Some Sundays I wonder why God has me up here proclaiming his word to whomever he brings to worship in this sanctuary. Sometimes I wonder if the words he gives me to speak make any sense to anyone. I’m just a farm boy who finally responded to God’s urging to be a pastor.
Most of the pastors who have preceded me did a pretty good job of leading this church through the years. Some were very good teachers and preachers and some provided just the right kind of pastoral care to this church’s members. And some were just plain good at doing both. That’s kind of intimidating.
Elisha had the opportunity to be an apprentice to Elijah. And just before the Lord took Elijah away Elisha was given a most wonderful gift by his mentor. Elijah asked him what he could do for him before he was taken away. Wouldn’t that be something to be given a chance to receive a gift from our predecessor(s) that would help us in the work we’re taking over from them? Opportunities like this aren’t always available to everyone.
I think that’s what Jesus was doing for the three disciples he took with him to the mountaintop. When Jesus was transfigured and Elijah and Moses appeared alongside him they saw him differently. They didn’t understand it all and it scared them.
Jesus had been preparing them by telling them he would suffer and die at the hands of the religious leaders in Jerusalem. And yet he continued his plans to enter the city. And his disciples didn’t understand why, when it would have been just as easy to avoid that confrontation.
I don’t think they really believed that he was going to be killed and would be going away. I don’t believe they thought that they would be left behind to carry on the work of proclaiming his Message. I think they believed or maybe strongly hoped that what he was saying wouldn’t actually happen. I think they believed that he was going to establish his kingdom here on earth right away and the Roman oppressors would be vanquished from Palestine. This is what the whole Jewish nation had been waiting for their entire lives.
They hadn’t been with him long enough to learn everything they needed to know to do this evangelistic work he was calling them to do. But are any of us ever really thoroughly prepared to go forth and evangelize. I’ve always been reluctant. I’ve often thought I’m ill-equipped and not prepared to speak the Message Jesus wants proclaimed.
Oh that we could all have the opportunity Elisha had, to be asked what we would like to receive from our mentor before they were taken away from us. Have you ever thought who you would like to be like? Elisha wanted to have a life just like Elijah’s. He wanted to be a holy man, a prophet just like Elijah. Who do you look up to and what would you say if you were asked that question?
But then we listen to what Paul wrote to the Corinthians and we remember that it’s not about us. We are messengers, gofers for Jesus, the Master. It all began when we accepted Jesus' invitation to be the light of our lives. When we committed ourselves to serving him then our lives weren’t any longer our own. We were changed and whether we realized it or not we were changed; we were transformed.
Maybe we weren’t born with the natural abilities we thought we had to have to be a teacher or a preacher or a minister or evangelist for Jesus but when we let the light of Jesus come into our hearts the Holy Spirit changes us and enables us to do many things we never knew we were capable of. Even Jesus struggled with his own doubts at times. Look at how many times he went away by himself to pray. Remember his trip to the wilderness and his last evening praying in Gethsemane. He never doubted in God or his abilities but he may have had doubts about whether he could go through all the suffering and pain. That may have been why he went up on the mountain. That may have been why it was important for him to talk with the greatest prophet Elijah and the man of the law, Moses. He may have needed to hear God say, “This is my Son…listen to him!”
Elisha didn’t want to let Elijah out of his sight. Peter didn’t want to come down off the mountain. We are afraid to be sent out into the world.
God’s Message for us today is this, just as he was in and with Jesus so he is in and with us in the power of the Holy Spirit enabling us to go out and change the world, to bring the light of Christ into someone’s life.
We may not feel any different when we leave here today but just by being here and listening to God’s proclamation we have been empowered to tell others what God is doing in our lives and what he is able to do in theirs all because he has a deep yearning to have an intimate relationship with all his children.
Jesus is the light of the world. God speaks and the darkness is made light. Friends, trust in the One who knew you before you were conceived to provide everything you need to do the work he has chosen for you.
Thanks be to God for the Light he brought into the world. Amen.
After the Transfiguration
By Kathy Coffey
Grinding up the steep incline,
our calves throbbing,
we talked of problems
and slapped at flies.
Then you touched my shoulder,
said, "turn around."
Behind us floated
surprise mountains
blue on lavender,
water-colored ranges:
a glimpse from God's eyes.
Descending, how could we chat
mundanely of the weather, like deejays?
We wondered if, returning,
James and John had squabbled:
whose turn to fetch the water,
after the waterfall of grace?
After he imagined the shining tents,
did Peter's walls seem narrow,
smell of rancid fish?
did feet that poised on Tabor
cross the cluttered porch?
After the bleached light,
could eyes adjust to ebbing
grey and shifting shade?
Cradling the secret in their sleep
did they awaken cautiously,
wondering if the mountaintop
would gild again-bringing
that voice, that face?
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Jesus, You Can Cleanse Us If You Want To
The leper in Mark’s gospel came to Jesus and said, “If you want to, you can cleanse me.” All he wanted was to be made clean. His only desire was that he could be part of the community again.
Jesus felt compassion for this man. His feelings for him were so strong that he reached out and touched him, knowing that according to the law he would then be unclean himself. He touched him anyway. With his touch the man was healed of his skin disease. His body was smooth and healthy once more.
With something as simple as touching this man’s hand or arm Jesus gave him back his life in the community. He still had to present himself to the priest and be declared by him to be clean. He knew he was clean on the outside but the priest wouldn’t know it until he saw it with his own eyes. And then he would ask how did this happen.
Jesus gave the leper strict orders not to say anything to anyone. But we all know the priest would question him. How could he possibly keep this good news to himself? Could you? And so he told and the news spread like the wildfires in Australia.
Jesus couldn’t go anywhere without be surrounded by a mob of people clamoring for just a touch of his hand so they could be clean. And then away they would go, clean on the outside but what were they like inside?
Did they understand what Jesus had to offer them and did they really want that kind of salvation? What do you think the leper would have done if Jesus had just forgiven his sins and not cleared up his skin condition that kept him from being part of the community? Would he have gone around and excitedly told everyone what Jesus had done for him? I think sometimes we don’t really want what the saving grace of Jesus has to offer. We just want to be fat and sassy and enjoy the easy things in life. We want our lives to be without pain and discomfort, both physically and spiritually.
If Jesus is going to heal us we would like it to be something dramatic, something people would notice, something that would be worthy of our standing in the community. That’s what Naaman was looking for when he went to visit the prophet Elisha in Samaria.
Naaman, the general in the Aramean army, wanted the prophet of Samaria to heal him of his skin disease. When Elisha told him to go bathe in the Jordan River 7 times he refused at first. It was too easy. He figured at the very least that the prophet would come out and offer prayers to God and wave his hand over the diseased skin and it would be healed. But to go and bathe in the muddy waters of the Jordan River; how was that going to get rid of his disease?
We come to God every day and beg him to make us clean. We come to Him knowing he can make us clean if he wants to. But we don’t see any difference. Or what he asks us to do sounds too simple and we don’t do it, just like Naaman. Or maybe we are made clean and he says, “Go to the priest and be declared clean. And, oh by the way, don’t say anything to anyone how this happened.” We fail to follow instructions in either case. First it’s too simple and second the news is too good to keep to ourselves.
The things God asks us to do and the things he does for us just aren’t what we expect or want. They’re either too easy or they’re too hard or too ridiculous or they don’t’ make sense, you supply your own answer.
So here we are today sitting on these benches in church. Some of us are praying that no one will notice our uncleanness. Some of us are praying that we will be made clean but that God won’t ask us to do anything that might embarrass us. Oh my, wouldn’t that be just too terrible. We want to be clean but we don’t want to have to go out and tell anyone about God’s love. We just hope they will see us and somehow know that God is love.
What did Paul say we should do? We should train hard like those who are preparing to compete in the Olympics. We should run hard toward the finish line giving it everything we’ve got. Paul says that he was going to stay alert and stay in top condition. I don’t think he was talking about his physical body here. I think he was talking about his inner being. He wanted Jesus to make him clean and keep him clean.
I imagine that he did everything he could to keep his spiritual being in top condition. He spent time alone with God and continued to study God’s words and then listened for God’s Message for him. It didn’t matter what it was he knew he would do it until he died.
He was spreading the Good News of the Message and he wanted to be sure that he didn’t forget it himself. He had asked Jesus to make him clean and he wanted to be sure that he stayed that way.
Friends, Jesus can make us clean if he wants to. I believe he wants to. I believe his hands are reaching out to us to touch those deep, dark places in our hearts that we keep hidden from everyone. He wants to make us clean. He wants to heal us of our sins.
But unlike the leper in the gospel lesson I don’t believe he wants us to keep the good news to ourselves. I believe he wants us to share the Good News of God’s love with everyone we meet.
Naaman wanted to take all the dirt two donkeys could carry back to his home to remind that he is not ever going to worship any other god but the one true God. What are you going to take with you when you leave here today?
All of us require the healing touch of God all of the time. I invite each of you to silently write in tiny writing around the tear on your paper heart the healing that you are looking for. I will distribute band aids to everyone. You are invited to place them over the tear and the words on your torn heart. Let the mended hearts be a reminder both of the healing you have received from God, and the healing that you can bring to others.
Thanks be to God for his cleansing and healing grace. Amen.
Jesus felt compassion for this man. His feelings for him were so strong that he reached out and touched him, knowing that according to the law he would then be unclean himself. He touched him anyway. With his touch the man was healed of his skin disease. His body was smooth and healthy once more.
With something as simple as touching this man’s hand or arm Jesus gave him back his life in the community. He still had to present himself to the priest and be declared by him to be clean. He knew he was clean on the outside but the priest wouldn’t know it until he saw it with his own eyes. And then he would ask how did this happen.
Jesus gave the leper strict orders not to say anything to anyone. But we all know the priest would question him. How could he possibly keep this good news to himself? Could you? And so he told and the news spread like the wildfires in Australia.
Jesus couldn’t go anywhere without be surrounded by a mob of people clamoring for just a touch of his hand so they could be clean. And then away they would go, clean on the outside but what were they like inside?
Did they understand what Jesus had to offer them and did they really want that kind of salvation? What do you think the leper would have done if Jesus had just forgiven his sins and not cleared up his skin condition that kept him from being part of the community? Would he have gone around and excitedly told everyone what Jesus had done for him? I think sometimes we don’t really want what the saving grace of Jesus has to offer. We just want to be fat and sassy and enjoy the easy things in life. We want our lives to be without pain and discomfort, both physically and spiritually.
If Jesus is going to heal us we would like it to be something dramatic, something people would notice, something that would be worthy of our standing in the community. That’s what Naaman was looking for when he went to visit the prophet Elisha in Samaria.
Naaman, the general in the Aramean army, wanted the prophet of Samaria to heal him of his skin disease. When Elisha told him to go bathe in the Jordan River 7 times he refused at first. It was too easy. He figured at the very least that the prophet would come out and offer prayers to God and wave his hand over the diseased skin and it would be healed. But to go and bathe in the muddy waters of the Jordan River; how was that going to get rid of his disease?
We come to God every day and beg him to make us clean. We come to Him knowing he can make us clean if he wants to. But we don’t see any difference. Or what he asks us to do sounds too simple and we don’t do it, just like Naaman. Or maybe we are made clean and he says, “Go to the priest and be declared clean. And, oh by the way, don’t say anything to anyone how this happened.” We fail to follow instructions in either case. First it’s too simple and second the news is too good to keep to ourselves.
The things God asks us to do and the things he does for us just aren’t what we expect or want. They’re either too easy or they’re too hard or too ridiculous or they don’t’ make sense, you supply your own answer.
So here we are today sitting on these benches in church. Some of us are praying that no one will notice our uncleanness. Some of us are praying that we will be made clean but that God won’t ask us to do anything that might embarrass us. Oh my, wouldn’t that be just too terrible. We want to be clean but we don’t want to have to go out and tell anyone about God’s love. We just hope they will see us and somehow know that God is love.
What did Paul say we should do? We should train hard like those who are preparing to compete in the Olympics. We should run hard toward the finish line giving it everything we’ve got. Paul says that he was going to stay alert and stay in top condition. I don’t think he was talking about his physical body here. I think he was talking about his inner being. He wanted Jesus to make him clean and keep him clean.
I imagine that he did everything he could to keep his spiritual being in top condition. He spent time alone with God and continued to study God’s words and then listened for God’s Message for him. It didn’t matter what it was he knew he would do it until he died.
He was spreading the Good News of the Message and he wanted to be sure that he didn’t forget it himself. He had asked Jesus to make him clean and he wanted to be sure that he stayed that way.
Friends, Jesus can make us clean if he wants to. I believe he wants to. I believe his hands are reaching out to us to touch those deep, dark places in our hearts that we keep hidden from everyone. He wants to make us clean. He wants to heal us of our sins.
But unlike the leper in the gospel lesson I don’t believe he wants us to keep the good news to ourselves. I believe he wants us to share the Good News of God’s love with everyone we meet.
Naaman wanted to take all the dirt two donkeys could carry back to his home to remind that he is not ever going to worship any other god but the one true God. What are you going to take with you when you leave here today?
All of us require the healing touch of God all of the time. I invite each of you to silently write in tiny writing around the tear on your paper heart the healing that you are looking for. I will distribute band aids to everyone. You are invited to place them over the tear and the words on your torn heart. Let the mended hearts be a reminder both of the healing you have received from God, and the healing that you can bring to others.
Thanks be to God for his cleansing and healing grace. Amen.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Called to Be and to Do
This morning we will ordain and install those who have accepted the call to be elders for this church. They may think that they are here because someone on the nominating committee convinced them that they would be an asset to the session and that it wouldn’t require much of their time.
While some of that may be true they are truly here because they answered God’s call to be servants. They may be the ones who will move us into new territory in order to grow in faith and help spread the Good News of Jesus around. They may be the ones who will help us realize that we can’t and shouldn’t keep Jesus to ourselves. We all know it’s not about us; Jesus belongs to everyone. This work we are all called to is about all of us working together because we all need Jesus.
These five will be doing what God has called them to do and each member of this congregation has the responsibility to lift them up in prayer every day and minister to them in the same way Jesus ministered to his disciples.
Sometimes the work of the church seems just like the work of the secular world, taking care of the building and the finances and the personnel issues and on and on. The thing to remember is that it is important to the God’s mission for his church.
Every elder has different gifts that can be used to spread the good news and care for the body of Christ, the Church. Just as Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law and she immediately began to serve her family and their guests’ dinner so we are called to serve when we have been forgiven of our sins and have given our hearts to Jesus.
Each elder will be something different to different people in the same way Paul was different things to the different people he encountered as he told the Good News to those he met.
They, as well as all of us, need to remember the lesson from the Prophet that is hanging on the walls surrounding the sanctuary. The LORD, our God, never tires or needs rest. He provides and cares for us even when we get tired and stumble and fall. He is always there and he knows each one of us. When we trust in him he will make us strong again and we will soar like an eagle in the sky lifted up by the wind of the Holy Spirit.
Friends this is the good news Jesus taught the people in the temple and in the streets. God’s kingdom is here. He is our salvation and our strength. God is everything to us. Because of God’s good grace we are all forgiven; we are all saved. Being saved we are all called to be servants and to do service to those Jesus puts in the path we walk everyday.
Thanks be to God for his wondrous saving grace. Amen.
While some of that may be true they are truly here because they answered God’s call to be servants. They may be the ones who will move us into new territory in order to grow in faith and help spread the Good News of Jesus around. They may be the ones who will help us realize that we can’t and shouldn’t keep Jesus to ourselves. We all know it’s not about us; Jesus belongs to everyone. This work we are all called to is about all of us working together because we all need Jesus.
These five will be doing what God has called them to do and each member of this congregation has the responsibility to lift them up in prayer every day and minister to them in the same way Jesus ministered to his disciples.
Sometimes the work of the church seems just like the work of the secular world, taking care of the building and the finances and the personnel issues and on and on. The thing to remember is that it is important to the God’s mission for his church.
Every elder has different gifts that can be used to spread the good news and care for the body of Christ, the Church. Just as Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law and she immediately began to serve her family and their guests’ dinner so we are called to serve when we have been forgiven of our sins and have given our hearts to Jesus.
Each elder will be something different to different people in the same way Paul was different things to the different people he encountered as he told the Good News to those he met.
They, as well as all of us, need to remember the lesson from the Prophet that is hanging on the walls surrounding the sanctuary. The LORD, our God, never tires or needs rest. He provides and cares for us even when we get tired and stumble and fall. He is always there and he knows each one of us. When we trust in him he will make us strong again and we will soar like an eagle in the sky lifted up by the wind of the Holy Spirit.
Friends this is the good news Jesus taught the people in the temple and in the streets. God’s kingdom is here. He is our salvation and our strength. God is everything to us. Because of God’s good grace we are all forgiven; we are all saved. Being saved we are all called to be servants and to do service to those Jesus puts in the path we walk everyday.
Thanks be to God for his wondrous saving grace. Amen.
Monday, February 2, 2009
What Do You Want with Us Jesus?
Last Sunday we heard Jesus’ Message from the gospel of Mark telling us, “Times up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.” (Mk. 1:15 MSG) Today Jesus is teaching with authority and we are astounded because it’s so different from what we’ve been used to hearing.
Suddenly, there’s a disturbance in the congregation. Somehow, someone, who wasn’t spiritually clean, found their way into the temple and asked the Rabbi, Jesus, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” or as The Message says, “What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene!” One translation I read said, “Why are you interfering with us?”
The unclean spirit(s) who were living in this man knew who Jesus was. They thought because they knew him and could call him by name that they could control him, that his power would be useless against them. They were wrong.
Jesus didn’t say any magic words or utter any incantations; he just plainly told them, “Shut up! Get out of him!” And they did. But not without first letting everyone present know that they didn’t like what was happening.
The religious people of Jesus’ day did everything they could to keep the temple clean and pure. Laws had been written that were supposed to keep anyone or anything that was unclean from getting in and defiling the temple. This particular day whatever barriers they had in place to protect them from the filth outside failed. A man with an unclean spirit(s) got through their barricades. Maybe he’d been there before but he had never encountered Jesus before. The man’s unclean spirit knew it had met its match.
Here we are today in our temple. Do you suppose there are any here this morning who are controlled by unclean spirits? Will they want to make themselves heard? Will they create a disturbance and protest about the good news preached here today?
When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness they learned that God could talk directly to people. They had seen Moses when he came out of the Tent of the Meeting after talking with God. They had seen what the top of the mountain looked like when Moses was up there talking with God getting the Law, the Ten Commandments. They had decided that God was dangerous and they didn’t want too much direct contact with him. That might lead to their deaths and they didn’t want that. So they asked Moses to do all their talking with God for them.
Moses realized he wasn’t going to be here forever interceding for these people. God knew that too. He already knew then what he was going to do. He was going to raise up a prophet like Moses from among these people. They were to listen obediently to him. He did this in answer to their plea when they were all gathered at the mountain. God would tell him what to say and he will pass on everything I command him.
We now know he was talking about Jesus. He was the prophet God raised up from among the people. He is the one we are to listen obediently to.
I wonder though, since we all have something unclean within us, are we calling out too, “What do want with us, Jesus? Why are you interfering with us?”
What do you suppose Jesus does want with us today? Are we willing to let him interfere in our lives? Are we listening when he tells our unclean spirits to shut up and get out? Do the spirits that inhabit us scream their displeasure when they are told to leave? Or do we raise a commotion when they are asked to get out?
I don’t know how many of you watch Cesar Millan on National Geographic. He is known as the dog whisperer. Not only does he train dogs but most times he is training people.
One of the things Cesar talks about is about claiming your space. He is always talking about creating positive energy and then showing it in the way we walk and in how we carry ourselves.
That’s what Jesus was doing when he spoke to the unclean spirit in the man. He was claiming the space in the temple. That’s what he is saying to us today when he orders our unclean spirits to shut up and get out. He is claiming our space as his. Exorcising our unclean spirits is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Friends, it is our responsibility to work together to create a space here where we worship where the madness can come face to face with Jesus. That means that we also have to come face to face with our own madness.
The good news is what Jesus taught us last week in verse 15, “Times up! God’s kingdom is here!” All of us need to remember that and spread the word. This space has been claimed by Jesus and he wants us to tell everyone. This space is for everyone who is possessed by the madness of this world.
What does Jesus want with us? He wants us to be free from our unclean spirits. He wants us to share the good news with everyone. He wants us to know that we are safe in his arms because he has claimed that space.
Give everyone a piece of paper and a pencil. Ask: What is bothering you most? Is their something specific in your life or is there someone you love who needs the healing touch of Jesus? What ever it is, write it down on the piece of paper and lay it at the foot of the cross to signify that you want Jesus to have the authority from now on in that situation. http://seedstuff.blogspot.com/2009
Thanks be to God for his saving grace. Amen.
Suddenly, there’s a disturbance in the congregation. Somehow, someone, who wasn’t spiritually clean, found their way into the temple and asked the Rabbi, Jesus, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” or as The Message says, “What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene!” One translation I read said, “Why are you interfering with us?”
The unclean spirit(s) who were living in this man knew who Jesus was. They thought because they knew him and could call him by name that they could control him, that his power would be useless against them. They were wrong.
Jesus didn’t say any magic words or utter any incantations; he just plainly told them, “Shut up! Get out of him!” And they did. But not without first letting everyone present know that they didn’t like what was happening.
The religious people of Jesus’ day did everything they could to keep the temple clean and pure. Laws had been written that were supposed to keep anyone or anything that was unclean from getting in and defiling the temple. This particular day whatever barriers they had in place to protect them from the filth outside failed. A man with an unclean spirit(s) got through their barricades. Maybe he’d been there before but he had never encountered Jesus before. The man’s unclean spirit knew it had met its match.
Here we are today in our temple. Do you suppose there are any here this morning who are controlled by unclean spirits? Will they want to make themselves heard? Will they create a disturbance and protest about the good news preached here today?
When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness they learned that God could talk directly to people. They had seen Moses when he came out of the Tent of the Meeting after talking with God. They had seen what the top of the mountain looked like when Moses was up there talking with God getting the Law, the Ten Commandments. They had decided that God was dangerous and they didn’t want too much direct contact with him. That might lead to their deaths and they didn’t want that. So they asked Moses to do all their talking with God for them.
Moses realized he wasn’t going to be here forever interceding for these people. God knew that too. He already knew then what he was going to do. He was going to raise up a prophet like Moses from among these people. They were to listen obediently to him. He did this in answer to their plea when they were all gathered at the mountain. God would tell him what to say and he will pass on everything I command him.
We now know he was talking about Jesus. He was the prophet God raised up from among the people. He is the one we are to listen obediently to.
I wonder though, since we all have something unclean within us, are we calling out too, “What do want with us, Jesus? Why are you interfering with us?”
What do you suppose Jesus does want with us today? Are we willing to let him interfere in our lives? Are we listening when he tells our unclean spirits to shut up and get out? Do the spirits that inhabit us scream their displeasure when they are told to leave? Or do we raise a commotion when they are asked to get out?
I don’t know how many of you watch Cesar Millan on National Geographic. He is known as the dog whisperer. Not only does he train dogs but most times he is training people.
One of the things Cesar talks about is about claiming your space. He is always talking about creating positive energy and then showing it in the way we walk and in how we carry ourselves.
That’s what Jesus was doing when he spoke to the unclean spirit in the man. He was claiming the space in the temple. That’s what he is saying to us today when he orders our unclean spirits to shut up and get out. He is claiming our space as his. Exorcising our unclean spirits is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Friends, it is our responsibility to work together to create a space here where we worship where the madness can come face to face with Jesus. That means that we also have to come face to face with our own madness.
The good news is what Jesus taught us last week in verse 15, “Times up! God’s kingdom is here!” All of us need to remember that and spread the word. This space has been claimed by Jesus and he wants us to tell everyone. This space is for everyone who is possessed by the madness of this world.
What does Jesus want with us? He wants us to be free from our unclean spirits. He wants us to share the good news with everyone. He wants us to know that we are safe in his arms because he has claimed that space.
Give everyone a piece of paper and a pencil. Ask: What is bothering you most? Is their something specific in your life or is there someone you love who needs the healing touch of Jesus? What ever it is, write it down on the piece of paper and lay it at the foot of the cross to signify that you want Jesus to have the authority from now on in that situation. http://seedstuff.blogspot.com/2009
Thanks be to God for his saving grace. Amen.
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