DO TELL!

Sermon, Trinity Sunday, June 15 (Also Father's Day) Genesis 1:1-2:4a AND Matthew 28:16-20

Grace to you and peace, from God the Creator, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, three in One.

I am so thankful that we are here in this place. We may have come to church today for a number of reasons. We may have come to witness and be part of Lilja's baptism. We may have come because we know the community and have friends here. We may be drawn to this community by the music. We might even desire to hear God, to receive God's ongoing blessings. Or, we may have come because it's Father's day and that day somehow draws us to worship. We may have many different reasons for being here.  Whatever our reason/s, it is good we are here! 

 

Have you ever reflected upon the reality that each of us is a uniquely fashioned miracle of God?  I don't just mean our DNA, although our genetic code is amazing. Each of us is created by God. The entire universe is also being created by God. This is MIRACULOUS.

 

Regardless of how we feel - whether we are on "top of the world" or in the "depths of despair" we are still created by God.  This means that we are not just OK or even somehow merely "passable". God doesn't make junk. We are of God or as the first Genesis account of creation puts it, "made in God's image". This is good. We must know this as we watch Lilja being baptized . . .

 

Yet, even in this that is good, there is not smooth sailing. Reading a bit farther in the Genesis account we encounter Adam and Eve. They are part of that which is of God, that which is good. But they still want MORE. They want to be . . . LIKE GOD. This creates incredible problems. As a result it's not long before Adam throws Eve "under the bus". In what seems like merely a few moments more their first born son Cain kills his brother Abel. Unfortunately this reality of violence and hatred continues to be played out both among and by us.

 

So it is, WE NEED TRANSFORMATION, even in, especially in the midst of our personal uniqueness.  Whenever we find ourselves wanting to be like God, wanting what we want, when we want it, we need forgiveness, hope, new beginnings.

 

Miraculously, God refuses to give up on us. So, God becomes human in Jesus.   Many doubt this – it seems so very unlikely. Is it possible for anyone to love us that much – to become one of us, to show us in the midst of our worry, our violence, our refusal to accept him, that He steadfastly loves us? Can anyone love us that much? . . . 

 

Many of us know the story. But do we know THAT THIS STORY IS OUR STORY?  Jesus' life, death, suffering and resurrection, His call to follow Him is our very gift of life from God! 

 

God becomes human by being born to an, oh so young girl, in a back woods town in a seemingly insignificant country. This baby boy, God in the flesh, grows up. He reaches out to people in unprecedented ways. He accepts them. He is honest with them.  He moves them to love themselves and then to begin to honestly care for and with others. This One's living, dying and resurrection shows us the face of God. In Jesus we are being encountered by God's power - not in the sense of "yah better look out!" but rather in the sense of, "Here I am. See me!" In seeing me, behold my love for you and this world. –In me all things can be made new, including you.

 

What will we do we do? Some of our forefathers and foremothers wouldn't trust him. They couldn't stand him. They kill him. Their refusal to trust isn't really so different from ours – we who won't listen or can't listen because we are so frantically trying to "survive" or "make it".

 

But God refuses to give up on us. Neither death nor the forces of evil can keep God from reaching out to us in Jesus Christ.

 

On the third day God raises Jesus. The risen Jesus has a body that can be seen, touched and held onto. But his risen body doesn't have the limitations of our bodies. The risen Jesus speaks to all who will hear.  Through some of the women he tells his disciples to go back to Galilee where he had first met them. They go. Once in Galilee they see him! They even worship him but some doubt.... 

 

Do you know their experience? In those moments when we glimpse him, sense his presence, his direction – we too sometimes worship him. How sweet that is:  to sing, to pray, to receive the bread and the wine – to greet the other with God's peace, touching hands, sharing a smile, a hug. But there are also other times when our other realities swamp us: our personal failures, the pain and loss of death, betrayal. Sometimes, we too are consumed by doubt.

 

But he is not deterred. He speaks truthfully. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples (learners/followers) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." 

 

It is here that we so often get stuck. We, that's YOU AND ME, are to go and make disciples of others - any and all others? Our friends, our colleagues – even the others in our family? How can we? How dare we? So many have their own ideas, their own "gods" or just as likely, none at all! And they know us – our inconsistencies, our hypocrisy!

 

We are so far from perfect. Sometimes we too forget God. Like Adam and Eve we wish things were "easier" for us, that we could do whatever we want.  Some days we are just trying to get through today. So, sometimes we also doubt, God.  

We are not so different from those earlier disciples. Thankfully Jesus doesn't give up on them. Nor does Jesus give up on us. We too are called to go, to follow him, to baptize and teach all that He has commanded us. We do not live alone, nor do we follow this living Jesus alone. He is with us. That is His promise.

 

Dear people – today Lilja is baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God marks her with the sign of the cross and seals her with God's own Spirit. What a promise from God to each of us, all of us. It is our distinct privilege and responsibility to tell her about and show her, this loving, holy, merciful and just God who continues to fashion us and the universe. 

 

This is our purpose our reason for being anywhere: to bear God's creative and redeeming word to the world. So, Jesus sends us to each other and to others. God in Jesus Christ loves us, has died for us and is alive. DO TELL  in our own unique ways, for the sake of Christ and the world. Amen.

 

Movin' Kids!

Day of Pentecost, June 8, 2014 (Acts 2:1-21 and John 20:19-23 with I Cors. 12:3b-13)

 

When I say God, what image, words, picture come to your mind?

 

When I say Jesus, what image, words, picture come to your mind?

 

When I say, Holy Spirit, what image, words, pictures come to your mind?

 

I don't know that it is ever easy for us to find words or even a picture to share our experience, our understanding , our insight into the mystery of God, Holy Trinity – God the Father/Creator, Son and Spirit., three in One. After all God is God. Part of what  that means within orthodox Christianity is that immortal God is mystery to we mortal, human beings.

 

This doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to understand.

 

Today is the day of Pentecost. Our lectionary holds before us three different "accounts of the Spirit" As we hear/feel/ are touched by God's Spirit  we are moved.

 

Such "being moved" is not always easy, comfortable or even desired. Yet "being moved" iby God is rarely boring and frequently exciting.

 

When one's baby first moves in utero – it's exciting! When a child takes his or her first steps, the excitement is contagious. As a teenager becomes a quasi-adult and moves out of his or her parental home – it's exciting! Even when adults move to a new home – or to a new job, there is,  excitement. Such movement isn't necessarily easy. Nevertheless such movement opens up various new possibilities.  A fundamental, integral, essential part of life involves such "movement".

 

When our minds "change" or we become aware that our minds have changed as a result of meeting someone else, or seeing someone as they actually are or even ourselves, well wow, that's both exciting, and sometimes frightening.  Such change may involve "moving" in many parts of our being.  

 

To be sure, often we don't want to move. I think of my dog. Sometimes in the early morning she is just so comfortable in her aged sleep that she resists any kinds of movement. However, once I rouse her  and we move outdoors to the rain, sun or snow, and we encounter  other dogs and people, well, she seems to enjoy any and all such moving, and becomes fully alive.

 

How much more is this true for us as people, as Church? We too enjoy comfort. We too, can get stuck right where we are.  

 

The early disciples were stuck. In the lesson from Acts the disciples have already seen the risen Lord . How they wanted to hold on to him! But too soon he leaves  them telling them to wait. If there is anything we like less than moving into uncharted waters, it's waiting. Yet those disciples do wait, perhaps because there was nothing else they were capable of right then.

 

The Spirit of God, of Jesus comes to them. The Spirit doesn't come gently. Now, the Spirit comes like a prairie wind. The Spirit can literally move "heaven and earth". That wind is strong, uncontrollable for humans. I remember the spring time winds of southern Saskatchewan, blowing the freshly tilled soil into humongous clouds of dust through which, around which, no creature of heaven or earth could see.

 

However, this powerful wind of God, the very Spirit, undertakes something constructive. The Spirit of God moves the disciples out of their fear, from being self centered, – to arising to show and tell others of the mighty power of God. God's love and forgiveness overcome death and all of death's allies. Those humongous dust clouds appear miniscule in comparison to this miraculous and wonderful work of God.    

 

John's Gospel pictures the  Spirit's movement in a somewhat different way. On that first Easter evening Jesus comes to the disciple's self-inflicted cloister. They are shackled by the shock of Jesus' death and the fear for their own lives. Jesus enters into their fear. He gives them words of peace. To flesh such peace into reality He breathes on them, giving them Himself, His Spirit. He moves  so that they can let go of that which causes them doubt and fear, so that their minds and hearts can behold God's work anywhere even within and among themselves. They are literally enlivened.

 

What does this mean for us?

 

Are you ever afraid? Sometimes we are fearful of death: our own or others. Sometimes we are afraid that the Church as we knew it is dying. What will happen then? Sometimes we are un sure of where God is, or maybe even if God is. Mounties are shot. Children contract cancer. 

 

Could it be that God that in the midst of our struggles God comes like a loud or even silent wind enlivening we simple folk to be of good courage, to enable our lives with courage and hope in the face of death and doubt, threats and betrayal?  

 

Our fear, our exhaustion, our doubts and questions ARE NEVER BEYOND THE REACH OF GOD. God approaches again and again in the wind: the "wind" of words and sacraments, in the windy breath of another! God comes in the energy and hopes and dreams of others God has inspired. Refuse to give up on dreaming. Hear each other's stories. Tell your own. God is in the story- likely the author of the story.

 

In the excruciating moments of  loss, pain and suffering, we may feel that God has abandoned us. If we can't feel God, is God present? In this experience we are numbered with many others. God's own Son utters a cry of abandonment on the cross " My God, my God why have you forsaken me?" Forsaken is a level  beyond abandonment. Yet  on the third day Jesus is raised. It is he who breathes on those disciples so that they may receive his Sprit, so that they too can move.

 

What is God calling us to do? Who is God calling us to be now? Why not stop and ask God? God's Spirit can and will guide, us direct us, move us  to new realities.

 

Doubt me? See Paul. See Peter. See  Mary! –What is happening to us? After all – we are all part of His body, not only or firstly Canadians or Lutherans or men and women or boys and girls. We are firstly and most importantly children of God, grafted into the very body of Christ who loves this crazy mixed- up world.  

 

COME, HOLY SPIRIT COME. Move among us, upon us and through us, to free us of our fear, despair, prejudice and doubt.   COME, HOLY SPIRIT COME, that we too may proclaim the great deeds of God in this time and place. Amen.  

Wondering Orphans?

Easter 6a, May 25, 2014 - John 14:15-21 with Acts 17:22-31 and I Peter 3:13-22 in b.g.

Have you ever wondered just how you were going to make it without someone or something? There have been times in my life when I have wondered about that for others and myself. Twelve years ago this Sunday I baptized a little girl. She was the third child in a family of 3 girls. Her mom and dad and sisters loved her very much. Financially they were well off. Emotionally, they greatly supported each other. This little girl's mom had the kind of faith that is strong and abiding. That mother lived with a faith that was grounded in the reality of life. She hadn't grown up in a Christian family. But somehow through friends and circumstances, the Spirit of God was moving. And this mom had grown in trusting God through Jesus Christ.

 

Not long after that little girl's baptism the family jetted off to Disneyland for a grand holiday. But near the end of that holiday the mom wasn't feeling well. As a nurse she realized that something wasn't right. As soon as she arrived home she headed off to the Emergency Room of the local hospital. Within a few hours she was air evacuated to the larger center of Vancouver. She had cancer markings that were sky high. Subsequently she was diagnosed with leukemia. Thus began the journey of wonderful  "ups" and severe lows, of searching for, finding and eventually procuring a bone marrow donor. She was separated from her family and her baby daughter, (sometimes for months) as she underwent treatment. Eventually she did return home to resume her active love for her family.

 Tragically, after a number of more wonderful years with her husband and children, this mother became critically ill and died.

 

Many times during those years of the mother's illness – and even now in the wake of her death, I wonder, "How they will make it, without their mom and wife being present?" She won't physically be with her girls: for their graduations, for the ups and downs of their ongoing relationships, for those critical  decisions –"Is this be the one?" "What shall I do with my life?" She won't physically be there to pray with and for them as they wrestle with their self- understanding and faith questions.  

 

Where is God in the midst of all these realities? Will they "make it" without their mother?

 

Jesus has just told his disciples that he will soon leave them. They are anxious. They can't understand why he must die now. In this state they make demands. They want to see God. Now Jesus in his abiding love for them makes a promise. "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete (Advocate), TO BE WITH YOU FOREVER."

 

Now the word translated Advocate is actually Paraclete. This word can mean many different things. It can be a person who comes and stands beside you during times of trial. In this process the Paraclete speaks on your behalf or encourages you in the midst of whatever trials you are undergoing. However in this spot in John's Gospel I am convinced that Jesus is really speaking about this "Advocate" speaking on his behalf to us, to any who might "hear" or "see". Let me say that again. Here (in this text), the role of the advocate is to speak (to witness) to people of Jesus.

 

This Advocate (whom the Church often refers to as the Holy Spirit) comes to speak the truth to us. Firstly the truth (the reality) of whatever situation we find ourselves Despite our best effort we still hurt others. Sometimes we also hurt ourselves (intentionally or unconsciously). We say hurtful things, even to those we love. We do things that cause pain. We refuse to see or acknowledge that God alone is God. Most certainly, we are not God. Frequently we refuse to  actively trust God, behaving as if it's all up to us. The Advocate's speech shows us all of this.  

 

But, thankfully, this isn't all that the Advocate does. The Advocate also speaks to us of Jesus. Jesus tells his early disciples and through the Advocate speaks also to us:  "I will not leave you orphaned". Even though you will no longer be able to see me physically, I have not abandoned you. I am giving you a part of myself. I will live with you, in you and among you. Since I am in God the Creator, God the Creator,  is also there among you and with you.

 

Perhaps this is why Jesus frequently tells the early disciples to keep his commandments. For John this isn't a long laundry list of do's and don'ts. Rather keeping Jesus' commandments has to do with loving in the way that he loves. That's what he tells them the evening he washes their feet. "Even as I have loved you, so you also ought to love one another".

 

Jesus actually loves us! In saying this I am not talking about "like". Sometimes this love that is "all in", that is committed to the other's well being, has nothing to do with "liking" anything that the other person does or says. Instead love often acts, is given and empties itself despite the "other's" actions or words.

 

Jesus' takes this love to the max. As we are being embraced or even grasped by the love of God in Jesus, it's like a leaven that begins to flow through our hearts and minds. We begin to see others, the creation and even ourselves more honestly. I am loved. We are loved. I am forgiven. We are being forgiven by God in Jesus Christ! Wow. How could I ever hate or not even  care about others?

 

The Spirit of truth, the Advocate that Jesus promises, is here among us. Listen: as we sing and pray, as we work and play, as we interact with others wherever we go. We are not alone.

 

Truly, we can no longer physically see Jesus with our eyes. He has died. But Jesus has also risen. Because he lives and loves we too can live and love.

 

This is my hope when I am wondering just how on earth I am going to make it - or how you are going to make it when the trials and vicissitudes of life and death overtake us. Listen! Revel in life with the advocate. By the grace of God  obey Christ's commands. Although we may literally for some time in our life be  orphans, together we are being embraced by the love of God in Jesus Christ. His embrace, coupled with the work of the Advocate brings new life out of death. Christ is risen – HE IS RISEN INDEED. Amen.