right?

4. No unfortunately, life is not just about doing nothing; it has to have a purpose. And the purpose cannot be just about satisfying our own desires. Life is not about doing nothing…it is about doing SOMETHING.

And, SO, in our religious life, being a good person or a good Christian is not just about doing nothing BAD. It’s about doing SOMETHING GOOD.

And, yet, this is just what many people are led to think. You know, simply to be a good religious person all you have to do is “be good.” Meaning: don’t do anything bad. Don’t break the law, don’t smoke or drink, don’t swear, don’t tell lies, and so on…

These are, of course, the don’ts of religion. Don’t do this, don’t do that etc. Kind of like the Ten Commandments as in “Thou Shalt not … etc.

5. But Jesus parable raises an important question … which is that just avoiding doing anything bad … and trying to rid ourselves of evil spirits (while good in itself) is not enough. Because, if we don’t go on to do “good things” our house simply remains empty and sooner or later … the bad things return, and sometimes in greater number.

In other words, Jesus view of human nature is that we live in a spiritual world … of good and evil forces … sometimes powerful forces … and being complacent about evil things is to be naïve.

No, instead we must always be on guard. We must not just be on the defensive … we must go on the offense. We must not give bad things a chance to catch us off guard, so to speak.

6. So, this is one of the reasons for studying the parables … to develop or improve on our spiritual practice of prayer and meditation … to seek to grow in understanding of God’s Kingdom … and to gain insight into how God can lead us to becoming stronger more compassionate people …

And another part of living a spiritual life is to understand where the source of our life comes from. This is the meaning of the second parable for today: The True Vine in John 15:1-5.

Grape growing was common in the Mediterranean – and Jesus understood that people were very familiar with this subject. Hence, the grape vine becomes an important metaphor for something else” namely our spiritual life in relation to Jesus Christ – God’s revelation of Himself.

7. In the Old Testament the nation of Israel is likened to a vineyard which God has planted. But, in Jeremiah (Chapter Two) something bad has happened. The grapevine has turned away from God and now produces bitter fruit. The same message appears in Isaiah (Chapter Five) where the grapes become wild grapes of inferior quality. In these prophecies it is revealed that God (who is the Gardner) will no longer protect them (which is what a good Gardner does) but will leave them unpruned and overgrown by brambles.

But, in Jesus parable, God is no longer just the Gardner. God is now also the Vine itself.

The new meaning of Jesus’ parable is now that we are the branches (which are to bear fruit). So, in order to bear fruit we must be connected to the vine otherwise we will wither and die and be pruned to make room for new branches so the plant will continue to grow.

8. In other words, our task as spiritual people is to stay connected to the vine which is our true life. And this is the task of the church -- to help us stay connected and to grow in our ability to bear fruit. And, as a church, we are to help each other to grow, as well.

But, the ultimate responsibility is ours to bear. We cannot borrow someone else’s spiritual life!

Now there is a warning in this parable – and that is this: if we do not take care of our spiritual life we will lose our connection to the vine – to God. If this happens, we will wither away -- for God will prune away the unproductive branches. In fact, we might say that, at times, God even prunes away the unproductive side to our nature in order to protect us and to help us to grow.

Now, in the short run, this can be painful, can it not? And yet, stop and think for a moment, how something or some event in your life … painful though it was … actually helped you (in the long run) to be a stronger more productive person. Does this make sense? Does it make sense that God can use our misfortune or even our mistakes to make us stronger? This is because, to follow the metaphor, God is a good and caring Gardner.

9. What this means is that we live in a dynamic and often conflicted world. And just as the parable of the unclean spirit and the empty house reminds us that being good is not just about NOT BEING BAD – we cannot be led to believe that when we fail to stay connected to the Vine … and do not live up to the purposes that God wants us to fulfill … God will be some kind of overly tolerant parent who puts up with all kind of childishness on our part. No more so, we can say, than a good parent tries to raise a child to bear fruit and not merely run wild. Do you see the connection? The good parent disciplines the child out of love like the gardner weeds the garden. On the other hand, the bad parent either abuses the plants or neglects them because he really doesn’t care what happens.

If God “seems” to be harsh it is because God seeks to combat that which is evil and unsound and unwholesome. This is the power of goodness which is God. And we are to respect God for His love and goodness and not to see God as angry and revengeful and punishing. For, if you think about it, the person who truly fears God is the one who seeks to do wrong, who is self centered, and lives only for himself. On the other hand, it is really the power of evil which is out to destroy that which is good. God, therefore, we must understand, is on the side of good.

10. Now, we often like to consider ourselves more learned, more advanced as people than in previous generations. But listen to these words from one of the Church Fathers – Clement of Alexandria:

Some, who think themselves naturally gifted, do not wish to touch either philosophy or logic; nay more, they do not wish to learn natural science. They demand bare faith alone, as if they wished, without bestowing any care on the vine, straightway to gather clusters from the first. Now the Lord is figuratively described as the vine, from which, with pains and the art of husbandry, according to the word, the fruit is to be gathered.

No, Clements writes that …

We must lop, dig, bind, and perform the other operations. The pruning-knife, I should think, and the pick-axe, and the other agricultural implements, are necessary for the culture of the vine, so that it may produce eatable fruit. And as in husbandry, so also in medicine: he has learned to purpose, who has practised the various lessons, so as to be able to cultivate and to heal. So also here, I call him truly learned who brings everything to bear on the truth; so that, from geometry, and music, and grammar, and philosophy itself, culling what is useful, he guards the faith against assault.

Who was Clement of Alexandria (a.ka. - Titus Flavius Clemens)? We only know that he was the first member of the Church of Alexandria to be more than a name, and he was one of its most distinguished teachers and writers. He was born about the middle of the 2nd century, and died between 211 and 216.

11. What we do know is that in his interpretation, blind faith is not enough, as some people think. For how can we be skillful or productive in any aspect of our life … without practice and guidance… correct? Who among us here has not achieved some level of ability in some aspect of life which came from training, discipline, practice, patience, trial and error, and hard work?

And yet some people think that in matters of religion we can just “have faith” and – wa-laah! – instant results.

Or, to use example of John Wesley about the porch, the door, and house … we get to the doorway and think … "hey, this is it? This is all there is..."

And, as I have been saying … that is kind of what we were all taught, wasn’t it? “Just have faith and you will be all right.”

And then there are those who are still out on the porch … getting saved again and again … when God calls us to go on into the house – and live out their faith.

12. Well, enough for today … We will continue next Sunday by discussing the first two parables in your Lenten Bible Study … the parable of the mustard seed … and the parable of the hidden treasure. My suggestion is that you follow the directions on page two and three. Choose one of them to mediate about. Then spend a little quiet time in contemplation (at least five minutes). Then ask “What does this parable have to do with me in my life today?”

Now maybe nothing will come to you. Or, maybe nothing will happen right away. But, you just might be surprised. For, God is much closer to each of us than we have any idea. But, first we have to be quiet and listen. And this is just one way of staying connected. And if we stay connected … we WILL BEAR FRUIT.

Sermon Notes for February 18, 2007

February 18, 2007
“I have found my lost Sheep”
Luke 15:1-10

1. If I were to say, “Let’s have a Bible study” – what images would come to your mind?

Would you say “Great?”
Would you say “Interesting – Maybe?”
Would you say, “I’m interested – but I don’t have time?”
Would you say, “No, I am not interested, it doesn’t sound like
Something I want to do.”

Or, would you say, “I don’t know, I have never been to a
a Bible study”
Or, would you ask, “What kind of Bible study is it?”

2. Now the problem is today, as Protestants, we are supposed to
Take the bible seriously. The doctrinal standards of the Methodist Church state that:

Our forebears in the faith reaffirmed the ancient Christian message as found in the apostolic witness even as they applied it anew in their own circumstances. Their preaching and teaching were grounded in Scripture, informed by Christian tradition, enlivened in experience, and tested by reason.

And there you have again – the four principles of Methodism which I keep pointing out. For in our religious life we are to be grounded in Scripture, informed by Christian tradition, enlivened in experience, and tested by reason.

So, what does it mean to be grounded in Scripture?

3. Does it mean that we should know the Bible backwards and forwards? Does it mean that we should have it memorized? Does it mean that we should take it literally and believe that every word and period is the actual unalterable word of God? Or, in the words of theologian Marcus Borg – we are to take the Bible “seriously but not literally.”
Just how important is understanding the Bible to our faith and our lives today?

This reminds me of the time I was taking a class on Russian history in college. The professor was well respected and always assigned a lot of books to read. On the last day of class one of the students ask if it would be necessary to have read Isaac Deutscher’s biography of Joseph Stalin (600 pages long!). The professor, who was a devout Easter Orthodox Christian, replied: “Let me just say this – he who has not read Deutscher’s Stalin before the final will be like he who goes before the Last Judgment without reading the Bible on earth!”

Well that sent a chill through the crowd, as they say!

4. So, are we supposed to read the “Good Book” from cover to cover before we die? Is that what it is all about?

Well, I once had a friend who one summer while he was in college read the whole Bible cover to cover – and never went to church again! Better than most people, I guess. But, just reading it didn’t do it for him. In fact, because he didn’t understand it (I assume) or didn’t want to understand it – it never came alive for him. It was just words on a page. An interesting book – no doubt – but not a book that had any personal relevance for him. In short, He didn’t understand what he was reading because God wasn’t real for him.

So, the Bible alone, we realize, is not enough. And when I drive by some church which says they are a “Bible Based Church” – I always want to ask, “What is it you mean? Since all Christian Churches are based on the Bible – after all the whole story about Jesus and how it all go started and everything else comes to us from the Bible – Right?

And so the United Methodist Church is also a Bible Based Church, too.

5. The difference is in how we interpret the Bible, I guess. And this requires Bible Study. But how to do it?

Ideally, according to John Wesley, everyone in this church should be engaged in some kind of Bible study either in a group or on their own. Isn’t that right? But, we don’t do it. So, what happens is that main contact we have with the Bible is on Sunday morning when we read the scripture and I comment on it in the sermon. But, is that enough? Can we, from time to time, do more? But how to do it?

And, if we did do it, what kind of Bible study would it be? How would we interpret the Bible when there are so many different people in this congregation with different backgrounds, experiences, and ideas about what the Bible means and doesn’t mean. I mean, what if we don’t all agree on what the Bible says, what then?

I remember back in my church in St. Paul we tried to have a bible study with some of the younger families. It was a disaster. One couple said that they started coming back to church after seeing “Star Wars!” You know, the part about “may the force be with you!” That just about did it for some of the more conservative folks in the bible study. So, we quit, and just focused on raising our kids and getting along – which worked out much better.

And, along those lines, I suspect that most people in this Congregation really don’t want to go back to the old days when the minister mainly did all the talking and explained what it all meant and you just parked your brains outside the door on the way in.

Well, enough objections you might say, maybe it would be better if we leave the Bible alone for now.

6. However, I have another plan and since this is the beginning of Lent … what better time than to take another look at the Bible.

Now, in the old days, Lent was supposed to be a time of penitence, self examination and spoke about guilt, sin, repentance and all that stuff. We have all been there – right? Got it down, memorized it … and, at least for most people, it no longer creates much enthusiasm. Now, I am not saying these are bad ideas in themselves – but if you have already done it … it doesn’t make sense to keep beating them to death – which means that maybe we are ready to move on to something else – maybe God is ready for us to take it to another level.

TALK ABOUT WESLEY 3 STAGES
PORCH – CONVERSION, BEING SAVED
DOORWAY - FAITH

HOUSE – GROWING IN SPIRITUAL WHOLENESS


7. Now I suspect that most people here believe in one way or
Another that they are saved, that God loves them, their sins
Are forgiven, and things like that. Right? If not, then I think
It would be good for you to come and see me – in fact I would
Welcome it.

Secondly, I suspect that most people here have in some way, lesser or greater, faith in God. And if trouble happens, you are capable of some form of prayer … and you trust, deep down, that God will see you through whatever is happening … and, on the other hand, if life is going good, you take time to give thanks to God and to share your good things with others. This, then, is the doorway … of faith. And this is what we were all taught growing up. “Just have faith” … how many times did you hear that?

And yet I wonder if, at one time or another, it has ever occurred to you to ask the question -- now that I “have faith” – “Is that all there is to it?” Or, to wonder "isn’t there more to my religious life than this?”

8. Now, as we all know, or would like to believe, America is a very religious country … and it is my observation that it just might be that in the last 40 years a lot of people in this country, who were raised in the church and who were taught to have faith … and have faith … have asked the same question. Isn’t there more?

But, for the most part the church has left it at that … except of course for enlisting people in various social causes to help the poor and fight racial prejudice. And I am not knocking those causes at all. But, without spiritual growth, one can just get burned trying to help people out (which is what happens a lot of the time). And because the church has not been challenging people to grow spiritually they are going other places. Why, for instance, do we have people doing yoga, Zen meditation, and going on monastic retreats? Why, because they want something more in their spiritual life.

So, I suggest that what is going on is that a lot of us are inside the house and wondering what to do now – and the church isn’t helping much. Or, we are just going along with the way it is … because we, too, can’t think of what to do about it. Or, outside of Sunday morning we are pursuing a lot of other things …in our life looking for answers. But, I wish to point out; you can’t indefinitely meet your spiritual need for God by just doing hobbies or trying to entertain yourself in other ways. God is, after all, God. And substitutes won’t really cut it when it gets right down to it.

9. So, back to the plan. And, this is something I have given quite a bit of thought … over some length of time. How to involve a diverse group of Christian people in some kind of Bible study that will be interesting, challenging, and valuable … and won’t require a huge amount of effort on anyone’s part. In short, something that can be done by each person – on your own – at your leisure – and yet can be pulled together on a weekly basis on Sunday morning.

One way, of course, would be to do it online. And I think this is not a bad idea … but not enough people in this church are into blogging so that will have to wait for a while.

No, instead, what I am proposing is a self study project which will include personal Bible reading, prayer, meditation, and even a little contemplation – all taking about 20-30 minutes per week.

Can it be done? Well I have a lot of confidence in this congregation. I am not bragging when I tell people, to use the words of Garrison Keller, “Well above average.”

And, yet, as we know, that can be a danger -- because we can become complacent – and spiritual complacency is not a good thing.

Secondly, this past year I have seen people respond to new ideas and challenges -- such as the “prayer partners” idea. Lots of people jumped right on that one – and it works.

10. So, I am guessing that you are ready for another challenge. And here it is:

Eric’s Lenten Bible Study – Based on the Parables

EXPLAIN THE PROCESS.

EXPLAIN THE SCRIPTURE READING – AND THE
THE LOST SHEEP

11. Now, I have a lot more to say about meditation, prayer, contemplation, the parables, and a whole lot more … but, for now let’s get started. We have 4 – 5 more weeks to get into all of it in more detail. So, this is not a one shot deal. This is a process which, if you follow along, will leave you with a much better understanding of who God is and help you to be aware of how God is involved in your life and other people’s as well.

Now, just take your time. Don’t expect miracles. Don’t expect everything to fall into place right away. It’s like riding a bicycle for the first time. You might fall off. Don’t go too fast at first.

In fact, the whole point is to not go fast at all. After all, this is a process which is basically about slowing down – even coming to a stop … and listening to God … the still small voice within you that is trying to get your attention in the midst of your busy life.

12. So, I am giving you a two week head start. Because, next week, Rev. Alan Bolte will be here and we will be hearing from him. This means that you have two weeks to work on your first assignment … which will be discussed in church on March 4th. Then after that we will continue through Palm Sunday.

Lastly, if you decide this is not for you … or it doesn’t work … then you don’t have to do it. And, you can still come to church on Sunday and get in on the discussion just the same as always. In fact, some of you may want to wait before doing the exercise until after it is discussed on Sunday. But either way, I hope you will give it a try and in a few weeks we will see where we are along the way.

And in the meantime, “may the force be with you!”

Let us pray

Sermon Notes for February 11, 2007

NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME, SORRY.

Sermon Notes for February 4, 2007

February 4, 2007
Isaiah 6:1-8
“Whom Shall I Send?”

1. Have you ever been sent somewhere? Have you ever been asked to do something by someone? Have you ever been called upon to perform some task or to carry out some responsibility?

I suppose our first experience with being sent somewhere is as
A child. For instance, we may have been sent on an errand to get something for our mother – such as to pick up the mail or buy something at the story.

Or we may have been sent to our room for being disobedient.

So, I suppose, the experience of being sent some where, or called upon to do something can have both positive and negative connotations when we are growing up. It may be that we are being disciplined for something we did, or it maybe that in being sent that we come to feel important – a sign that we are growing up.

2. Being called, usually means that we are subject to some higher authority, whether it is a parent, a teacher, or an employer or supervisor.

It may be that we have been sitting on the bench watching the game and waiting for the coach to notice us … when suddenly he calls out our name – and we are suddenly sent into the action. A moment of happiness that we are now going to get to play and a moment of anxiety as we wonder “am I ready – can I do it?”

Now, of course, we all like to think we are in control of our lives. We like to make our own decisions in life. We have all subscribed more or less to the idea that we should “do our own thing.”

After all, nobody likes to be told “what to do” – do we?

Nobody likes the idea that we are subject to higher authorities. And yet,. That is the way it is much of the time, isn’t it?

3. It starts early. For instance, everybody remembers their first job. What was it? Probably some relatively simple task … like making hamburgers at the drive in restaurant – as it did in high school – or sweeping out the barbershop – which I also did.

Mostly repetitive work and mostly boring wasn’t it? And mostly there was someone older than us who was there making sure we did the job responsibly.

But it was a learning experience that probably taught us something about obeying orders and being on time. And we learned from it didn’t we?

Tell story about being a copy boy at the Star Tribune.

4. But, of course, as we grow up, the work gets more complicated.
The responsibilities increase and eventually we may even be put in a position where we get to give orders and tell other people what to do. We may even be a coach like in the superbowl today. Or a quarterback like Peyton Manning or Rex Grossman and get paid a lot of money and get all the glory if you win and get all the blame if you lose.

Mostly, we see this whole business of giving and receiving orders and accepting responsibility in terms of everyday life. For, in fact, it is the reality in which we live. After all, if we act irresponsibly we can end up “paying the price” – as we say. Only it is a lot worse than being “sent to our room.” We all understand that. We all understand that we have to be accountable in life and sometimes it is not all fun…

In fact, when I interviewed people for the Red Cross we had a question which we asked everyone which went something like this:

Tell us about a time when your supervisor asked you
To do a job or perform a task which you did not exactly agree with. How did you handle it?



5. So, now we are going to jump from the more mundane aspects of the life to the existential or the religious level and ask the same
Question. Only in a different way.

The question now is: How do you handle life? Your life?

What do you like about it? What don’t you like about it? What tasks in life do you perform joyfully and with excitement and with a sense of fulfillment … and what tasks are tiresome, worrisome, and leave you worn out and exhausted?

6. For in the final analysis, we all must ask the really big questions. Such as: What is life all about? Is it all an accident? Or is there some higher purpose? Is it all just a matter of getting through it, of gratifying our appetites, of making a lot of money, of achieving some kind of reputation? Or is there something more? Are we accountable to some higher power? Are we accountable to God?

And if there is a higher purpose to life – what is it? And what does it have to do with me?

Now, this is a rather profound question. Maybe we would rather shrug our shoulders and say … I don’t really know. It is too much for me to comprehend. And so we despair of ever knowing what life is all about. We don’t know if we have been sent and we don’t know if we have been called. And we look around and see what other people are doing – but that is of no help either. And is that not the condition of many people today? They have no higher power in life.

So, let us turn now to Isaiah, who was, in many ways, not unlike people today. He was going along, like everyone else, wondering what life is really all about. He was worried about the world conditions. And he was shaken up by the recent death of King Uzziah. And in the midst of this, he wanted some answers.




7. Now, Isaiah, who became one of the most well known prophets in the Bible was probably born in Jerusalem. A Jewish tradition says he was the cousin of King Uzziah. In his early years, he worked as an official of the king (2Ch 26:22). We can therefore say that he was very close to the king.

So Isaiah was deeply affected by the death of the king. But it wasn’t only because Uzziah had been personally close to him. There were also dark clouds hanging over his people, and he was concerned about the future of his nation. Before his death, Uzziah (aka Azariah; 787-735 B.C.) had ruled the country for 52 years, longer than any other king. He was only sixteen years old when he became king. He was an able and powerful king. Under his rule, his nation enjoyed peace and prosperity. Upon his success, however, he became proud. Against the advice of the 81 priests, he entered the temple to burn incense, the duty reserved only for priests. He did so well in everything that he thought he could be a high priest as well (2Ch 26:16). Then God struck him with leprosy. And he had leprosy until the day he died.

7. With the death of the king, the geopolitical conditions surrounding the country seemed ominous. The neighboring Edomites and the Philistines would frequently attack and plunder his people. Only 18 years earlier, the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the invading Assyrians. Judah seemed to be at the brink of destruction as well. Things were not looking so good.

The most serious threat, however, came from within. His people were morally and spiritually corrupt (2Ch 27:2). In fact, the long and prosperous reign of Uzziah was a mixed blessing for the people of Judah. With the economy booming, many of his people turned away from God. People became selfish. The rich oppressed the poor. Everyone partied and people stayed up late at night. (5:11). Bars and nightclubs in Jerusalem were doing good business. You get the picture. Isaiah 1:5 says that the whole head of Israel was injured.



In this situation, Isaiah despaired. It seemed hopeless. In his eyes, the end of Judah, the end of God’s chosen people, was inevitable. It seemed to him that the question was not “how” but “when.” In his despair, he would say many negative things. Perhaps he told his friends and family, “I don’t see how we can get out of this situation. So what’s the point of struggling to live by faith? Anyway God doesn’t seem to care.” The king was dead, but Isaiah spoke as if God were dead.

9. One day, however, something happened to Isaiah to change his life forever. By chance, he strolled into the temple. There he had a vision. Through the vision, he discovered the truths about God, about the world, and about himself. Things he had not known before.

The first thing he discovered was that history is ultimately in God’s hands. Look at verse 1 again. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. In a spectacular vision, God the King revealed himself to Isaiah, showing him that he was not only alive but also seated on a throne, high and exalted. This meant that God was in control of the universe. Isaiah thought that he and his people had no hope because of their human situations. He thought that the world was ruled by the superpower nations such as the Assyrian Empire. Other people seemed to think so as well. The pundits in Jerusalem paid a close attention to what was happening in the Assyrian Empire. The news media reported all troop movements in the Empire.

But Isaiah discovered that history is in God’s hand, not in the hands of the Assyrian Empire. When Isaiah saw that the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, he realized that God was ruling the world according to his purpose. The truth that God is the Ruler of history remained in Isaiah’s heart throughout the rest of his life. He later proclaimed to his people, “Your God reigns!” (52:7) “Your God reigns!” These three words gave hope to the hopeless people when things went bad in Israel.



10. And so, in the midst of the vision, Isaiah did what anyone would do. He felt overwhelmed. “I am not worthy,” he cried out. In other words, “Why Me?”

These are the same words that all the prophets, including Moses, said when God approached. “Why Me?”

And, so it is the same with each of us. We are going along feeling confused, worried about making a living, paying the bills, worried about the worth situation and all the rest. And we say, “Well, that’s just the way the world is, I guess.” Nothing I can do about it.

And then God calls us …and says, “Whom shall I send?

For the truth is that God calls us – in small ways and large. We are all called in one way or another. And how will we respond? Will it be like Isaiah. Will we say, “Here am I."

11. Today is communion Sunday. In the old days in the Methodist Church they didn’t have communion very often. Maybe only a few times a year. Instead, they had altar calls. People came down to kneel and prayer at the altar. In some parts of the country they still have them. Often, they are associated with evangelistic efforts and excessive emotionality and this makes some people uncomfortable.

But, you don’t have to be “saved” to take communion. This is not an evangelistic rally. However, this is a time to commit or recommit yourself to God and to accept for yourself the gift of God’s salvation and to hear once again God speaking to you in your heart. And a time to be refreshed, accepted, strengthened and prepared to be sent out into the world again knowing that in all things God is in charge – despite appearances to the contrary. This is God’s word of hope to Isaiah and to us – today, as well.

And so, at the end of the service, as we prepare to leave, we will sing these words:

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?I have heard you calling in the night.I will go, Lord, if you lead me.I will hold your people in my heart.

Sermon Notes for January 28, 2007

January 28, 2007
Luke 4: 21-30, Luke 19:1-10 (children’s puppet show – Zacchaeus)
“Doctor, Cure Yourself”

1. Last week we read from Luke 4: 14-21 about how Jesus returned to his native village of Nazareth and went to the Synagogue on the Sabbath and read from Isaiah about how he had been sent to proclaim good news to the poor, recovery of sight to the blind, release to the captives and set free the captives and announce that the Day of Lord was at hand.
Today’s reading picks up on the response to Jesus’ words on the part of the congregation and on Jesus response to their response. For it was the very first time that Jesus had been back in his village after beginning his ministry. No doubt this was a big deal because, prior to this, the people who had seen him grow up had no idea that he was going to be anything else than a carpenter – a common person like themselves. So, they were curious and skeptical and amazed at what they had heard about him (for word had traveled around the area).

In Mathew, Chapter 13 it describes it likes this:

54Coming to his hometown, Jesus began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. 55"Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" 57And they took offense at him.

2. The closest I can get to understanding this situation is to remember how back at the time I was the seminary I went back to my home town and how some people responded at first. Now of course, I was not known to have been particularly religious nor did my parents attend church very much. So, there was no expectation on anyone’s part that I was, of all people, destined for the ministry.

I especially remember going into the local pharmacy known as Dick’s Drug Store and having Dick the druggist, who I knew very well and who was a prominent member of the church we sometimes attended, stare at me with the strangest of looks – as if he were seeing a ghost or something!

What was happening? – He must have wondered. Something so out of the ordinary. Was it a sign from God – perhaps?

Something out of the ordinary, something unexpected, the work of the Holy Spirit, a mystery, a revelation, an epiphany – what was it. I am not sure that I understood it myself. But there I was standing there in the middle of the drugstore – the same flesh and blood as before – but somehow transformed by something invisible and unexplainable – or so it seemed.
Had it not been for my mothers illness I most likely would have gone to church – but I didn’t. If I had, that might have been quite a scene.

So, I suppose, that is how the people, reacted with amazement, skepticism, and even disbelief to Jesus arrival in Nazareth … only much more so, of course.

3. Now it is really not clear what kind of training Jesus received prior to his ministry. One commentator has this to say:

By the time Jesus began his public ministry, he had not only received the thorough religious training typical of the average Jewish man of his day, he had probably spent years studying with one of the outstanding rabbis in the Galilee. Jesus thus appeared on the scene as a respected rabbi himself. He was recognized as such by his contemporaries, as certain passages in the New Testament illustrate like the following:

•A lawyer asked him a question to test him: "Rabbi, what is the greatest commandment in the Torah?" (Matthew 22:35-36)

•And behold, a [rich] man came up to him and said, "Rabbi, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?" (Matthew 19:16)

•And someone in the crowd said to him, "Rabbi, order my brother to divide the inheritance with me." (Luke 12:13)

On the other hand, many other scholars think that Jesus was more than likely self taught and that the term rabbi could have been used rather loosely for anyone who was a spiritual leader. We just don’t know for sure.

4. Whatever the case, whereas things seemed to start out on a positive note as Jesus proclaimed the good news – they soon took on a darker more confrontive tone.


Mathew and Mark do not go into much detail – all they say is that:
the crowd took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor." And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

But Luke goes into more detail as he tell how Jesus quotes the proverb “Doctor, heal yourself.” No doubt, Luke, who was a physician himself, would have remembered this saying more than the others.

Luke also describes Jesus telling the story of how God did not always favor the Jews … but, as in the story of Naaman the leper, Elisha the prophet cleanses a gentile while neglecting his own people.

At this point, the people became enraged and, according to Luke, they “were furious when they heard this. 29They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.”

This should give us some idea about how volatile religious matters were in Jesus’ day.

5. Some commentators are not clear whether the crowd in the synagogue provoked Jesus or whether Jesus provoked the crowds. Most likely, I think it was probably a little of both, perhaps.

Why was this? It is hard to tell for sure, but religion is a powerful thing in people’s lives – sometimes for good reasons and sometimes for bad.

For some people religion is a private matter. For others it is a social function where they feel connected to friends and it is like a club. For others it is a psychological buffer which stands between themselves and the stresses of life. Some see religion as standing for high moral values and teachings. Others think the church should help the needy and the oppressed and help make our society a better place to live.

But the ultimate reason for religion is to promote our faith – our relationship with God. Which is what Jesus message was all about. No doubt, then, Jesus words was more than a little upsetting to the people in this little village. For he had challenged their little world and was calling them to look beyond their narrow prejudices.

6. The phrase, Doctor, Heal Thyself – has several possible meanings.
The most common one being that we should: Attend to our own faults, in preference to pointing out the faults of others.

In other words: Mind your own business!

But other scholars, in part because of what is said in Mark and Mathew, suspect that what the people wanted was for Jesus to perform a miracle of healing. And that only if he did that, would they believe. This is what it means when they tell Jesus to “do here also in your hometown what you did in Capernaum.”

In other words, “PUT ON SHOW FOR US.”

And probably that alone (as much as their skepticism) is what got Jesus upset. For here it is that he returns to his home village and all they want is a spectacle. In short there is no sincerity here. There is no acceptance … and so Jesus tells them … “God doesn’t always do miracles just because you want or expect them … and for an example – Jesus told them how, in 1st Kings, during a great famine God did not heal anyone in the land of Israel but instead sent Elijah to a widow in Sidon and he healed her son, instead. Point well taken. In other words, God doesn’t necessarily jump at our command just because we want him too. And, so, Jesus was saying to the Nazarenes, “I am not going to jump at your command! – either.”

7. In other words, Jesus saw through their narrow minded attitudes and once he had spoken as he did, they saw that he could see through them and so they reacted angrily.

Now, it was no doubt very disturbing scene. And we must wonder about Jesus to, provoking the crowd the way he did. In a way, a very human Jesus perhaps. Not at all the serene and passive Jesus we see in some pietistic paintings. Not exactly a Jesus, either, who merely conforms to our expectations and desires.

And yet Jesus could be very compassionate and understanding and go out of his way to help those who really needed help -- as our other story today reveals. For Jesus would go into the home of the despised Zacchaeus and the despised tax collector would come out a changed man. A miracle, too, for sure. A miracle not of physical healing but a miracle just the same – a miracle of the heart.

But, we must realize that while Zacchaeus was an angry and abusive man at first, he was also an unhappy man as well – and he knew it. For Zacchaeus, despite his faults, was an honest man – at least about his own condition. And he did not hide his despair -- for no amount of money could take away the fact that he was lonely and had no friends. And it was this honesty, not his religiosity or the lack of it, that made all the difference. For it was clear to Jesus that anyone who would climb up in a tree just to see him – was sincere in his desire to change.

8. And this is just another example of the unusual and uncanny ability which Jesus demonstrates over and over again … the ability to see past the surface and discern the inner spiritual affairs of people. Whether it is the Nazarenes whose hearts are clearly not in the right place on the one hand, or Zacchaeus who despite his outwardly appearance as a curmudgeon – deeply desired help on the other – Jesus seldom misses the mark.

No, the Nazarenes did not fool Jesus. And, on the other hand, neither did Zacchaeus – for Jesus looked through the gruff exterior and saw a soul that was hurting and willing to change – given the right chance. And the crowd, again, was amazed that of all the people there that day … Jesus chose Zacchaeus – the despised tax collector whom no one would have anything to do with … and how amazed they must have been when Zacchaeus became a changed man. And how must have this and other stories about Rabbi Jesus must have spread around the countryside.

So, if there is any wisdom to be gained this morning from these two stories it is that you can’t fool Jesus … or God. Sort of like the famous words of Abraham Lincoln: “You may fool all the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time.”


Let us pray ….

Sermon Notes for January 21st

January 21, 2007
“Filled With the Power of the Holy Spirit”
Luke 4:14-21

This is going to be a particpatory sermon. Later on in the message I am going to ask you to share some joy, some "good news" that happened this past week in your life (or this last month - whenever). For myself, I have a funny story. Yesterday I went into the Harmony Co-op to buy some bread. I noticed a man who was looking a cookbook. It was one I own - by Susan Hauser. So, thinking to be helpful, I went up to him and told him how much I liked the cookbook and showed him one of the recipes which is my favorite - about how to make Wild Rice Pilaf. The man was a little surprised, I guess, so I went on to buy the bread. As I left, he was still looking at the book. Later, back in the office, I recieved an email which was a list of things that indicate "if you are from Minnesota." Such as if you own jumper cables and your girlfriend knows how to use them. Well, one of them said, "You know you are in Minnesota if someone comes up to you in the supermarket and offers to help you and they don't work there!" So, I guess that was me...

1. Now, it is widely believed from the way they are written that Luke and Mathew were familiar with the Gospel of Mark when they wrote their Gospels. The story we read today in Luke about Jesus returning to Nazareth and quoting the prophet Isaiah is different from that in Mark in that Mark does not mention Nazareth specifically but only says: “he came to his own country where he began to teach in the synagogue.” Mathew also does not mention Nazareth or Isaiah specifically. And in John’s Gospel the story is not mentioned at all. But Luke makes it a special point on both matters.

Was Luke familiar with different accounts of the same event than Mark or Mathew? We don’t know. Did Luke choose to elaborate on Mark’s earlier account to make a point -- most likely? And Luke’s point is that the prophecies of the Old Testament – specifically Isaiah – had now come to pass. And that in Jesus … anointed by the Holy Spirit of God … would be the fulfillment of God’s plan for salvation … which meant “good news” for the poor, “sight” to the blind, “release” to the captives, and freedom to the oppressed.”

2. Now, because Luke’s account is much longer than Mark and Mathew’s account, today we only get the first part of the story … the “good news” … and next week we get (In Paul Harvey’s famous words) “the rest of the story. Which is not so good, because Jesus message didn't go over so well and the people took offense and tried to throw him out of the synagogue.

But, for today, we are concerned with the “good news” – the message of Jesus proclaimed throughout Galilee in the small villages and countryside. And so will begin the story we all know about how Jesus, born in Bethlehem, baptized by John in the Jordan, tempted by the Devil after fasting in the wilderness, would begin his ministry of healing and teaching and proclaiming the word of God – the good news of salvation which will, ultimately, lead him to Jerusalem and his crucifixion, his resurrection, ascension, and to the establishment of the church which would evangelize or proclaim his message to the whole world.

The story of Jesus life is not just a story – it is THE STORY. Or, as someone once called it, THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD. For, as far as we can understand it, the journey of Jesus from Bethlehem to Jerusalem – is more than a series of events … but the salvation story of the whole human race.

3. This is the third Sunday after the Epiphany, according to the traditional church calendar. Not that anyone today is particularly paying attention.
And, we seldom use the word epiphany nowadays. It is derived from [Middle English epiphanie, from Late Latin epiphania, and originally from Greek epiphaneia, manifestation, from epiphainesthai, to appear

Therefore, an Epiphany is a sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something. A comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization: "I experienced an epiphany, a spiritual flash that would change the way I viewed myself"
The Greek sense of the word, an epiphany can also mean the appearance of a god or deity or of the Divine.
As a result, we are to understand that although the word Epiphany does not occur in the Bible … it is a word that describes miraculous Jesus appearance in the world …

4. Now it just happens that the Bible has a another word for Epiphany and that word is Revelation …

As it says in Isaiah (Chapter 40) A voice of one calling:"In the desert prepare the way for the LORD-- make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Or in the words of Paul in Romans:

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[c] just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith.”

5. Now to reveal something means to disclose it. It means that something which has been hidden, or missing, or lost, or not fully understood is now coming out in the open where it will be clear to everyone who chooses to see it.

And what was it that had remained hidden from sight? What was it that people did not understand? What was it that was coming into being in the person and words of Jesus?
What would you say it was? What is that Jesus meant to the people in his day? What is it that He means to the world today?

What is it? Why this big deal about Jesus?
Who is being revealed? Is it Jesus? Not really, for everyone could see him.
No, the revelation is about God and God’s purpose for our lives and the world. it is God has His will for us that is revealed in Jesus Christ. Jesus, in short is an epiphany and a disclosure about who God really is.

Well, that is pretty huge, don’t you think?

6. Now it wasn’t that there weren’t plenty of religions around in Jesus’ day in addition to Judaism itself. For, in fact, in the Roman Empire there were all manner of religions and religious practices in addition to the cult of the Roman Emperor – who was defied as a god himself.

But none of them would be around for long in the face of the one and most timely revelation of Jesus Christ.

I don’t know if you watched CNN over the holidays but they had a two hour special called AFTER JESUS … which traces the development of the early Christian movement, the writing of the Gospels right up to the time that Emperor Constantine relented and accepted the church as legitimate in 325 AD. It’s a good account. If you would like to borrow it, I have a copy on VHS.

But even all the sophisticated scholars in the program cannot account for the rapid growth of the Christianity in the face of so much opposition from its inception.

7. But, at one point it becomes clear that the message of Jesus conveyed to the world through the apostles Peter, Paul, and all the others … is this … here is a plan … and explanation … for everything that happens in your life … which says that God is concerned about you, me, and everyone else … and will forgive our sins … and who lived and walked among us … ever suffering death … to reveal to us his everlasting love. And that this message is of equal value, meaning, and importance to every person regardless of wealth, social status, or anything else. Lastly, despite the difficulties, disappointments, illnesses, calamities, and troubles of this life … God’s Kingdom will reign forever and even death will not be the end.

That’s pretty Good News …as we say in Minnesota. Not too bad!

But that was then … and this is now … as they say. So, what does that Good News mean today… in our lives … in the lives of our friends … family … in our Church.

8. Wouldn’t be interesting if we could all share our thoughts about this subject this morning wouldn’t it? And maybe not everyone would have good news on this particular Sunday.

Maybe there are deep troubles for some among us today … for whom the Good News has to be really Good … and has to go deep down just to drive away the pain and suffering.

And yet others might have stories to share about how their faith is working in their lives.

Sometimes I think the old idea of giving testimony is all such a bad idea if it is done in the right way … of course. Trouble is, it often got overused and abused, and at least for now we have gotten away from it.

But, this morning, in a little bit, I would like to have us take a moment and share some piece of good news with the person next to us … it doesn’t have to be a big knock down revelation … it might be something simple as getting over a cold … or having a friend call us on the phone.

So, be thinking about something to share … about how God seems to be at work in your life …

9. In the meantime, I will share with you some quite good news … and yet something very down to earth …

SHARE JIM ALLEN’S STORY ABOUT CAROL, HIS DAUGHTER. She was very ill after surgery to remove her apendicitis. In fact, the doctor thought it might have to do another surgery. But, at the very last minute, she suddenly recovered.

Well, you can imagine how relieved they were … and I too, was relieved as well. My prayers were answered to … miraculously, it seems.

We’ve all heard of stories like that. Maybe we have even been the one who was sick. And we also know that sometimes things aren’t so fortunate. But, when we go through something difficult, like this, we do appreciate how God can be at work in our life, calming our fears, and reassuring us that no matter what happens there still is hope. And we are reminded once again of how precious life is … and what a gift it is … from our Creator.

10. So, let us just take a few moments and share something with someone next to you which happened this week … or this past month … or even this past year … and if you don’t really have anything to share or can’t think of something maybe you can just listen … for that, too, is a gift we can give.

PEOPLE SHARE THE GOOD NEWS WITH ONE ANOTHER.

11. Sharing the Good news … how often do we do that? How did it feel? That is what the early church did when they met on Sunday.
And we all do it, too, in small ways and large among ourselves – for this is part of the life of the church.

So, this week, let’s all be thinking about something that is happening in our daily life, in our work, in our family, in the news (not the news is real good), in whatever we are doing … that reveals the goodness of God … and reminds us that we are cared about … and that gives us hope … just as I have shared with you my (and Jims) good news story this past week.

And be reminded that God is everywhere at work in our lives … if we just take the time to pay attention.

And let’s also remember to practice hospitality towards others … remembering to say a good word … to those we meet … and to listen to those who need to be heard …
Remembering that the revelation of Jesus Christ completes the circle and connects us to God in small ways and large. And I challenge you to be intentional about it (and I know that many of you do it anyway). For the epiphany of Our Lord is out there waiting to happen -- a revelation, disclosure of the Divine Love of God in our lives and the lives of others we meet.

Let us pray …

Sermon Notes for January 14th

January 14th, 2007
“The Fountain of Life”
Psalm 36:5-10; John 2:1-11

1. The scripture reading from John about the miracle at the Wedding feast in Cana can be discussed in a variety of ways. For this morning, I have chosen to look at it in terms of change -- or, more correctly, TRANSFORMATION.

Coming to the wedding feast, Jesus discovers a major problem – there is not enough wine. This would have been an embarrassment and a detriment to a proper celebration of what was supposed to be a joyful event.

And so, after thinking about, Jesus transforms the water into wine. A sign, we are told, of his Divine Power. After that, the party goes on and Jesus goes on his way.

Among other things, what this event indicates for the readers is that Jesus has the power to transform things. Even ordinary everyday things. For this is no dramatic earth changing miracle. It takes place in the commonplace everyday world in a small village among ordinary people.

In other words, the story indicates that Jesus can be anywhere and everywhere. Even here among us in Bemidji. And the power of God is such that it can transform even us …even our church in small ways and perhaps even in large ways.

2. We live in a world that is rapidly being transformed right around us in so many ways that it makes us dizzy at times.

This past week I was talking with some clergy friends who are all my age. We were discussing and lamenting how difficult it is to keep up with things.

For instance, the recent development of YouTube which is an internet device for downloading home produced videos. It only came on the market less than 2 years ago.
During the summer of 2006, YouTube was one of the fastest-growing websites on the World Wide Web,[9] and was ranked as the 10th most popular website. According to a July 16, 2006 survey, 100 million clips are viewed daily on YouTube, with an additional 65,000 new videos uploaded per 24 hours. The site has almost 20 million visitors each month, according to Nielsen/NetRatings,[11] where around 44% are female, 56% male, and the 12- to 17-year-old age group is dominant.[12] YouTube's pre-eminence in the online video market is staggering.

On October 9, 2006, it was announced that the company would be purchased by Google for $ 1.65 billion.

This event was particularly disturbing to my daughter who happens to have been a classmate at Central High School in St. Paul of one of the young men to who invented YouTube. He is now a multi-millionaire. And he is only 28 years old!

3. Youtube is already having a tremendous impact on the world. Last fall, for instance, the Republican candidate for senate in Virginia made a racial comment to a person who was videotaping him on the campaign. Within a day the video was on YouTube and was seen by thousands and millions of people when the major news networks picked it up. Because of the closeness of that election, many think that this one incident may have cost this person the election. And, not only that, but because of the closeness of the national election – it may have cost the Republican Party control of the United States Senate. All, because of YouTube.

As we know, change is often more difficult as we get older and set in our ways. Young people, it seems, have an easier time learning new technology because they don’t have to overcome old habits and patterns of behavior.

Take the cell phone, for instance. Young people live by it. When my daughter and her friend were here last weekend – they both had cell phones and they were going off every 30 minutes.

Lyle Schaller, a church consultant, says, in his most recent book (he writes a new book every 12 to 18 months) that with cell phoneswe will very soon be able to withdraw cash from ATM machines; purchase items on the internet; watch television; buy and sell stocks; and even listen to sermons!!! Imagine that!

We haven’t gone that far at our church, yet, but the other day Alice Collins emailed me to say that I hadn’t updated my sermons on my blog site (since I was gone over the holidays and have gotten behind). In fact, that is one of the problems … it is hard to keep up nowadays.

4. Yes, the world is being transformed right around us in many, many ways. And this is causing problems for many institutions in our society. For instance, how about newspapers. Statistics show that especially among young people – they get their information from the internet. This last year, alone, the Minneapolis Star and Tribune was sold twice – and the day may be coming when printed newspapers as we know them – may be obsolete.

Or, at least, only limited copies will be produced for us older folks who still feel that there is nothing more relaxing, as one of my clergy friends put it, than “to sit in your chair in the morning with a good cup of coffee reading the paper.” How nostalgic that may be some day.
Yes, things are changing. As we were talking last week, two of the pastors were reminiscing about Star Lake Wilderness Camp down near Pequot Lakes. Star Lake, unlike the other Methodist Camps, like Northern Pines is more rustic and outdoors. And it still features outdoor toilets – or outhouses – as we used to call them. Well, many kids nowadays don’t even know what they are and some are so used to modern indoor plumbing that they can’t handle it all. Let’s face it, the outhouse is a thing of the past. Although, I am not sure anyone is that nostalgic about that piece of technological change.
5. Schools and Universities are being changed, medical practice is changing, and now some cars have GPS systems and actually can talk to the driver and tell them when to stop and exit the freeway.
And so, it is not to be unexpected that religious practices and our theological understanding is also affected by change. And this was the topic of the conference I attended last week. It was interesting and very exciting, really.
The topic was in response to the downward trend in membership in main line Protestant denominations (Lutheran, Congregational, Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian) which has been going on for the last 30 years and what to do about it.
The presenter’s (Diana Butler Bass) main point was that the conventional idea -- that the main line churches are losing out to the more conservative/evangelical churches because we are too liberal and don’t make enough demands on our members is not correct. Not necessarily – at all.
The real reason she said is that we have been moving away from a tradition based society to an intentional society in many ways. And now, the locus of authority is no longer in institutions but in individuals.
6. This was not true during the hey-day of American Protestantism when the church was the guarantor of American values such as hard work (the Protestant Ethic); patriotism; respect for parents; public education; and all the rest. All of this, she said, was beginning to be challenged in the 1960s and 70s for a wide variety of reasons. Then, as I mentioned, came the advent of television and now the internet and cell phones and all the rest.
In short, we are living through a time of unprecedented change which is impacting us in the way we live, think, and understand the world.
As a result, everyone is having a hard time keeping up.
And these changes are often subtle and yet critical to how we understand the church, our faith, and the role of the minister in our life.
And it can be very stressful – as expectations change and we become confused and unable to adapt.
7. For instance, the rate of clergy burn-out is higher now than at any time in the last 60 years. In fact, as I returned to the ministry, I met many of my colleagues leaving the institutional ministry at the same time. Now wonder, I think now, that the Conference was happy to see me!
When I came to Bemidji in 1999 I asked one of my good friends what was the biggest change in the ministry in the last 20 years. And he said, “It’s all about relationships. It’s all about relationships.”
Seems pretty obvious, today, but how many of your remember the days when the minister was supposed to be rather above everyone. You know, someone set apart, who was respected but kept a little at arm length. And who was supposed to act in some sort of “religious way” – being overly pious or talking kind of funny and letting you know all the time that he was probably a lot closer to God than you were.
In fact, when I first came here I went to visit a long time member in the hospital. And the first thing he asked me was, “Are you another one of those phony ministers?” And I said, “Well, I am about as phony as the rest of them!” After that, we got along great.
8. But, this little anecdote reveals a great deal about how the church has and is changing. Imagine saying that to a minister 40 or 50 years ago. It would have been unthinkable.
No, whether we realize it or not, or whether we like it or not, the church is changing, being transformed right around us … and, naturally, it is making us confused, uncomfortable, and wondering where this is all going. And it is not helping that so many younger people, born after 1960 or 70 or 80 have left the church or at least find it somewhat irrelevant to their lives. And some of those are looking elsewhere for spiritual guidance.
Others, naturally have responded by blaming society or the change in values or liberals or television or feminism or the decline in the stability of marriage or any number of things. But, according to Diana Butler Bass, “IT’S NOBODY’S FAULT.” And this is the most hopeful thing, because instead of trying to blame it on something or trying to hold on to the past she suggests that we need to go forward into the future with faith and hope and the willingness to try new things, experiment with new ways, and, at the same time to look back to the past, not the recent past, but to spiritual practices that were part of the church a long time ago and are now been rediscovered like meditation, contemplation, hospitality, and the renewal of the sacraments in worship.
9. About five years ago, a young man walked into my office who I had never met before. Inside of an hour he told me he had grown up in the Presbyterian Church, left it, become a born again evangelical Pentecostal charismatic, graduated from Oak Hills Christian College and after long and careful thought he had decided to join the Methodist Church. He then proceeded to tell me that he had come the conclusion that John Wesley’s doctrine of the Quadrilateral (Reason, Tradition, Scripture, and Experience) was the best way to function theologically in the Post Modern World. At first, I wasn’t sure what he was talking about.
Well, you all know that this was Brian Manly, and now he is a Duke Seminary in Durham, NC. Brian also was instrumental in starting the EPIC postmodern worship which has now evolved into a blended contemporary postmodern worship on Wednesday nights. And it is still evolving.
When I got back last week, I emailed Brian about Diane Butler Bass and he replied (via the internet):
Butler Bass and others are writing about the postmodern world and the renewal movement among mainline churches.
And he goes on to say:
And you thought I was just some crazy ex. Evangelical coming to his senses by joining a mainline church). Nope, I'm riding the wave man. The emerging church is about to explode and I want to be among the pastors in the UMC who are apart of the renewal movement. Some call it a renewal movement, some call it the emerging church, others just say that it is reclaiming our heritage and practicing old traditions while using 21st century technology. Either way the mainline churches are on the verge of a revival.
Yet, I don't think this movement will catch on everywhere. Some churches are too established in their current methods and models to be renewed. I see a lot of Methodist Churches here in the South that are doing very well financially and will not be so inclined to change anything. I think the renewal will really only happen in those churches that are struggling financially and willing to take some risks with the hopes of attracting more people.
By the way, Brian is doing quite well – and got a 3.0 in his first semester.
The big question, I think, is whether the Methodist Church is ready for Brian.
10. Turning water into wine. Transforming the church. This is at the heart of the question for the church as we move into the postmodern world of the twenty first century.
We can react to it with despair and pessimism and blame others or we can go forward with excitement and accept the challenge to be transformed in our thinking and our practice of Christian life and grow in our hospitality toward others.
Diana Bass spent over two years interviewing and studying 50 mainline churches all across the country that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, we growing and reaching out to others – in other words – were successful. This included all the major denominations. And none of these churches were fundamentalist/conservative evangelical churches – whatever that means.
These were moderate to liberal churches that included conservatives as well as liberals in a new kind of post-traditional church model. Among the characteristics of these churches were the following attributes:
a. they were intentional rather than traditional … in other words while they retained certain values and beliefs of the past they also were willing to go in new directions if they weren’t working any more.
b. They practiced radical hospitality – welcoming people from all walks of life
c. They involved as many members as possible in some kind of personal bible study, prayer, meditation or other spiritual practice outside of Sunday worship
d. They were committed to helping others in the surrounding community through outreach to the poor and other disadvantaged minorities
11. But, intentionality seems to be the key. For instead of saying, “we always done it this way … and repeated the customs of the past, they said, “is it working?” – and if not, created new programs that met the needs of today’s changing world.
Let me illustrate by giving you some examples right here in this church of how we have been and are being intentional:


a. Easter breakfast becomes Palm Sunday dinner
b. Abandoning the monthly church council meeting
c. Changes in UMW
d. Men’s group – Romeos
e. EPIC worship becomes Wed Nite Live
f. Secret Prayer Partners
g. Home communion by lay people
h. Extending our Building Use to a variety of groups including the soup kitchen, yoga, Zen meditation, Evergreen house, the Quakers – in other words – practicing radical hospitality – even to groups we may not understand or agree with completely.
i. And last week we had our first annual meeting without the District Superintendent being present. And it was a lot of fun with a puppet show and better attended than any annual meeting in a long, long time.

12. What is radical hospitality? The author, Dr. Bass, presented two extreme examples that occurred during her research.

A. First – at one church in Arizona that prided itself on its hospitality they pad a male cross dresser to attend church. Afterward he said he was amazed that they treated him like a "real human being."

B. Second – they also studied a big successful mega church where they had a big marketing campaign to recruit new members saying that they were a hospitable church (and they even had signs all over the church which proclaimed how open they were) and yet no one talked to them. And, in addition,they built a $ 750,000 fence all around the property to keep out the poor and homeless in the neighborhood.
Now these are pretty extreme … but you get the idea …

13. And the other thing she talked about – which Brian is so big on … and which I have been getting more and more into is the way in which the changing world is altering our basic assumptions about how we understand God and Who Jesus Christ was and is…

Now, notice I didn’t say that I think we or I should begin to question our basic faith in God or anything like that … not at all … but, what I said was that we may be forced to transform the way we think about and experience who God is and how we practice our Christian ways of spirituality in order to survive as individuals and as a church in the new world we are beginning to live in.

And I am not even saying that Postmodernism is the answer, as some in the secular world seem to being saying. Postmodernism is not THE answer – it is just a way of seeing things which seems to make sense in an increasingly post-traditional world.
And it is hard, if you are older (like me) to get your hands around it. But, let me tell you another story.

The speaker said that she had recently attended a program at a large Episcopal Church on the east coast. It was well attended. After the presentation there was a Q & A time. Suddenly, the group got into a big arguement about Bishop Spong who is extremely liberal and has written books about how the Virgin birth didn't really happen etc. etc. Some accused him of being a heretic. Other defended him saying that he was a hero. Finally, things calmed down. Just then a young boy about 16 came to the microphone and asked the speaker what she thought of the Virgin Birth. But the speaker responded by asking the boy what he thought. And here is what he said:

"I don't understand what this arguement is all about because I think that it is such a beautiful story that it must be true WHERE IT HAPPENED OR NOT.

Now, if you understand this concept -- then you begin to understand postmodern thinking. Because the truth of the story is not in the facts or in the literalness of the Bible -- but in the story itself -- for the story contains a window into Divine Truth told in a narrative form and it has nothing to with the facts because God cannot be explained by facts.

14. Whether it happened or not! And does it really matter? Because what really matters is how we relate to one another:

Do we love and care for each other and for the poor in the world. Are we committed to spreading the good news that God is hear among us in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, healing, teaching, reconciling, and forgiving … that we might become more whole in body, mind, and spirit.

That’s what it is all about. That’s what the Kingdom of God means in our midst … not whether or not we have the Easter Breakfast on Easter or a week early.

The Gospel message, then, for today is that Jesus did turn water into wine … and as far as we are concerned – we are the water – waiting to be transformed again and again.

And, just in case you think I am totally out of it, I just learned on Friday how from Charity (our secretary/bookkeeper) how to do text messaging on my cell phone. Onward and upward!

Sermon Notes for January 7th

January 7, 2006
Ephesians 3: 12-1-12
“The Boundless Riches of God”

1. As a minister, one of my responsibilities is to visit people in the hospital as I did last week (two people from Cass Lake). How many of you have been in the hospital at one time or another? Or, at least visited someone in a hospital?

Today’s theme for communion is hospitality. We have used it before.

Paul links hospitality with Love, as he writes in Romans 12: 9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

In Hebrews 13, we read also:

1Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

The word there is entertain, but Eugene Peterson changes it back in his translation which goes like this:

1-4Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it!

2. I bring this up, in part because, the word hospitable is derived, originally from the Latin word Hospitalia or Hospitalis which originally meant: HOSPITAL – WHICH WAS A PLACE OF REST FOR A STRANGER OR TRAVELER OR A PLACE FOR TAKING CARE OF THE INFIRM, THE SICK, OR THE NEEDY.

Hospitality is then derived from Hospital. It means to take care of and be generous toward those in need, who are sick, or in prison.

Of course, regarding hospitality we are reminder most specifically of the words of Jesus in Mathew 25:

35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

3. It sounds good, but as we know, we must be careful about how we go about being generous for it must be done in a spirit of humility – and not for the sake of making us feel important or self righteous.

As someone said, nobody really wants a hand-out … what they want is a hand – up.
Nobody really wants to stay sick or destitute, what they want is a chance to get back on their feet. So, we must be careful about how we show hospitality especially to those who we feel the desire to help.

When I was recently in the Twin Cities I was having coffee with a friend and his wife. As we left the coffeehouse a rather strange looking street person approached me asking for money. However, I decided to try to talk to her as I desired to go beyond a handout and see if she could get a referral to some place that would provide more comprehensive assistance. But, she would hear nothing of it.

At this point my friend Larry came over and gave her a twenty dollar bill.

You can imagine her response … but Larry wanted no accolades … and so we left … And, he refused to tell his wife how much he gave her. Later, as we were walking, I asked him about it, I said, “Sometimes you are always so tight fisted about money (and he is) and then, you turn around and just give it away.” And he said, I was down and out once … and so, you never, know, that woman could have been me>”

4. And I told him the story which was told to me by another Larry …the Rev. Larry Nielson. :This Larry is a graduate of Northwestern University - a very prestigious school. In his last church assignment he was at Wesley Methodist church in Minneapolis. The church runs a soup kitchen on Saturdays for the many homeless and low income people in the area. One day Larry was standing around talking to the people waiting in line and he spotted a man with a Northestern Univ. sweat shirt and learned that the man was suffering from some emotional condition and could not work. He was on disability. Later, Larry had a revelation when he, too, realized that "it could have been me!"


5. Perhaps we all have a story like that.

My story is about the time I was in 9th or 10th grade and one of my classmates was burned badly by a fire in a wood stove when his sister threw kerosene on it and it exploded. He lost most the skin on his back and in those days there were not the kind of skin graft treatments we have today. For weeks and months he lingered in the hospital. His church's youth group bought him a baseball glove to cheer him up but that was about it. So, concerned that he had few friends, I began visiting him in the hospital. Mostly we just sat and talked. After a while I began to realize that I was one of the only people who were seeing him. Later, after school was out in the summer I continued to see him. Then, I went away with my father on vacation. When I came back I was told that he had died of pneumonia.

When I look back on it, it was perhaps my first opportunity to really practice hospitality … in a hospital setting.And, looking back, I think now, although I didn’t really know it at the time, it was probably the very beginning of my ministry – for it was, by no means, the last time I was to ever visit someone in the hospital.

6. These are human stories, of course, but there is also a greater dimension to hospitality. And this is the hospitality of God. And this was demonstrated, of course by Jesus. For instance, hear these vivid words describing the situation very early in the Jesus ministry in Galilee by biblical scholar Dominic Crossan:
Jesus comes into an unknown village in Lower Galilee. He is watched by the cold, hard eyes, of peasants who have been living long enough at the subsistence level to know where the line is drawn been subsistence and destitution. He speaks about the rule of God, and they listen as much from curiosity as anything else. They know all about rule and power, about kingdom and empire, but they understand it in terms of taxes and debt, malnutrition and sickness and demonic possession. What they really want to know is what can this kingdom of God do for a lame child, a blind parent, a demented soul screaming in isolation among the graves at the edge of the village.
And then Jesus heals someone … or exorcises a demon … and people are impressed, they don’t quite know what to say … And, as would be expected, they invite him to stay at the home of the village leader … but, instead Jesus stays at the home of the disposed woman.

What kind of kingdom is this, they wonder?

7. What kind of Kingdom is it, we wonder?
For not only did Jesus preach the Good News about God’s kingdom, but he acted it out. He practiced radical hospitality. He ate with the sick, sinners, tax collectors, and all manner of people. And not just the poor, but also the rich, too. Everyone.

For we forget that the rich and well to do … need God’s kingdom, too.
Hospitality for the rich. Hospitality for the poor. Hospitality for everyone.
That is what the Eucharist, the communion is all about. Same food for everyone. Same bread. Same juice. All in equal amounts. Everybody being welcome at the table of the Lord.

Can it be any other way? Are some to favored. Are the poor better than the rich … the rich better than the poor?

Who, shall be first in the Kingdom of God?

8. And what are the “boundless riches of Christ” which Paul talks about in his letter to the Ephesians which we read this morning?

What is the plan of the mystery of hidden for ages in God who created all things?
Paul, was in prison at the time he wrote this by the way, awaiting trial in Rome. Let us hear it again, in the Eugene Peterson paraphrase:
1-3This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you're familiar with the part I was given in God's plan for including everybody in his kingdom. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief.
What Paul means here is that the message of Christ would be extended to the Gentiles … to the whole world … and was not just of the Israelites.

Then he continues:
4-6As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, and same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.7-8This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities. 8-10And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and hospitality of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels! 11-13All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we're free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don't let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!

9. Doesn’t Peterson make things so clear … so easy to understand?
And this is the task of the church … to make it easy to understand. To help everyone to understand how important they are in the eyes of God. To reach out in word and deed to those who are lost, confused, sick, and in need of care. To practice hospitality in the name of Christ.

And to do it well … and in love … and in humility.

And in return we will receive abundant riches … love, peace, mercy, generosity, joy, and faith … all that we need and could ever want … all through, as Paul says, through the Mystery of Christ. Whose spirit we celebrate and call upon … with open hearts … today … as we participate in the Holy Eucharist with thankfulness and gratitude.

Let us pray …