tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32881709755608486952024-03-12T20:05:25.793-07:00Rev FranRevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.comBlogger194125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-74180934049454808352020-12-13T10:03:00.002-08:002020-12-13T10:12:02.964-08:00<RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-57325099100700904332019-12-11T08:47:00.003-08:002019-12-11T08:52:07.800-08:00"Daring To Hope." A Sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTICXjSDMVqBb0WntZt2LWJEUzN2rLaJ7sS-4V5gRaZRudwXt1dWQ_VfW0sLeqcxBpVgvKVUKN-vm4UahXpl9cXzaVKu3Wp5Fd6i429wveHdmNCNqvjbMR0l0cpXyzkahEJ6kkBwOEJOZ/s1600/Peaceable+Kingdom_Hicks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="245" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTICXjSDMVqBb0WntZt2LWJEUzN2rLaJ7sS-4V5gRaZRudwXt1dWQ_VfW0sLeqcxBpVgvKVUKN-vm4UahXpl9cXzaVKu3Wp5Fd6i429wveHdmNCNqvjbMR0l0cpXyzkahEJ6kkBwOEJOZ/s320/Peaceable+Kingdom_Hicks.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Peaceable Kingdom," by Edward Hicks.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"Daring to Hope"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Isaiah 11:1-10; Matthew 3:1-12</h3>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here we are, in the second week of Advent.
For a lot of people, there’s so much to do, at home, at church and
everywhere else. There are gifts to be purchased and wrapped...cards to
be addressed...cooking and baking to do...the house to clean... and decorating
to do. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the
background, we have the news feed of our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mass shootings. Another child accidentally shooting himself with a gun
he found in the house. Thousands of migrant children separated from their families
and housed in cages. A migrant teenager dying from the flu. Impeachment
hearings. Environmental degradation. Huge economic disparities between the
uber-rich and those who struggle to provide food and basic shelter for
themselves and their families. The list could go on….</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In the midst of all<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>of this, Advent invites us to turn our thoughts to what it
means that God came and lived as one of us in our world to show us God’s
way?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Advent invites us to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wait</i>… to pay attention… to prepare the
way of the Lord… and to live in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hope.</i>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In the Hebrew scripture lesson, we heard the prophet Isaiah singing a song of
hope 700 years before the birth of Jesus, in a time when things seemed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hopeless.</i> His message must have
sounded as unrealistic then<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>as it does <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">now.</i> </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The wolf shall live with the lamb,<br />
the leopard shall lie with down with the kid,<br />
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,<br />
and a little child shall lead them. . . . <br />
They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain…</span></i><span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The prophet Isaiah was probably writing in the period of the Syro-Ephramite
war, when the dynasty of David seemed like a mere dead stump, compared to its
enemies. The nation had been defeated and humiliated by another national
power. Their government was weak and ineffective, and the people were
dejected and demoralized. In the midst of all that, how do you live
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hope?</i> Isaiah’s words
must have seemed terribly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">unrealistic</i>—as
unrealistic as Isaiah’s words seem to a lot of people today. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Enter the Spirit of the Lord; a new shoot is coming out of the dead stump of
the monarchy. That’s what the Spirit of the Lord does—it brings <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">life </i>where things have been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dead</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Spirit brings forth new green shoots of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">life.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Isaiah sings of a new <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kind</i> of king—a
king upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rests. God’s Messiah will use his
gifts to serve the people with equity and righteousness. What will the reign of
the Messiah will be like? The enmity that dominates the world is transformed
into peace. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
A great theologian of the last century, Reinhold Niebuhr, once wrote: “Do you
want <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">peace</i> in this world? Then
work for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">justice</i>.” Until there
is justice for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everyone,</i> there will
be no peace. For even a defeated enemy remains an enemy. The only
hope for peace is not the building up of more power to defeat and control—but
power to make our enemies our friends. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Advent invites us-- <i>dares</i> us-- to wait in hope for the coming of a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">different</i> kind of King, who will use his
power to “rule the world with truth and grace” and transform creation into a
world in which every creature can live without fear. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Can you imagine a world without fear? No fear in Syria or Iraq or
Afghanistan or Yemen… no fear in Bethlehem or Jerusalem… no fear in
South Sudan. No fear in homes from an abusive parent or spouse. No fear
in our neighborhoods<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>where innocent children have died to gun violence.</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
“They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be
full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This is the promise and hope of Advent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<span style="color: black;">But hope is a fragile and fleeting thing. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Fast forward seven hundred years or so.<span style="color: red;"> </span>Two
hundred years had gone by since the people of Israel had had a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">prophet </i>in their midst.
They’re living under <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">occupation,</i> with
the Roman army enforcing the oppression of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Empire.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Suddenly, John<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>shows up in the
wilderness, looking and sounding a lot like Elijah<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">,</i> who was expected to return to prepare the way for God’s coming
Messiah. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Repent</i>, for the
kingdom of heaven has come near,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">”</i> he
says. “Prepare the way of the LORD. Make his paths straight.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
John’s call to repentance and preparing the way is a call to turn around and
look for and hope in God’s future, which is breaking in on them. It’s a
call to commit to see our world as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God’s</i>
world and our future as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God’s</i>
future, because that’s what repentance is about. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And yet, more than 2,000
years later, amid the moral, religious, and political crises our nation and
world are facing, we are still waiting and longing. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Every
Advent John the Baptist shows up, because God loves<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>us enough to hold us
accountable to be who and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">whose<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>we. We are living in a
broken, hurting world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">The people of Palestine
still live under occupation in a conflict that looks hopeless to a lot of us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Children in Flint and their families continue
to deal with the long-</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">term
effects of lead poisoning. In our own communities and communities around
our nation, a parent can work 40 hours a week and still not be able to afford
nutritious food and other basic necessities for their children. In our nation,
consumerism and individualism rule. Our political system is broken. The
gap between the very rich and the poor continues to widen.
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And so, we still long for a time of righteousness and justice and peace. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
For a long time, I’ve felt drawn to the images painted by Edward Hicks, a
Quaker preacher and artist, who was so inspired by the vision in Isaiah 11 that
he painted at least 66 “peaceable kingdom” paintings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
A “peaceable kingdom.” Can you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">imagine </i>it?
A time when broken creation becomes the completely harmonious creation God
intended. Predators-- wolves, leopards, lions, and bears will live in
harmony with the domestic animals like lambs, calves, goats, and cows.
Lions will eat straw like oxen, and a little child will play over the holes of
poisonous snakes. The earth will be filled with the “knowledge of the LORD.” </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">
Jesus has come to live among us, full of grace and truth, and called us to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">follow<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
</b></i>him, living God’s way of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">love.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So… how are we to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">live?</i> How are we to live as a community of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">faith?</i> Do we give in to
hopelessness and despair?<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Do we dare to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hope?</i> Can we
trust in God’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">promises?</i> Can we
imagine a better <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">world?</b> Can we
believe in the possibility that injustice and oppression can be overcome, with
God’s help?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Jesus came and “proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor
and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing the
children, healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted, eating with
outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">believe</i></b> the gospel.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
To those living under the oppressive regime of the Roman Empire, Jesus taught
and embodied a different way of being in the world that allowed even the
marginalized and the poor to reclaim their identity as children of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God.</i> To people whose identities
had been shaped by centuries of living under exile and oppression of conquering
empires, Jesus demonstrated that the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">empire</i></b> doesn’t have the power to
define who you are. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
What Jesus proclaimed as a transforming message of hope has been spiritualized and
individualized and distorted. Jesus didn’t come to be a personal savior
for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">individuals,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>but to be the way, the truth and the life, to show us all a way
to live into God’s dream for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all </i>of
God’s people. He taught us to pray for God’s will to be done on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">earth</i> as in heaven. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
When we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">repent</i>—<span style="color: black;">when we turn away from the ways of the world and the empire<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">-- </i></b>and
turn <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">toward</i> God’s way of
righteousness and justice and peace, we find our lives <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">changing.</i> </span> As our lives are being transformed, we
can no longer be content to exist under the old ways of the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Our faith teaches us that God’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">intention<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>is for us to live in Beloved
Community together, in righteousness and justice. But we look around, and
we see there is still a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gap </i>between
the vision and reality. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
We wait and hope for the time when God will fully bring in the Kingdom… the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kin</i>-dom. In the meantime, we live
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">into<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
</b></i>the Kingdom of heaven—the kingdom of justice and peace, as we work for
a better world that more fully embodies God’s dreams.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Sometimes it’s hard to see how things can be different… or how the little
things we do can make a difference. But sometimes new life emerges
from the most unlikely places, emerging as a tiny green tendril out of a stump
that looked dead. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
We live into hope in big and small ways when we change the life of a family by
providing them with a goat or a flock of chickens with a gift to the Heifer
Project. When we shop ethically and buying locally as much as
possible and stop using single-use plastics, we make a difference in peoples’
lives and the environment. Making choices to care for the environment and
giving to aid global and domestic causes all make a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">difference,</i> and they witness to our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hope.</i> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
When we engage the powers and principalities by contacting our elected
officials about issues that matter, we are daring to hope that we can make a difference.
When we volunteer in our local schools, when we tutor a child or teach an adult
how to read, we are living into hope.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
We live into hope because the Christ’s reign is among us now as we live into
God’s dream for us, working for justice and peace for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> of God’s beloved people.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In this season of waiting, God comes to us and nudges us: “Look! Look -- there
on that dead-looking <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">stump.</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you see that green shoot growing?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Can you see
it?</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";">Rev. Fran Hayes</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";">December 8, 2019</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> “A
Brief Statement of Faith” of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/oga/pdf/boc2014.pdf">https://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/oga/pdf/boc2014.pdf</a></div>
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<style>@font-face {
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}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }span.FootnoteTextChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }div.WordSection1 { }</style>RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-26575538148343957472019-10-27T15:14:00.004-07:002019-10-27T15:24:57.632-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhccRYhjtaD612u9euIxyG2aY5zn670wju5H3j-DvgzaRcKQQAw5GGvwXN8Iq5b6rq1fZgUAIST8c8-sLZn8LZB3Ii2Jf82nA0lSuU5I3j2tfgiesUBUabHRx8YbxZAwrIQ1J4ydxwguUkY/s1600/Reformation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="299" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhccRYhjtaD612u9euIxyG2aY5zn670wju5H3j-DvgzaRcKQQAw5GGvwXN8Iq5b6rq1fZgUAIST8c8-sLZn8LZB3Ii2Jf82nA0lSuU5I3j2tfgiesUBUabHRx8YbxZAwrIQ1J4ydxwguUkY/s400/Reformation.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"Hope in Troubled Times"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Luke 18:9-14</h3>
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</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">In late October, a lot of people
are celebrating Halloween.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in the
church, many Christians are more focused on Reformation Day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Five hundred and two years ago, on
October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk and theology professor in
the university town of Wittenberg, published his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ninety-Five Theses</i> by nailing them to the door of the Castle
Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In those days, the church door
served as kind of a community bulletin board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">95 Theses</i> were in the form of an invitation to debate about
traditional church doctrine and practice, that, in Luther’s mind, needed to be
re-examined and reformed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luther was
advocating for reform within the Roman Catholic church, but before it was over
Luther would be excommunicated from the church and branded an outlaw by the
Holy Roman Emperor. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">As John Buchanan describes it,
“violence ensued, wars were fought, martyrs on both sides were tortured and
executed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luther’s followers and their
churches were called ‘Lutherans’ in derision, but during the next century large
portions of northern Germany, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, all the way to
the Italian Alps and the Scottish Highlands, separated from Rome and organized
themselves into Reformed churches.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Five hundred plus years later, as we commemorate Luther
and the Ninety-Five Theses, it’s a good time to remember that the Protestant
Reformation was a development that took place slowly, over time, and that it was
and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i></b>
an ongoing process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As a former representative of the World Alliance of
Reformed Churches has written, “Luther and Calvin did not just fall from
Heaven. Other people had worked the same field, and people at that time were
aware of earlier reformers.” By earlier reformers, he was referring to Waldensians,
Hussites, the Czech Brethren, and others.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, with this in mind, I think it’s a good thing to
observe “Reformation Sunday” in late October, but to focus on what Jean Calvin
called “the many resurrections of the church,” which include the earlier
reformers, and Luther and Calvin and Knox, and other examples of the Spirit’s
reforming, rejuvenating work in the church throughout history and to our
present time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The gospel lesson we heard today is a brief and
straightforward parable Jesus told his disciples. Earlier in the 18<sup>th</sup>
chapter of Luke, Jesus had told them a parable about their need to pray always
and not to lose heart. In this parable, a widow kept going to an un-just judge
“who neither feared God nor had respect for people.” Eventually, because the
widow <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">persisted</i> and kept coming back
to the unjust judge, he said, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for
anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">,</i></b>
so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus said to his disciples, “Listen to what the unjust
judge says. And will not God<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>grant justice to God’s chosen ones
who cry out day and night? Will God delay long in helping them? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tell you, God will quickly grant justice to
them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">context</i>
for the parable we heard today, which Jesus told to “some who trusted in
themselves that they were righteous and who regarded others with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">contempt.”</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee
and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying
thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">other
</i>people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this collector. I fast twice
a week; I give a tenth of all my income.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even
look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to
me, a sinner!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus said, “I tell you, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this </i>man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for
all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be
exalted.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">"Nobody is more dangerous
than he who imagines<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>himself pure in heart,” wrote James Baldwin, “for his purity,
by definition, is unassailable.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Such people clothe
themselves in religion while creating <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hell</i></b> for others. They see everything
but their truest selves. They hide their vulnerabilities and practice spiritual
dishonesty about their own shortcomings. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Jesus is addressing a crowd
of people who “trust in themselves,” but who really can’t see themselves. They
can point to the flaws in others and avoid seeing their own shortcomings and
sins. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">This parable gives us a
window into this particular Pharisee’s mentality, through the words of his
prayer. He embraces the insider-outsider politics of institutional religion.
His public prayer creates a firewall<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>between him and those who are
“other.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">When Luke says Jesus’
listeners “regarded others with contempt,” the Greek word for contempt suggests
treating other people as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nothing.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This kind of spirituality lets people pursue
their idea of holiness and morality, while they treat those they see as “other”
as sinful or unworthy or without value. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">As the Rev. Willie Francois
III writes, this culture of false perfection betrays the truth of the gospel: “that
God loves us with our scars of disobedience, markers of mistakes, and wounds of
worry. Such a culture creates myriad communities of throwaways, of people
perceived as disposable. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Even churches consecrate
categories by which they effectively label people disposable. When we fail to
see ourselves as we are, we tragically fix our eyes on others—and we live with
spiritual blinders on. This derails our journey to wholeness and
transformation.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
Pharisee in the parable isn’t guilty of any of the specific things he names—but
there are many other sins he wasn’t willing to name. The tax collector avoids
narrating a long list of his own virtues or sins to God, but he names his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">condition:</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he confesses that he’s a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sinner,</i> and he pleads for mercy.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">We live in a tumultuous
time—a time of great change and polarization and anxiety— in the world and in
the church. But it isn’t the first<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> The Scottish reformer
John Knox felt compelled to leave the British Isles after the Roman Catholic
Mary Tudor rose to the English throne in 1553. Eventually he joined a
fellowship of religious <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">refugees </i>from
across Europe who had thronged to Geneva, Switzerland.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">
Geneva’s most famous resident, the French lawyer and humanist John Calvin, was
himself a Geneva immigrant. Calvin helped create an atmosphere in Geneva
that was welcoming to outsiders. They established a hospital for refugees, as
well as an academy for their education. Knox ministered to a congregation of
English-speaking refugees. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">
John Knox marveled at his time in Geneva, calling it ‘the most perfect school
of Christ that ever was in the earth since the days of the apostles.’” </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">
Calvin’s emphasis on placing full trust in God, as opposed to any earthly
ruler, aimed to infuse life in Geneva with gratitude and faith<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and to ease the anxieties of a people living
in an age of plague, war, and dislocation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Calvin and for Knox, growing in trust of
God and love for God enlarged a community’s ability to respond to God’s call to
love and service-- no matter where its residents came from. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Five hundred years after the Protestant
Reformation, we’re living in a difficult and challenging time to be the
church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We need to re-learn how
to love and recognize the image of God in one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to learn how to live more and more
fully as beloved children of God… and become more and more fully the Beloved
Community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">And nations, like
individuals and the church, struggle to look in the moral mirror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the Democratic National Convention,
Michelle Obama said, “I wake up every morning in a house that was built by
slaves.” That’s a historical fact about the White House and our national
capitol building—one that’s often relegated to a footnote or simply omitted.
Yet many found the statement to be controversial. The institution of slavery
funded the greatness of America—and more than 150 years after the signing of
the Emancipation Proclamation, the American check still bounces.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Long
ago, biblical prophets like Jeremiah expressed the national need for
repentance. The nation needs mercy. For over 400 years, black people have been
dehumanized in America—from the trafficking of African persons from their
native lands through years of slavery, Jim Crow, Black Codes and predatory
sharecropping, unchecked lynching, red-lining and residential segregation, mass
incarceration, under-education, mass criminalization, and police violence. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">The
church also needs mercy for the ways it supported the institution of slavery
and structural racism and poverty or failed to resist them…for the Doctrine of
Discovery which the ways it gave permission, even encouraged colonialization
and the genocide of indigenous peoples. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Reverend
Francois challenges all Americans when he says, “To <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">change</i>—to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">redeemed</i>—America
has to actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">look </i>at itself. We
have to stand squarely in front of the moral mirror, beat our chests, name our
sins, and be justified.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">On
Reformation Sunday, we are reminded that we are justified by God’s grace,
through faith. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">The
question of the day is: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>how shall we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">live</i>, in response to God’s gracious
gift?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s where sanctification comes
in. “Sanctification” is a theological word for how we grow in the Christian
life, as we are taught and led further into the truth and empowered by the Holy
Spirit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sanctification is a life-long process, as we are
gradually freed from our fears and doubts and brokenness-- to love and serve
God and our neighbors as Christ does. As we grow in Christian faith, we open
ourselves to be surprised and transformed by God’s word. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One sign of growing in the Christian life is maturing in
love for and solidarity with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all </i>of
God’s children-- especially with those who are poor and marginalized and those
who are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">different</i>…those we see as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“other.”<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">The early Protestants
believed that they were not only creating a new church-- but they were creating
a new <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">world,</i> one that would resemble
more fully God’s desire for humanity. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The original Protestant impulse was to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">resist</i></b> powers of worldly
dominion and domination, in favor of the power of God’s spirit to transform
human hearts and society. They felt a deep discomfort and discontent with
the status quo. They knew things were not right, and they set out to change
the world.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Today, we live in troubling
times—a time of great change and anxiety, in the church and in the world. In 2019,
the world groans<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>under flame of wildfires and floods caused by global warming,
as families are left shattered by sprays of bullets and the devastation of war,
in this time of broken human relationships and extreme political partisanship
and structural racism and poverty and corruption in governments. Things are not
right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I believe God is working to
do <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">new</i> things in our time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">I believe we are living in a prophetic
time—a time of new reformation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that God is working to create a new
church, in and through us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe
that God wants to use us as instruments of justice and reconciliation in our
communities… in our nation… and in the world.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">I give thanks that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we’ve come this far by faith”</i>—that we’ve
been hearing a new word from God over the past few decades about human
sexuality and some of the other things that have consumed so much of our energy
and focus in the church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I give thanks
that this seems to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">freeing<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>the church to focus on structural
racism and poverty and other forms of injustice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I give thanks that we have been gifted with
strong and faithful and diverse leaders in our national Presbyterian church and
the ecumenical and interfaith communities who are leading us to act more faithfully
and more <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">boldly.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 24.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I give
thanks for the prophetic witness of Bishop William Barber and the Rev. Dr. Liz
Theoharis and other leaders of the Poor People’s Campaign around the country as
they work to bring about justice for all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I give thanks for Rabbi Alana Alpert and the Detroit Jews for Justice
and their work for water justice in Detroit and their work with the Poor
People’s Campaign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that part of
this new time of re-formation is how we’re learning to work together as
ecumenical and interfaith community. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Two
weeks ago, we gathered in this sanctuary to celebrate 100 years of mission and
ministry at St. John’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Rev. Dr. J.
Herbert Nelson reminded us of the way things are changing in the Brief church and in
our society and said we are living in a prophetic time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mission field is here around us, and we
have work to do. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
week, especially, we have mourned the passing and given thanks for a prophet of
our times, the very Honorable Congressman Elijah Cummings, and we have been
inspired by the witness of this man of faith and humility…integrity and courage
and compassion. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">I was moved to hear that
Congressman Cummings quoted a poem by Benjamin Mays during his very first
speech on the U.S. House of Representatives floor on April 25, 1996 while
noting that he recited that poem up to 20 times a day:</span></div>
<i><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“I have only just a
minute. Only 60 seconds in it.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forced upon me, can’t refuse it. Didn’t seek
it, didn’t choose it. </span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">But it’s up to me to use
it. I must suffer if I lose it. </span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Give account if I abuse
it. </span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Just a tiny minute, but eternity
is in it.” </span></i><br />
<br />
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Elijah Cummings was living
with a serious, life-threatening illness. But he was passionate about working
for justice. He lived with a sense of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">urgency,</i>
conscious about being effective with every <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">minute</i>
he was given. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His life can inspire and
challenge us.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">We are living in a time of
new reformation. God is working to create a new church and a new world, and
wants to use us as instruments of justice and reconciliation in the world. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">So—on this Reformation
Sunday and in the coming days, as we look around at the world and see things
that are not right, let us be praying that we may respond to the challenges of
our time with courage and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hope.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> In the
words of our Presbyterian “Brief Statement of Faith:” “<i>In</i> <i>a
broken and fearful world, the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing,
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries
in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work
with others for justice, freedom, and peace.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref6"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref6;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[4]</span></b></span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref6;"> </span></i></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref6;"></span><i><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Thanks be to God!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;"></span><span style="font-family: "times";"></span><span style="font-family: "times";">Rev. Fran Hayes, Guest
Preacher</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">St. John Presbyterian Church</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">Detroit, Michigan</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">October 27, 2019</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
John M. Buchanan, “Values Worth Fighting For,” at his blog Hold to the Good. <a href="https://jmbpastor.wordpress.com/2017/10/16/values-worth-fighting-for/"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;">https://jmbpastor.wordpress.com/2017/10/16/values-worth-fighting-for/</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></div>
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Luke 18:1-5</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: "times";">Willie Dwayne Francois III, at </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2016-09/october-23-30th-sunday-ordinary-time">https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2016-09/october-23-30th-sunday-ordinary-time</a></span></div>
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}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }p { margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }span.FootnoteTextChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }div.WordSection1 { }</style>RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-55279216639349651292019-08-25T14:41:00.002-07:002019-08-25T14:46:31.686-07:00"Why We Can't Wait," a sermon on Luke 13:10-17, preached at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Detroit<h2>
</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQ0RXXDhZ4OTShaocZk93bqBXcZTxvyPiE3tKpygaya5_BDjjuvsohM8ac2V5J8n7Ii9CsTNAaBd2Io7MU3UashF7xbJecrK_nBGlLGYCBISDduLt7hiGtnTBYJ09vCiTZcthHBrDrLpp/s1600/You+are+set+free_Luke+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="255" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQ0RXXDhZ4OTShaocZk93bqBXcZTxvyPiE3tKpygaya5_BDjjuvsohM8ac2V5J8n7Ii9CsTNAaBd2Io7MU3UashF7xbJecrK_nBGlLGYCBISDduLt7hiGtnTBYJ09vCiTZcthHBrDrLpp/s320/You+are+set+free_Luke+13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"Why We Can't Wait"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Luke 13:10-17</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
The story we just heard goes straight to the heart of Jesus’ <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mission
</span></span>as proclaimed in Luke’s gospel. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Earlier
in the gospel, in chapter 4, Jesus was also in a synagogue on the Sabbath when
he first announced his mission, describing it in terms of human liberation and
justice and abundance: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has sent me to proclaim release to the
captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go
free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”</span></i><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"> (Luke 4:18-19). </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">In
today’s reading, the theme of liberation resonates strongly. When Jesus sees
the woman, he calls to her and says, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.”
Later, when Jesus debates the leader of the synagogue and asks, “Should not
this woman be set free from her bondage on the sabbath day?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he is drawing directly from Deuteronomy 5,
the version of the commandment that connects Sabbath rest to Israel’s liberation
from slavery in Egypt.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The
synagogue leader was indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, and
said, “There are six days for work. So, come and be healed on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">those</i> days—not on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sabbath.</i>”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Jesus remembers that the Sabbath law
commemorates Israel’s liberation, so he interprets it to be a day for enacting
liberation in the present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To those who
want the woman to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wait,</i> he says, “You
hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the
stall and lead it out to give it water?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham…be set free on the Sabbath
day from what has bound her?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In his 1964 book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why We Can’t Wait,</i> Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr writes about 1963 as a pivotal year in the American Civil Rights
movement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He includes his famous “Letter
from Birmingham Jail,” which is a call for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">urgency.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Dr. King wrote the letter
as a response to eight local<span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">white clergymen who had criticized his
activities in Birmingham and appealed for a more patient and restrained
approach to advocating for civil rights. The "Letter" expresses
King's deep disappointment with "the white moderate," who
"paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's
freedom."</span><br />
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">The
gospel story we heard today is not just a healing story. Luke doesn’t really
include details about the healing itself. I agree with one of my colleagues
that, at its core, it's a story about what God intends. It's about the urgency
of seeing God's intentions brought to pass without delay.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
primary argument of Dr. King’s “Letter” still speaks to us today, which is why
in 2018 the 223<sup>rd</sup> General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) began
a</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> process toward amending
the <i>Book of Confessions </i>to potentially include the letter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">The
synagogue leader in today’s gospel story objects to healing this woman on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sabbath.</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her condition isn’t life-threatening. She’s
learned to live with it over almost two decades. So he doesn’t see why she
couldn’t just wait a little while longer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The synagogue leader has misunderstood the
basic intention of observing the Sabbath.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But Jesus reveals a deep logic for why the woman should
be restored <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">now.</i> According to
Deuteronomy, the Sabbath offers a weekly reminder of how much God values <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">freedom</i> and detests <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">injustice:</i></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Observe the Sabbath day and keep it
holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all
your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not
do any work -- you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave,
or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in
your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember that you were a slave in the land of
Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and
an outstretched arm; therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the
sabbath day.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></b></span></span></span></a></span></i></div>
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">The
original intention of the Sabbath, according to Deuteronomy, is to
provide relief, even if only temporary, from any system that would deny a
person -- or any part of creation -- a share of rest, peace, wholeness,
dignity, and justice.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, when the synagogue official says,
"Wait just one more day." Jesus answers, "No. The Sabbath is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good</i> day for setting people free. In
fact, the purpose behind the Sabbath -- the value God places on wholeness – makes
it <i>necessary</i> that I do this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">now.</i>
We can't <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wait."</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">In
Luke 13, Jesus reaffirms what his scriptures have taught him. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Matt Skinner puts it, “to perpetuate
injustice is to defile the holiness of the weekly Sabbath day </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">that
God ordained. To deny freedom<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>is to offend the God of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Exodus.</i> It's because of who God is that
Jesus can't wait.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now, the white religious leaders whom Dr. King addressed
in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” reflected the views of a majority of
American society at the time. One survey from 1964 found that 63% of Americans
agreed that “civil rights leaders are trying to push too fast” and 58% agreed
that the actions of people of color have, “on the whole, hurt their cause.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Dr. King
criticized white faith leaders and churches that perpetuate injustice by hiding
behind theologies that expect God’s blessings to come only in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">future.</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s the old saying, “There’ll be pie in the
sky, in the sweet by and by, after you die:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, why
do some people have a sense of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">urgency</i>
about working for justice, while others just don’t?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why
are some people ready to confess and repent of what the Rev. Jim Wallis calls
“America’s original sin,”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> while
others refuse to acknowledge any ways they may benefit from privilege? Why do
some react with defensiveness, silence, or argumentativeness when the
conversation makes them feel uncomfortable? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think
much of the resistance comes from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fear.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the church, whether it’s local
congregations or presbyteries or denominations, some are afraid of causing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">conflict</i>…or alienating<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>people,
who may leave the church or withhold financial support. Some are afraid of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">change</i> and becoming a different kind of
church that they can’t yet <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">imagine.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Twenty
years ago, when I was fairly new to the presbytery, I was part of the
Presbytery’s Anti-Racism Team, which was commissioned and went through a lot of
intensive training, to try to deal with structural racism in the presbytery, in
response to some events of the time. Over the years, there was pushback, and
eventually we no longer had a Presbytery Anti-Racism Team. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our Presbytery is struggling again…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">still</i> with racism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s time to do the work that leads to
liberation and healing. We can’t wait.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
past week, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New York Times</i>
published “The 1619 Project” to re-examine the legacy of slavery in the United
States and timed for the 400<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the arrival in America
of the first enslaved people from West Africa.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The project’s essays trace links from
America’s slave-owning history through the Jim Crow era and into persistent
racial inequalities <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">today.</i></b> The project is an attempt to correct America’s
historical <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ignorance</i></b> about the causes of contemporary injustice, to place
“the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the
very center of the story Americans tell ourselves about who we <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are.</i></b>”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Predictably,
there has been a backlash from some people who hold onto a particular vision of
patriotism that centers on the ideal of white innocence, who are angry and
uncomfortable with the reporting and insist that structural racism is a myth.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Look
around our region and our nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just this
week a candidate for City Council in Marysville, Michigan made national
headlines with her statements about her conviction that their city needed to
remain a mostly white city, and that interracial couples are breaking God’s
law. Does she think she’s a racist?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Our
national government has policies and practices that dehumanize immigrants and
those who seek asylum. We have elected officials who promote hatred and
division for political gain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Young
people and others around our nation tell us they’re afraid because of gun
violence…and they want to feel safe.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"> The list could go on and on…</span>
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Talking about injustice and racism are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hard,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
</b></i>but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">necessary.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can’t wait. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">We need to learn how to talk respectfully and
constructively with one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need
to learn to listen to one another to build true understanding and empathy. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">A lot of white people don’t like to think
that we’ve benefitted from white privilege, or that we do or say racist things
without even being conscious of it. And yet, some of us have committed
ourselves to gather to discuss books like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Waking
Up White<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[8]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i>
or White<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Fragility<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[9]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i>
and have felt challenged and encouraged to continue to grow as anti-racists. We
have a number of other excellent resources available that could be the basis of
these conversations, like Ibram Kendi’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stamped
from the Beginning</i> and Ijeomo Oluo’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So
You Want to Talk about Race. </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">We need to learn how to be together, to be
honest and respectful and kind with one another, and find ways for the healing
we need to begin, so we can all be set free from whatever has bound us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to work together and live further
into Beloved Community together. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">We live in such a broken, hurting world. We
look around our cities and the world, and it can feel overwhelming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we follow Jesus, in his Way of love and
justice. We are called to carry out his mission of healing and liberation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Part of the good news is that we are not
alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have been baptized into God’s
family and are blessed to be part of congregations where we can be nurtured and
encouraged and challenged to grow in love and faith. And we have resources in
the presbytery. For those who are seeking learning opportunities, you might
check out Table Setters groups in our presbytery or the group that’s forming
under the Rev. Kevin Johnson’s leadership. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As a
diverse, multicultural congregation, Westminster Church has some unique
opportunities to practice living into Beloved Community and to embody God’s
love and justice in and for the world. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We can’t
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wait. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the words of our Presbyterian “Brief
Statement of Faith,” the good news is that, “</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in
a broken and fearful world, the Spirit gives us courage to pray without
ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask
idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.…</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
“With believers in every time and place, we can <i>rejoice </i>that nothing in
life or in death can <i>separate<b> </b></i>us from the love of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[10]</span></span></span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Praise be to God!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Amen!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rev. Fran Hayes, Guest Preacher</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Westminster Presbyterian Church, Detroit</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">August 25, 2019</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Matthew L. Skinner, “Why We Can’t Wait,” from ON Scripture. </span><a href="http://day1.org/7456-on_scripture_why_we_cant_wait_luke_131017_by_matthew_l_skinner"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;">http://day1.org/7456-on_scripture_why_we_cant_wait_luke_131017_by_matthew_l_skinner</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Deuteronomy 5:12-15</div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NathanKalmoe/status/753250522476392448"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;">https://twitter.com/NathanKalmoe/status/753250522476392448</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></div>
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</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Jim Wallis, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">America’s Original Sin:
Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America</i>. Brazos Press,
2016. </div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;">https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/8/20/20813842/1619-project-new-york-times-conservatives-slavery"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;">https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/8/20/20813842/1619-project-new-york-times-conservatives-slavery</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></div>
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</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/8/25/1879981/-The-1619-Project-The-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-racist-responses"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;">https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/8/25/1879981/-The-1619-Project-The-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-racist-responses</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></div>
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</div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a>
Debby Irving, Waking Up White.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elephant
Room Press, 2014. This book was commended to the Presbyterian Church (USA) by
our previous Co-Moderators of the General Assembly.</div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk
About Racism. Beacon Press, 2018. For a
20-minute introduction to DiAngelo’s work, you can watch the video of her work
with a Methodist Church group:</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;">http://www.gcorr.org/video/vital-conversations-racism-dr-robin-diangelo/</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[10]</span></span></span></span></a>
Presbyterian Church (USA), “Brief Statement of Faith” (1990), in Presbyterian <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Book of Confessions.</i></div>
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RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-71557767766936972192019-05-22T09:31:00.001-07:002019-05-22T09:36:21.462-07:00"The Next Chapter: It's All About Love." A farewell sermon delivered at Littefield Presbyterian Church.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGkIWvqZf77LEVo55h76iC8TTTJ3nycaKzgPIDjpn9mJaWvgrKG44_dMoJ3MJ-JkkIv4s01WFvbL94PFjN_9muOPJjv2IDBkg2OB2LHe58db7j6Vt13ScxL0MXGUcdG27sTOGiyjvEO_x8/s1600/Love+one+another_John+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGkIWvqZf77LEVo55h76iC8TTTJ3nycaKzgPIDjpn9mJaWvgrKG44_dMoJ3MJ-JkkIv4s01WFvbL94PFjN_9muOPJjv2IDBkg2OB2LHe58db7j6Vt13ScxL0MXGUcdG27sTOGiyjvEO_x8/s320/Love+one+another_John+13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"The Next Chapter: It's All About Love"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
John 13:31-35; Acts 11:1-18</h3>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I love to read and write, so it
makes sense to me to think of life as being divided into chapters. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
In some of the earlier chapters of
my life, I grew up, went to college, left the church, taught school, raised a
son. Along the way I came back to church, and sensed Christ’s call to “follow him,”
which led me to Princeton Seminary, and then to the first church I served, in
western Pennsylvania. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
In earlier chapters of Littlefield’s
story, the congregation was planted and had a vital mission. When there were changes
in society and the neighborhood, the church did a mission study that helped the
congregation to identify new directions for mission, which was the beginning of
an intentional ministry of reconciliation and an emphasis on hospitality and
interfaith work.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Back in 1996, the Pastor Nominating Committee of
Littlefield contacted me, and we began a discernment<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>process that led to my
moving here 22 years ago to be your pastor.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
We’ve been through a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lot</i></b>
together over the last 22 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I
first got here, this was a bigger congregation than it is now. Yet, there were
concerns about whether the congregation had the resources to survive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hadn’t been here very long before somebody
said to me, “Well, the church only has a couple of years before we run out of
money.” That was the first I heard about that. It was explained that several of
the church’s leaders with business background had analyzed the congregation’s
finances maybe two years before and had predicted that—if nothing changed—the
church would be closed<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>in around 5 years. That obviously
didn’t happen.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Over the years we’ve served Christ
together, there have been changes in society… in the community… and in the church.
When I first arrived here, society was struggling with LGBTQ issues, and the
Presbyterian Church, along with all the mainline denominations, had been
studying and praying and debating about homosexuality since the 1970’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When the
church has struggled with difficult and divisive issues over the centuries, it
can lead to greater clarity about Christ’s message and what it means to follow
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In today’s lesson from the book of
Acts, we heard how the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem criticized Peter because
he had been eating with uncircumcised people. Peter told them about the vision
he had and how he heard a voice saying, “Don’t call impure anything that God
has made clean.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
It’s happened that way over the
centuries when the church has struggled with slavery, with divorce, ordaining
women and later LGBTQ persons. In recent years, we’re being challenged to
discern how our faith challenges us to act in the face of systemic poverty,
racism, environmental degradation, and other injustice. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Over the years, I’ve became
convinced that our Christian faith is all about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">love.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The gospel message in the New
Testament proclaims in various ways how Jesus came to live among us, full of
grace and truth, to embody God’s love for us<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>and to show us how to live in the way<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>of love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When people
asked Jesus what the most important commandment is, he said what’s most
important is two-fold:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love your neighbor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus
made it clear that your neighbor is anybody we encounter—even people who are different…
even people we might even see as enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In his last
talk with his disciples, Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love
one another as I have loved you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People
will know you are my followers by the way you love<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>one another.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
In the gospel lesson we heard
today, Jesus tells his followers, “If you keep my commandments—the commandments
to love God and love the neighbor—we will abide in his love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tells his disciples that he has said these
things so that we may have his joy, and that our joy may be complete.”<span style="color: red;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s all
about love.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Over the
years, we’ve grown together in the way of love. Littlefield is a place where
people are nurtured and challenged to grow in their faith. We have shared God’s
love and promoted interfaith understanding in a variety of ways, including
through the annual interfaith prayer service and Peace Camp. We have touched
people’s lives through our Taize service and the Engage Book group. We’ve
glorified God through our worship and work, and we’ve made lots of beautiful
music together. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe we have grown
in our understanding of what it means to be disciples of Jesus Christ and part
of the Beloved Community. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Twenty-two
years is a long time. I give thanks to God for the joy and privilege of being
your pastor and leader, for the relationships we have formed, for the learning
and laughter and tears we’ve shared together…for the baptisms and weddings and
funerals and potlucks and picnics and so much more. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But now it’s
time for a new chapter:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for Littlefield
and for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my next chapter, I hope
to serve God in some new ways. I’ve taken the training to be a Transitional
Minister, which I could do part-time or short-term in congregations that are in
transition. And I hope to move to be close to my son’s family and have more time
to spend with them—especially Gracie Jane!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s time
for a new chapter for Littlefield too. The Session is working on finding a
Transitional Minister or Interim to be your next pastor, and to help you
discern a faithful future for Littlefield’s next chapter. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Our
pastoral relationship will end on May 31st. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that time, I will not be available to
provide pastoral services at Littlefield. Specifically, I will not be available
to perform baptisms, weddings, funerals, or provide pastoral care for the members
of Littlefield. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s the
policy of our presbytery that a former pastor will speak and act in ways that
support the ministry of your new pastoral leader, and will not meddle or
comment on actions of the session or the congregation. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>The reason for these boundaries is so the
congregation can move on into your next chapter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I love you all, because I care about
the health of the congregation, I need to not function as your pastoral leader--
so that your new<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>pastor becomes your pastoral leader as he or she performs
pastoral duties like funerals and weddings.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, today,
we give thanks for what we have learned together, what we have <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">accomplished </i>together, all the ways we
have glorified God through our worship and work, all the ways we have people
have known we are Christians by our love. Today, at the end of this chapter of
ministry together, we release one another to move into Littlefield’s next
chapter and my next chapter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What comes
next? Your mission statement makes it clear that Littlefield’s purpose is “to
love God, one another, and all people, and to show God’s love in your work for
peace and justice.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
In our broken world, in this Easter
season, when old divisions and ancient evils and persistent suffering fill our
news feeds and touch our daily lives, those of us who follow the Risen Christ
are called to live in his light, to be salt and light and carry on his ministry
of reconciliation. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As we turn the
pages on our next chapters, let us pray…and listen for the Spirit…embody God’s
love…and show God’s love in our work for peace and justice. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>Let us trust in God’s promises, confident that
nothing will hinder God making all things new.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Amen!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rev. Fran Hayes, Pastor</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Littlefield Presbyterian Church</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dearborn, Michigan</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
May 19, 2019</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
John 13:31-35</div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
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<br />RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-51938490341823822582019-05-15T10:45:00.004-07:002019-05-15T10:49:57.700-07:00"Soul Restoration." A Sermon from Littlefield Presbyterian Church.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS68xUspGOeGjbRlfaUh8jO4ib_HOBk_QfraROcHgtFsfylkhtBmrU-HmsX1AY-KWn1WzqcMZ5WJJ1Ywfe1oHEJdJxO5W54DfvLAYv_8p9jSi8x962HLbYFZSS9Aupky0aZrtdm8HrOMlU/s1600/I+will+fear+no+evil_Psalm+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="500" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS68xUspGOeGjbRlfaUh8jO4ib_HOBk_QfraROcHgtFsfylkhtBmrU-HmsX1AY-KWn1WzqcMZ5WJJ1Ywfe1oHEJdJxO5W54DfvLAYv_8p9jSi8x962HLbYFZSS9Aupky0aZrtdm8HrOMlU/s320/I+will+fear+no+evil_Psalm+23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"Soul Restoration"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Psalm 23</h3>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>I used to think the texts for Good Shepherd Sunday
should be a fairly “easy” ones for the sermon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After all, we have the 23<sup>rd</sup> Psalm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I memorized it as a child, and have recited
it countless times, and sung it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But then I started
noticing how often violence and tragedy have struck during Eastertide, in the
time around Good Shepherd Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
the most recent school shooting happened in Colorado, I realized it was near
the 20<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the Columbine massacre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many mass shootings have happened since
then? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There have
been bombings… and children killed and injured by gun violence—too many to be
reported beyond the local news.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In our
nation and around the world, people suffer from the violence of extreme poverty.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I believe
that God is weeping at our tragedies… at the mess humans have made of creation
through violence.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So much loss.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
much suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So many lives forever changed by wounds-- both
physical and emotional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it
feels overwhelming, and we might want to throw up our hands in despair. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we never stop hoping for something
different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At times
like these, or when we face the illness of a child or a dear old friend… or the
doctor gives us a scary diagnosis…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we
can turn to the witness of faith we find in the scriptures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 23<sup>rd</sup> Psalm has been called one
of the psalms of trust, in which those who are praying proclaim their
confidence in God’s goodness—despite the very real difficulties they are
experiencing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Lord is my shepherd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I shall not want. “</i>I trust in God to
provide what I need.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Even
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Psalmist
doesn’t deny the reality of evil, nor its capacity to wreak devastation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he has adopted a resolute stance in the
face of real threat: “No fear.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not because the police and FBI are on the
scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not because our military has
tools to exact vengeance so that perpetrators can’t hurt anyone again. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because “God is with me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is the
core claim of our faith:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that there is
one God, the God of love, and that we can place our trust in God to be with us,
always.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That doesn’t mean that we will
never have to face danger or hardship or sorrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it does mean that we will not be alone in
it, and that we will be given the strength to get through.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“You prepare a table before me in the
presence of my enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You anoint my
head with oil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My cup overflows.”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If our
first impulse in the face of terror is fear, the second impulse for a lot of
people is vengeance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as the Psalmist doesn’t deny the reality
of evil, neither does he ignore the reality that there are people in the world
who mean him harm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in the Psalm, the
impulse to vengeance is short-circuited by the deep awareness of grace, which
re-directs the energy that would have been drained to exact retribution—and channels
it to gratitude and joyful thanksgiving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Our
Christian faith point us toward an alternative worldview that shuns reactive
violence and opens up possibilities for personal and social transformation--even
for enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We are Easter
people—people of the Resurrection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
the face of violence and death, we hear our sacred texts speaking defiantly, calling
us to fearlessness in the valley of the shadow of death… and revealing a vision
of a God who will wipe away the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tears</i></b> of those who have gone through
great tribulation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the Acts
passage, we hear the story of a little church in Joppa, near the Mediterranean
Sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this church, one of the
disciples, a woman named Tabitha (or, in Greek, Dorcas) has become sick and
died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It may seem
hard to relate the death of Tabitha to the violent deaths of April and May in our
time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, as Margaret Aymer Oget
points out,<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tabitha lived in a Roman-occupied world in
which wealth and the control of goods were in the hands of the 2 percent, a
world in which poverty, malnutrition, and illness were deadly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Women like Tabitha would have had a life
expectancy of fewer than 40 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So,
her death was also an act of violence, in the sense that poverty caused by
injustice is violent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the face
of Tabitha’s death, the little church in Joppa took action. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The widows gathered, weeping and telling her
story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They tended to Tabitha’s body,
and they sent for Simon Peter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Tabitha—the
beloved and fruitful disciple, is raised up by Simon Peter and restored to her
friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, news spreads
quickly, and many people come to believe because of what happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Meanwhile,
Simon Peter stays in the house of Simon the tanner, a man whose vocation of
working with the bodies of animals would have made him unclean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But apparently, he was not unclean in the
eyes of Simon Peter, disciple of the Risen Lord, because God was doing a new
thing and breaking down the dividing walls. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Easter
story back then and now is a story of new life, new possibilities, boundaries
being broken down, and transformation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When our
world is rocked by tragedy and violence and death and loss, there is great power
in those who won’t let the story of a beloved one die, like the parents of the
victims of Sandy Hook who have resolved to work as long as it takes for
effective gun control laws… and the young survivors of the massacre at Marjorie
Stoneman High School in Florida… or<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the
mother of Philando Castile, who has been giving money to pay off lunch debts of
poor students to honoring her son, who was a caring lunch room supervisor before
he was shot three years ago by a police officer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
There is great power in those who weep
with God over violence to humanity and creation <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and open themselves to work with God for
peace… reconciliation… and justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Unlike the
little church in Joppa, we can’t summon an apostle with the power to raise the
dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we can still follow the
example of the early church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can tend
to the bodies and to the wounded people… we can tell the truth about the fatal
toll of guns, bombs, poverty, and disease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When we
refuse to be silent in the face of injustice and poverty and violence and
terrorism and bigotry, we break death’s ability to have the last word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When we
trust in the Shepherd God of love and mercy, we can live confidently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God gives us what we need… and restores our
souls… and guides us in paths of righteousness for God’s name’s sake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We don’t
need to be afraid, because the God of goodness and love is with us, as we work
to restore the soul of our communities and the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Blessing
and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our
God forever and ever!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Amen!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rev. Fran Hayes, Pastor</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Littlefield Presbyterian Church</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dearborn, Michigan</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
May 12, 2019</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Margaret Aymer, “Acts 9:36-43: Why I Pray That April Tragedies Bring May
Justice,” in Huffington Post, April 17, 2013.</div>
</div>
</div>
<style>@font-face {
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}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Cambria", serif; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Cambria", serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }span.FootnoteTextChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: "Cambria", serif; }div.WordSection1 { }</style>RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-3735662675230478862019-05-05T15:53:00.000-07:002019-05-05T15:59:08.536-07:00"Do We Love Jesus?" A Sermon from Littlefield Presbyterian Church on the Third Sunday of Easter.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimf2-wlV0Sy8xHE_QzlXRL3J70Ly9It-k-TBxn7Umo-umYkccrVf5ennYwrPOLMVwv65xjuBSQBGPpyNU_lilB923Yxkc9EVzaPFZ-VQF-AbptvbQT7pQoUeY0rulqrRGhOKudYdCBlQZC/s1600/Feed+my+sheep_Primacy+of+Peter_Galilee_2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="604" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimf2-wlV0Sy8xHE_QzlXRL3J70Ly9It-k-TBxn7Umo-umYkccrVf5ennYwrPOLMVwv65xjuBSQBGPpyNU_lilB923Yxkc9EVzaPFZ-VQF-AbptvbQT7pQoUeY0rulqrRGhOKudYdCBlQZC/s320/Feed+my+sheep_Primacy+of+Peter_Galilee_2009.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Feed My Sheep." Photo taken at the Primacy of Peter site, in Galilee, by Fran Hayes </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"Do We Love Jesus?"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
John 21:1-19; Acts 9:1-20</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We’re now two weeks past Easter Sunday. But for a lot
of folk, Easter already seems long ago and far away. For some,
great joy and hope have given way to the routine of daily life: family
responsibilities…health issues…work concerns. In the midst of it all,
what does the Resurrection mean? What difference does it make? Has
it changed anything?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In the last chapter of John, we hear how, after the Resurrection, the
disciples’ lives don’t seem to have changed. They have seen the risen
Jesus. But they’ve gone back to the same old thing they used to do.
They’ve gone fishing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The disciples had given up everything to follow Jesus. But he’d been
crucified and buried. They’re grieving… frustrated… confused. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
True, they knew that Jesus had been raised from the dead. But what did
that mean? What difference did it make? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
So, they go back to something familiar—what they’d been doing before Jesus came
into their lives. They go fishing. They fish all night. But
they don’t catch anything. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Yet, as the disciples return to the way things used to be, the risen Jesus
seeks them out once again. At dawn, they see a stranger on the shoreline,
but they don’t recognize him. But Jesus knows them. This “stranger” calls to
them with a term of endearment, “children.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus comes to them in their ordinary lives, and he blesses
them. He calls out to them, “You don’t have any fish, do you?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
No.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Then he tells them how to fish: “Cast your net on the right side of the boat,
and you’ll find some.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The catch is so enormous that they can’t haul it in. There are fish of all
kinds. The symbolic significance of the number—one hundred fifty-three—is lost
on modern readers. But the meaning of the story is not: there are fish of all
kinds. This is an abundance that is inclusive and diverse. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This story reprises themes in
several other traditional stories about the disciples: the work of the
disciples as fishermen…the radical call for them to become fishers of people…
and the reminder that Jesus told the disciples that “apart from me you can do nothing.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>John
recognizes Jesus, and says, “It’s the Lord!” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then Peter leaps into the water and swims
toward Jesus. Jesus knows how deeply Simon Peter needs to be forgiven for
the three times he denied his relationship with Jesus on that awful night
before Jesus was crucified. Jesus says, three times: “Simon, son of
John, do you love me?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Peter responds with an affirmation of his love, saying, “Yes, Lord, you know
that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” Three
times. “Tend my sheep.” “Feed my sheep.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Instead of praising his declarations, Jesus tells Peter that one day he will
stretch out his hands and someone will take him where he does
not wish to go. Feeding lambs and tending sheep can cost us—even
cost us our lives. It is work that will link our lives to pain and
suffering. It will lead us many places we don’t want to go. If we
love Jesus, our relationship with him will change us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
On this third Sunday in Eastertide, the lectionary gives us two stories of <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">transformation. </span>The stories we
heard are about two great saints of the church, Peter and Paul. In the
book of Acts, we encounter Saul, who was introduced in chapter 7, as the young
man who was present when the angry mob stoned Stephen to death. Luke
tells us that Saul took care of their coats for them, that he approved of their
killing Stephen, and that he was ravaging the church by entering house after
house, dragging off both men and women believers, and imprisoning them.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In the story we heard today from Acts, Saul is “still breathing threats and
murder against the disciples of the Lord.” He has gone to the high priest
and gotten letters of authorization to the synagogues of Damascus, so he can
look for followers of the Way and bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Now, Saul was well-educated and devout. He was someone who had his faith
and values all figured out. His mission in life was to stamp out the
movement of those who followed the risen Jesus on the Way. Saul was very
certain that he was right—and they were wrong.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
So far in Acts, Saul is described almost entirely in terms of his certainty and
his violence. It is this violence that Jesus addresses when he
speaks out of the heavenly light, saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute
me?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
By identifying himself as the one whom Saul is persecuting, Jesus identifies
with the believers in their suffering, and he makes Saul’s violence a central
issue of his conversion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The voice of the risen Christ intrudes and devastates Saul’s self-confident
journey. He opens his eyes, but he can’t see. He has to be led
around by the hand, and he doesn’t eat or drink for three days.
Saul, who knows so much about religion, who could quote chapter and
verse of the scriptures, is rendered helpless by the blinding light on the road
to Damascus. He needs to be led by the hand, healed, and instructed by
the very ones he’d planned to round up and bind and drag back to Jerusalem to
face the religious authorities. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
What happens to Saul on the road to Damascus becomes a transformative
moment. When Paul encountered the risen Christ, he was blinded by the
brightness of the light of Christ and transformed-- from a man committed
to aggression and persecution of those who were different, those who challenged
what he believed— to one who was lost and struggling. In the process of
his conversion, Paul learns that the agenda he set for himself was futile, and
that God’s plan is the only plan that matters. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Peter’s encounter with the Risen Christ helped to transform him from someone
who was afraid to admit he even knew Jesus—into an apostle who was empowered to
jump out of his familiar boat into waters that were over his head
and walk bravely into the world with resurrection power and
hope. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In this third resurrection appearance, we hear Peter getting a new chance, as
he experiences Jesus’ resurrection power in a quiet way over breakfast. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The
Risen Christ appears to the disciples, makes them breakfast, and then dialogues
with Peter on the nature of discipleship. Loving Jesus leads to feeding God’s
sheep, providing for their physical and spiritual hungers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Those who encounter Christ are
called to reach out to the world sharing good news for body, mind, and spirit. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In an ordinary place and meal, the disciples receive a kind
of re-commissioning. They are reminded who they are and what they were
called to be and do. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Easter is about living out our identity and calling as if we truly believe that
Jesus has overcome sin and death. It’s about living as if we trust in his
gift of abundant, eternal life. It means following Jesus,
embodying Jesus’ love. It means being with Jesus as we gather together to hear
the good news… and in the places we are led to serve.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
“Do you love me?” Jesus asks us. Then, feed my lambs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Jesus calls his disciples to follow him. Yet, we know all too well that
the compelling call of human need often feels like it is taking us to places we
don’t want to go. Our ability and willingness to go there will be a
testimony to the clarity and passion of our Christian discipleship. Our
ability and willingness to follow Jesus is a sign of how we are being
transformed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The first disciples huddled behind locked doors, or went back to their old
familiar routines. They struggled with fear about how Jesus calls his
followers to go places where they don’t want to go.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
When I get impatient with myself for my lack of courage, or my reluctance to go
some of the places Jesus might call me to go in his name, I find comfort and
hope in the conviction that God isn’t finished with me yet. God
isn’t finished with any of us yet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
We have Christ’s promise that he will not leave us alone. He will be with
us, to help and to guide us…to provide for our needs…and to comfort and care
for us. The One who commands us to embody his love and light in the
world promises us that we will be given the power we need through
the Holy Spirit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Again
and again, Jesus asks us, “Do you love me?” This is no cheap grace
Christ offers us. Again and again, Jesus calls us: “Follow me.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Do you love me? Jesus asks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Just as Jesus met with his first disciples at dawn on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus
comes to us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus keeps coming to us to
teach us and to lead us to places where we’d never have thought to
go. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The gospel reminds us that God can make a way where there is no way, bringing abundance
where there is scarcity, and joy where there has been sorrow. Jesus’
resurrection gives us the promise of life after death, and the assurance of
God’s healing and restoration in this life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today, in this time and place, as long ago, Jesus does many
signs in the presence of his disciples. We have the witness of the
gospel, which was written “so that we may come to believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God…and that through believing, we may have life in his
name.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus meets us where we work, where we despair, or where we
question or doubt. Whether we’re still feeling “up” from Easter or feeling let
down, Jesus keeps coming to us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Jesus meets us in in our friends or in strangers. He challenges us with a
task to do—caring for his people. He gives us work that truly satisfies
us, and invites us to make him more and more the center of our lives. One
way or another, Jesus comes back and calls us to himself and to his new
life. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Do you love me? Then feed my sheep. Tend my lambs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
As individuals and as a congregation, we often fall short of being the loving,
compassionate, generous, welcoming people God created us to be. We don’t
always follow through. Sometimes we even fall away for a while and go
back to whatever felt familiar before we recognized the Risen Christ. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
But Jesus doesn’t give up on us. After each time we fail…or forget… or
are overcome by our fears, Jesus comes to us again and invites us to try again,
providing encouragement and nourishment, and calls us to put our love into
action, caring for the world God loves. If you love me, show it through
your actions. “Feed my sheep.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus comes to us today, this morning, inviting us to start
again Easter-fresh, saying, “Follow me.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Thanks be to God! Alleluia!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Rev. Fran
Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Dearborn,
Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">May 5, 2019</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
John 15:5</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Acts 7:58-8:1</div>
</div>
</div>
<style>@font-face {
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}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }span.FootnoteTextChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }div.WordSection1 { }</style>RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-56745948790497399512019-04-28T21:33:00.000-07:002019-04-28T21:33:45.340-07:00"Knowing Our Place in God's Good Creation." A Sermon from Littlefield Presbyterian Church.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG5FsCrNCrnvafQYM75lRESFBu7y5yNyb_Y9dBYlMUFxeRUDnIrd8_US6LprxiJksnqKo7wIC_t1Pdjh6UDO-fWnK1EO_Tu16ZBjrgTdgPMiaCogHSBcbx8oLwUBtJGaSrsNkheZgRPuXp/s1600/Earth+Day+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="195" data-original-width="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG5FsCrNCrnvafQYM75lRESFBu7y5yNyb_Y9dBYlMUFxeRUDnIrd8_US6LprxiJksnqKo7wIC_t1Pdjh6UDO-fWnK1EO_Tu16ZBjrgTdgPMiaCogHSBcbx8oLwUBtJGaSrsNkheZgRPuXp/s1600/Earth+Day+photo.jpg" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"Knowing Our Place in God's Good Creation"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Luke 24:36b-48; Genesis 2:4-15</h3>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Earth Day was this past Monday. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you turned on the news or gone online this
week, you’ve been hearing some challenging ideas about caring for the
environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, this Sunday seemed like
a good day to celebrate God’s Creation and to ponder our place in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a day to reflect on what our faith says
to us about how we are called to live on the earth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
In this season of Eastertide, we are
celebrating good news:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in raising Jesus
from the dead, God has broken the power of sin and evil and delivered us from
the way of death-- to life eternal and abundant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
ponder what it means to live as Easter people… and what it means to live in the
ways of God here and now, in a world where hunger, poverty, poor health, fear,
violence, and injustice are daily realities for many of God’s people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And today—this week--we are challenged to
reflect on how we are called to live in relationship with God’s good creation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Those of us who call ourselves Christians
need to take seriously what our faith says about Creation. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The Bible is a powerful witness to
the sovereignty and providence and creativity of God—the Holy One who is the
Source of all life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
In Genesis chapter one, the scriptures
tell us that when God created the world, God blessed it and called it very good.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is revealed through the beauty, power,
abundance, and mystery of the natural world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Through wind and flame, water and wilderness, creatures and seasons, God
is continually present and active in the world.
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Human beings are endowed with reason
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and given the responsibility to celebrate
and care for Creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God’s first command
to humanity was given to Adam in Genesis chapter 2:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to care for the earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Cultivate” and “protect”<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>it.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Over the years, we allowed the
biblical texts to be twisted so that “dominion” came to mean “domination,” and stewardship
came to mean “exploitation.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Too many Christians think that we
are the center of the universe <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and have
twisted the gospel of Jesus Christ to mean that God is only interested in
saving individual human souls-- rather than all of creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
We don’t all agree on the
environmental problem, or the scope or cause of the problem, much less the solutions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there is science and a growing consensus
that current trends in growth and consumption are not sustainable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
When it comes to the environment,
we need an alternative worldview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
need alternative, faithful ways to know our place in Creation that are not naïve
or simplistic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance, recycling is
a good thing to do, but recycling and efforts by individual and volunteer
organizations to recycle will not save the planet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The issue is too global, too political,
too economically driven to be resolved by personal piety or individual good intentions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The issue is ultimately theological—a matter
of faith—because it raises the question, “Who owns this place?”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
As persons of faith and as a faith
community, our task is to imagine how the world would look if God really is
ruling, and then to implement that vision—put it into action.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
There was a time when we’d sing
some hymns to celebrate the glories of creation on Earth Sunday and maybe give
out packets of seeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I agree with
Leah Schade when she writes in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Christian Century:</i></div>
<div style="background: white; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #070000;">“Now
is not the time for feel-good “green” hymns and ecological tokenism in our
churches.” Not when the government has been implementing anti-environmental
policies, giving coal mining companies free rein to pollute waterways. Not when
air pollution, pesticides, poor diets, and radiation have led to </span><span style="color: black;">a sharp increase in cancer</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "ArialMT",serif;"> </span><span style="color: black;">diagnoses among
children.</span><span style="color: #070000;"> Not when fracking and drilling are
poisoning the air, water, and land of our communities.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: #070000; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; text-indent: .5in;">
And not when people like Waldomiro
Costa Pereira are being murdered for trying to protect their land from
rapacious corporations and wealthy landowners. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Conflicts over land are common in
Brazil, where 1 percent of the population owns nearly half of the nation’s
land. <span style="color: black;">According to</span><span style="color: #0068d8;">
</span><span style="color: #070000;">the <i>Guardian, </i>Brazil saw 61 killings
of land rights activists in 2016, and 150 in the several preceding years.
Pereira was affiliated with the </span><span style="color: black;">Landless
Workers Movement and had been standing up for the rights</span><span style="color: #0068d8;"> </span>for poor farmers, in a heroic act that cost him
his life<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Latin America has a long history of
struggles over land and resources, with the rural poor trying to eke out a
living while those in control of the land extract riches from its bounty. The
murder of environmental activists is not a new development. But, as Leah Schade
points out, there’s a new layer of urgency in recent years, with the
exacerbation of climate change and the increased desperation of people fighting
for their communities and their very lives. When people are dying for God’s
earth and for indigenous and marginalized communities, we can’t ignore the evil
that reigns with impunity against people working for environmental justice.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
There is a life-and-death struggle
being waged against corrupt governments, corporations, and criminal gangs that
are seizing land from people in order to exploit the land for minerals, timber,
fossil fuels, or corporate agriculture. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
We in developed countries may
condemn these injustices, but the demand for many of these products comes from
us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to be mindful of how, in the
words of our Presbyterian “Brief Statement of Faith,” we have ignored God’s commandments,
like the command to be faithful stewards of the earth… We have violated the
image of God in others and ourselves, accepted lies as truth, exploited
neighbor and nature, and threatened death to the planet entrusted to our care.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Since the earliest days, the church,
has honored the martyrs who have died for their faith. “From Stephen to
Perpetua to Ignatius of Antioch, martyrs are models of courage in the face of
hatred, fear, and evil.” As Leah Schade points out, martyrs have been models of
courage in the face of hatred, fear, and evil. They<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span>refuse to cower to violent regimes, and they
face their deaths knowing they have fought the good fight.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Theologian Robert Costanza states
the stewardship challenge this way: “The creation of a shared vision of a
sustainable and desirable society, one that can provide permanent prosperity
within the biophysical constraints of the real world in a way that is fair and
equitable to all humanity, to other species, and to future generations.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The key elements here are
sustainability and justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sustainability
is about recognizing that the earth’s resources are not unlimited, and that any
global life-style created on the model of American consumption is suicidal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Justice demands that we recognize the huge gap—which
widens every year—between the haves and have-nots of the earth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Sally McFague observes that the
Greek word for “house” is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">oikos,</i>
which is the root word for “economics” … for “ecology” …and for “ecumenicity.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, she suggests that caring for the earth
is simply a matter of household economics, which leads her to offer three
simple rules for our global household.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The first rule, as in any
household, is take only your share.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
the cookies are not for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
share-- as your share-- is what is needed for a decent life:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>food, shelter, medical care, and
education.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is enough for all-- if
everybody would share.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Second, clean up after yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ring in the bathtub is yours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s simple fairness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The third rule is:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>keep the house in good repair for the
children and grandchildren who will come after you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Take only your share, clean up your
own mess, and keep the house in good repair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s a simple vision on a global scale.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
But we can’t be simplistic and
think this can happen through our good intentions as individuals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need a renewed worldview-- because the current
one is not working.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
We need a world in which nations
have the humility to confer and compromise...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>and to sign and honor treaties to work together for global cooperation
to work together on environmental and justice issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need national leaders who have a vision
for the common good-- in their own nations and beyond their borders…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and who are courageous enough to risk their
political popularity for the promise of a viable global future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need economists and business leaders who
are smart enough to know that it takes more than money to create a harmonious
global household.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
We need faith communities—people
like us—who know the earth is the Lord’s and that all the earth is holy
ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to commit ourselves to
living and proclaiming that alternative vision to our communities and the world.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
We live in a broken and fearful
world, but we are Easter people who follow the Risen Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
know that we can trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to give us the courage
we need to unmask idolatries and to work with others for justice, freedom and
peace, for the welfare of all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
So, let us commit ourselves to live
more lightly and faithfully on this holy ground, and to care for the earth as a
way of worshipping and serving our gracious Creator God!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Amen!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rev. Fran Hayes, Pastor</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Littlefield Presbyterian Church</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dearborn, Michigan</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
April 28, 2019</div>
<div style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> Genesis
1:1-31</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> P.C.
Enniss, “Holy Ground.” My notes say that I read this at an old website, at <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.goodpreacher.com/">www.goodpreacher.com</a></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> Leah D.
Schade, “Let’s Make Earth Day about the Earth martyrs,” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Christian Century.</i> <span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 9.0pt;"><a href="https://www.christiancentury.org/blog-post/lets-make-earth-day-about-earth-martyrs">https://www.christiancentury.org/blog-post/lets-make-earth-day-about-earth-martyrs</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> “Land
rights activist shot dead in Brazilian Amazon hospital.” <span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 9.0pt;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/21/brazil-land-rights-activist-shot-dead-amazon-hospital">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/21/brazil-land-rights-activist-shot-dead-amazon-hospital</a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> Schade,
in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Christian Century</i>.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a>
Presbyterian Church (USA), “Brief Statement of Faith,” 1990. <span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 9.0pt;"><a href="https://www.presbyterianmission.org/what-we-believe/brief-statement-of-faith/">https://www.presbyterianmission.org/what-we-believe/brief-statement-of-faith/</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a> Robert
Costanza et al, An Introduction to Ecological Economics (1979), quoted in
Sallie McFague, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Life Abundant.</i></div>
</div>
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<br />RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-47166287036232564612019-04-21T12:55:00.003-07:002019-04-21T13:00:30.885-07:00"Idle Talk or Gospel Truth?" A sermon from Littlefield Presbyterian Church on Easter Sunday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zhDMX9dGN5_5EDCmvfbEfzhEUH0Sre9wj_V8oVirtGHvx6lpTNzSIRxAFHtBJPUxth-Qt02pZvmiqX1yWMKOiP9E9G8Id0Ybi3kS_xLGdwpHv7jVgj7kvAJPg8DAWDHtByVv2AwGvVEK/s1600/Empty+tomb_crosses+background.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1224" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zhDMX9dGN5_5EDCmvfbEfzhEUH0Sre9wj_V8oVirtGHvx6lpTNzSIRxAFHtBJPUxth-Qt02pZvmiqX1yWMKOiP9E9G8Id0Ybi3kS_xLGdwpHv7jVgj7kvAJPg8DAWDHtByVv2AwGvVEK/s400/Empty+tomb_crosses+background.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"Idle Talk or Gospel Truth?"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Luke 24:1-12 </h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">
During Holy Week, we heard the powerful story of how Jesus offered his life in
the ultimate act of sacrificial love and was crucified on the cross. The
women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem had watched as the body
of Jesus was taken down from the cross. They watched as Joseph of Arimithea
took the body, wrapped it in linen, and placed it in a nearby tomb… and sealed
in with a big stone that was rolled against the opening. They went home to
prepare spices that would be needed to complete the proper burial of the body.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
There wasn’t time to finish preparing Jesus’ body for burial before the Sabbath
began, so in the darkness, just before sunrise on the day after the Sabbath,
the women head back to the tomb, bringing the spices and ointments they need to
finish preparing Jesus’ body for burial.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the grieving women approach the tomb, they’re focused on completing
the burial of Jesus’ body. But when they get to the tomb, they find that the
stone has been rolled away, and the tomb is empty! The women stand there,
perplexed, not knowing what to make of what they see, when suddenly two men in
dazzling white clothes are standing beside them. They’re<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>terrified!
They bow down in awe. But the men say to them, “Why are you looking
for the living among the dead? He is not here... but has
risen. Remember how he told you--while he was still in Galilee-- that the
Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third
day rise again?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Why do you seek the living among the dead?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The women came to the tomb expecting to find
the dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this tomb is now empty,
transformed by the resurrection.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Apparently, then, the women <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do</i>
remember. They run back to tell the rest of the disciples what they have seen
and heard. But the other disciples don’t believe them. The
news seems to them an “idle tale.” Actually, as David Lose points
out, that’s a fairly generous translation of the Greek word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">leros, </i>which is<span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">the root of the word <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“delirious.”</i> </span>So, it seems
they thought what the women were saying was crazy—utter nonsense.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
And, if we’re to be honest, who can blame them? Dead men don’t just get up
and walk out of their tombs. Resurrection breaks all the old, familiar rules
that help us to understand how things work in the world. Then-- as now-- we
often don’t know how to respond to the unexpected… things that don’t fall
neatly into our preconceived ways of thinking. So, Peter gets up and runs
to the tomb to check things out for himself. He stoops down and looks in,
and he sees the linen grave cloths lying there empty. Then he heads for
home, amazed at what had happened. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first disciples were reeling with grief. Their
beloved friend, their leader-- the one person on whom they had staked
everything, had just been tortured and killed. Now his body had disappeared.
Everything that was happening that first Easter was new… unfamiliar…strange.
It was hard to take it all in.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> Each
of the gospels makes it clear that the disciples didn’t come quickly to believe
in the resurrection. They </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">respond with a mixture of
emotions: fear…great joy…amazement…and doubt. It takes more
than an empty tomb for the disciples to understand and to become believers. And
yet the disciples do follow Jesus after the resurrection. Some even
follow him to their own deaths. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The tomb is empty, and Christ is risen. Death does not have the final
word. Love and life are stronger than fear and death.
Everything is new. Anything is possible with God. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
This was a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">perplexing</i> new reality.
But they follow in faith--without fully grasping the meaning of it all. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Isn’t that what a lot of us do? You and I may not fully understand what
happened on that first Easter Sunday long ago. That’s why we call it a mystery!
Yet every now and then, if only for a fleeting moment, Jesus is especially
alive and real to us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In the coming weeks we’ll hear some of the stories about how the Risen Christ
appeared to his disciples. They recognize him as the Risen Christ.
Then he vanishes from their sight. It’s a pattern that’s common in the
resurrection stories. Jesus is there. Then he’s gone. Though
they experience his presence, they can’t grab on to him and keep him
there. But they come to know the Risen Christ in powerful ways in their
daily lives and work. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
It was not at the empty tomb that these people came to know the Risen
Christ. It was as they sought to follow him--as they experienced his
power and love in their lives and among the community of faith-- that they knew
his presence. As they followed the Risen Christ, they were transformed
into Easter people!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the days following Jesus’
crucifixion, the first disciples were huddled behind locked doors, trembling in
fear. But over time, they were transformed and empowered to witness
to the Gospel.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In the early days of the church growing numbers of people came together
for prayer and to study the scriptures and became more and more
generous and loving in their relationship with others. People looked at
Christians and exclaimed, “See how they love one another! See how joyful they
are!” And they wanted to be a part of that movement. Even though,
in the earliest centuries of the church, following Christ could bring
persecution, the church grew like wildfire and transformed the world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Easter is perplexing. But Easter
isn’t just about saying we believe in the resurrection. Easter is about saying
“no” to the power of death and destruction that surrounds us. It’s about
trusting in the sustaining power of God, who brings life out of death…and
reconciliation out of conflict, as the scriptures tell us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s about committing ourselves to the gospel
claim that opens the door to new life—for ourselves and for acts of love and
reconciliation in the world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Our Holy Week journey moves us from
pain and suffering of Jesus and the pain and suffering in the world-- to hope. We
see the continuing open wounds of structural racism, patriarchy, and other
forms of oppression and injustice. We see Islamophobia, anti-Semitism,
Nativism, and other forms of hatred practiced more virulently and openly than
at any time in recent memory. Every day we get more scientific information that
shows us that we’re running out of time to avoid the most catastrophic levels
of climate change. We also see crowd-funding campaigns for people trying to pay
for medical procedures or even basic maintenance medications like insulin and
hear stories of people who died because they couldn’t afford the treatment they
needed.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This week, we observed the twentieth anniversary of the
Columbine School massacre and mourn that the United States now averages nearly one
mass shooting a day.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In one of the richest countries of the world,
we don’t seem to have the political will to address the unjust policies that
support <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">growing income inequity
and cruel immigration policies. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Easter is a reminder every year that
pain and loss and death don’t have the final word. The resurrection of Jesus
Christ teaches us that there always is and always will be hope. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The first disciples went to the tomb that first Easter looking for a dead
Messiah. But what they found was an empty tomb. They were
confused and fearful. But within a few days, the followers of Jesus were
telling the world that Christ, the King of Love, was alive and making all
things new.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
We have come to the tomb and found it empty. Like those first disciples,
we have been given a mission and a message to tell the others. We, too,
need to look beyond the empty tomb... and trust God to show us the risen
and living Savior and the new life to which we are called. Like those
first disciples, we are witnesses of amazing things. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
So-- what do we do about that? Tune in-- same time, same place-- next
Sunday and the following Sundays, as we discover together more about what it
means to be God's Easter people in this new time. Easter isn't over at the end
of Easter Sunday. This is the beginning of Easter-tide, the season
when we are led further into God's truth for God's Easter people…further into
God’s new creation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In this broken and fearful world, “the Spirit gives us courage to pray without
ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask
idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Every act of love, every deed done in the name of Christ, by the power of the
Spirit… every work of true creativity—healing families, doing justice, making
peace, seeking and winning true freedom—is an earthly event in a long history
of things that carry the resurrection out into the world and anticipate the
final new creation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The good news for us today is that when we gather in Christ's name, Christ will
be with us, calling us into to hope and wholeness and freedom.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Christ is risen!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Rev. Fran
Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Dearborn, Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">April 21,
2019</span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> David Lose, “If It’s Not Hard to
Believe, You’re Probably Not Paying Attention,” at Working Preacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?post=2498"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">http://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?post=2498</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: red;"></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Jim Wallis, “Moving from Pain to
Hope this Holy Week,” from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sojourners.</i>
</span><a href="https://sojo.net/articles/moving-pain-hope-holy-week"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">https://sojo.net/articles/moving-pain-hope-holy-week</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">German Lopez, “20 Years after
Columbine, America sees roughly one mass shooting a day.” </span><a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/4/19/18412650/columbine-mass-shootings-gun-violence-map-charts-data"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">https://www.vox.com/2019/4/19/18412650/columbine-mass-shootings-gun-violence-map-charts-data</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> “A
Brief Statement of Faith.” Presbyterian Church (USA), 1990.</div>
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<br />RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-75969570960266601742019-04-14T14:31:00.001-07:002019-04-14T14:37:31.939-07:00"God's Revolution of Love." An Introductory Meditation on the Palm and Passion Sunday scripture texts.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUiv_O5rLlmkoM7R8tZmTR1A6M2MDk8fvUTrObLXf8LsHc-_70_u7LBk39lOAijakfuBb5WoRSOSgUAoRtmayiiS8xQxvdXL5ESVAAkOJMlss9HiKeNLkf5B-IXyb4BX2jIcUhi3hL6JX/s1600/Palm+Sunday_palm+cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="700" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYUiv_O5rLlmkoM7R8tZmTR1A6M2MDk8fvUTrObLXf8LsHc-_70_u7LBk39lOAijakfuBb5WoRSOSgUAoRtmayiiS8xQxvdXL5ESVAAkOJMlss9HiKeNLkf5B-IXyb4BX2jIcUhi3hL6JX/s320/Palm+Sunday_palm+cross.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<h2 align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">"God's Revolution of Love"</span></h2>
<h3 align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18.0pt;">An Introductory
Meditation on Palm and Passion Sunday"</span></b></h3>
<h4 align="center" class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Luke
19:28-40; Luke 22 & 23</span></b></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
A few minutes ago, we heard the story how Jesus entered into Jerusalem on the
back of a donkey on that first Palm Sunday, in a dramatic act of subversive political
theater. Jesus enters into Jerusalem like a king, challenging the authority of
every earthly kind and even of Caesar<i> </i>himself.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Can you imagine
what this must have been like for Jesus’ disciples? Jesus had told them what to
expect. Three times he had said plainly, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“We
are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about
the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be delivered over to the Gentiles.
They will mock him, insult him, and spit on him. They will flog him and kill
him. On the third day, he will rise again.” </i>But I doubt they understood
fully what they would witness later in the week.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There are layers
of subversion in today’s scripture readings. Psalm 118 is a psalm of Passover,
of escape from slavery. It’s a psalm of liberation from oppression. It
celebrates God’s empowerment of people who were once exploited and dehumanized.
It praises the complete upending of power structures that enrich a dominant
ruler or class at the expense of those who are exploited and marginalized.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The
crowd comes out joyfully to meet Jesus, strewing their palm branches and
spreading their cloaks on the road. They pour into the street to welcome their king,
riding on a young donkey—a beast of burden. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<span style="color: black;"> On the other side of</span> the city there was another
parade. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of the region, was entering
the city with his cavalry and foot soldiers, as he did every
Passover. There was often trouble in Jerusalem around the time of
the Passover—a festival that celebrated the Jewish people’s liberation from an
earlier empire, when Moses led them out of Egypt. So, the governor
brought in extra troops to reinforce the troops that were permanently stationed
near the Temple, as a show of power and force.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The story of Palm Sunday, as Luke tells it, draws on Old Testament prophecies
to show Jesus as a messianic king. Six centuries earlier, the prophet Zechariah
had proclaimed a messianic vision of a king like David returning to the throne
in Jerusalem, and Luke uses this imagery in describing Jesus’ procession into
Jerusalem. Zechariah says, <i>“Lo, your king comes to you, triumphant and
victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a
donkey</i>.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The people would have recognized this imagery. So, when Jesus came riding into
Jerusalem, it must have felt to the peasants in the crowd as though they were
on the threshold of an exciting new era. By entering Jerusalem in this
way, Jesus claims to be the legitimate king. This is a
counter-demonstration that challenges the authority of imperial rule over
Jerusalem. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In Zechariah’s prophecy, the new king would banish war<b><i> </i></b>from the
land— no more chariots, war-horses, or military weapons. Jesus’s
procession deliberately countered what was happening on the other side of the
city. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Pilate’s procession embodied the power, glory, and violence<b><i> </i></b>of
the empire that ruled the world, the Roman Empire that exercised power through
military domination, using the cutting-edge military technologies of the day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Jesus’s procession embodied an alternative vision--<b><i> </i></b>the kingdom
of God. His victory will be won through humility and nonviolence and
love. Jesus’ humble claim to a peaceful kingship was radically
counter-cultural. It was politically subversive. This contrast— between the
kingdom of God and the kingdom of Caesar— is central to the gospel
story-- to the story of Jesus and the early church. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">
Jesus enters the city and proceeds to the Temple. Now, in that time, the Temple
wasn’t just a religious center, but also the place where Judean society
interfaced with the Roman Empire. As Robert Williamson points out, it was the
job of the chief priests to collect taxes as tribute for Rome and to keep Judea
functioning smoothly as a loyal Roman province. “Through the Temple,
religious elites kept the Empire operating smoothly. They provided a
theological rationale for the political and economic domination of the Roman
Empire, which enriched the upper classes at the expense of the poor.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
According <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">to Luke’s Gospel,
Jesus returned to the Temple on the following day to overturn the tables and
cast out the money changers, protesting the Temple’s collaboration with an
Empire that enriched the few and oppressed the many. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In a few moments, we are going to hear the story of Christ's Passion, as told
by Luke.<span style="color: red;"> </span>Today and this Holy Week, may we
be startled and challenged into seeing God’s Reign afresh, as the subversive,
empire-challenging reality that it is. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Following Jesus on the way of the cross, we need to choose. Will we collaborate
with the Empire? Or will we choose to participate fully in God’s
revolution of <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">love,</span> which
promises abundant life for all? If we see injustice and evil in the world
around us, will we walk the way of humility and non-violence and love to resist
the that injustice, trusting in God’s abundance and faithfulness?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The good news we hear in the Holy Week story is that God emptied God's self for
the sake of every beloved creature, including you and me-- because it's God's
very<b><i> </i></b>nature<b><i> </i></b>to <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">love</span> us that radically. We know
what God's love is like by seeing it in the self-emptying<b> </b>servanthood
and humility and self-giving on the cross! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
So, let us go there and be with our Lord in his suffering and in his
triumph. See his great love for you... and renew your great
love for Him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Listen for the good news:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At this point, we heard the story of
Christ’s Passion, as told by Luke the Evangelist, in chapters 22 and 23. </span></i><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Luke+22"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Luke+22</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Rev. Fran
Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Dearborn,
Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">April 14,
2019</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">David Lose, Palm / Passion Sunday A.</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span><a href="http://www.davidlose.net/2017/04/palmpassion-sunday-a/"><span style="font-family: "" "helvetica" "" , serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">http://www.davidlose.net/2017/04/palmpassion-sunday-a/</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> Lindsey Paris-Lopez, “Coronation
Before Crucifixion: The Ominious, Subversive Politics of Palm Sunday.” </span><a href="https://www.ravenfoundation.org/coronation-before-crucifixion-the-ominous-subversive-politics-of-palm-sunday-gvbs-year-c/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">https://www.ravenfoundation.org/coronation-before-crucifixion-the-ominous-subversive-politics-of-palm-sunday-gvbs-year-c/</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
Zechariah 9:9</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> <a href="https://robertwilliamsonjr.com/palm-sunday-time-trump/">https://robertwilliamsonjr.com/palm-sunday-time-trump/</a></div>
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<style>@font-face {
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}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }span.FootnoteTextChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }div.WordSection1 { }</style>RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-71464033047442859792019-04-07T13:16:00.000-07:002019-04-07T13:16:08.517-07:00"An Extravagant Love." A Sermon on John 12:1-8 from Littlefield Presbyterian Church on the 5th Sunday in Lent.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tasLHW8xbgFAHyXU1VDSHs8qbhkt5nLvglOyS62OQqQHqoCM8lC7FLQDRb2mt7PUmp-SaZU_fwSfbXHQZkhjy3Aw-WRQohsQsYpDr3Husf6PQlk0lyvLLQuuyS9ijwg4jQ-KOxUxFgPd/s1600/Mary+anoints+Jesus+John+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tasLHW8xbgFAHyXU1VDSHs8qbhkt5nLvglOyS62OQqQHqoCM8lC7FLQDRb2mt7PUmp-SaZU_fwSfbXHQZkhjy3Aw-WRQohsQsYpDr3Husf6PQlk0lyvLLQuuyS9ijwg4jQ-KOxUxFgPd/s320/Mary+anoints+Jesus+John+12.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"An Extravagant Love"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
John 12:1-8</h3>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In the previous chapter of John’s gospel, Lazarus was very ill, and his sisters
Mary and Martha had sent a message to Jesus. Though Jesus loved Martha
and Mary and Lazarus, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was,
before he headed to Bethany. When he got there, Lazarus had already been
in the tomb for four days, and the mourners were there to console Mary and
Martha. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Jesus went to the tomb and said, “Take away the stone.” Martha—always a
practical woman—said to him, “Lord, already there is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">stench</i> because he has been dead four days.” But they took
away the stone that closed the tomb, and Jesus prayed and then called,
“Lazarus, come out!” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Imagine the scene, as Lazarus came out of the tomb, his hands and feet bound
with strips of grave cloths, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus told
the people, “Unbind him, and let him go.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, that’s the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">context.</i> Now, six days before the Passover, Jesus comes to Bethany,
to the home of Lazarus. Once again, the house is filled with family and
friends, and the table is covered with food. Martha is hard at work serving.
Lazarus is reclining with Jesus-- <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Lazarus
who was in the tomb until J</span>esus called him out.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Mary slips away and comes back, holding a clay jar in her hands. Without
a word she kneels at Jesus' feet and breaks it open, and the sharp smell of
nard fills the room. She does a series of remarkable things: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In a room full of men, Mary loosens her hair-- which is something a respectable
woman never did<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>in that culture. She pours balm on Jesus' feet, which
also is not done. Then she touches him-- a single woman caressing
the feet of a rabbi. Also, not done, not even among friends.
Then she wipes the salve off again-- with her hair. It is totally inexplicable--
the bizarre end to an all-around bizarre act.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Judas is quick to point out how extravagant Mary’s action is. "Why
wasn't this ointment sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">poor?<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"</b></i>
That's what Judas wants to know. A day laborer and his family could live
on that much money for a year, and here she has poured it all out on your
feet!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
But Jesus doesn’t see it that way. "Leave her alone,” Jesus
says, brushing all objections aside. "She bought it so that she
might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with
you, but you do not always have me."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Now, that is about as odd a thing to say as anything Mary did. Jesus, who
was always concerned about the needs of the poor and marginalized and putting
their needs ahead of his own, suddenly pulling rank. Leave her
alone. You will have the poor to look after until the end of time.
Just this once, let her look after me, because my time is running out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
poor you always have with you.</i> These words of Jesus have often been
interpreted to mean that Jesus believed poverty is inevitable. As the Rev. Dr.
Liz Theoharis suggested in the book we read for our Lenten study last year, some
people see poverty as an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">individual</i> issue.
Some believe that poverty is a matter of individual sin or moral failure—that people
are poor because they don’t work hard enough…or have made bad choices.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In her book, Liz seeks to show that--far from giving Christian reason to ignore
calls for economic justice, the passage we heard today actually makes “one of
the strongest statements of the biblical mandate to end poverty.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref1;">[1]</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref1;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref1;"></span> She says the passage has been twisted out
of context to justify the belief that poverty as inevitable. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“The poor you always have with you,
but you will not always have me.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some
people would argue from this that we should attend to spiritual needs over, or
instead of, tangible human needs. “Just a closer walk thee,” instead of a march
on Washington. Thoughts and prayers, rather than votes and legislation.
Individual acts of kindness, but keep the church out of the realm of
policy-making and community activism. But there are problems with this interpretation.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As biblical scholar Lindsey Trozzo
writes, we can’t separate Jesus from the poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus brought good news in tangible ways to those who were oppressed and
vulnerable, and in his actions and teaching he challenged the oppressive
political system of his day.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The
poor you will always have with you.”</i> Dr. Trozzo suggests that we may be
reading this wrong. In the Greek, the present indicative form of a word, which
states something, such as “you always have the poor with you,” is similar to
the present imperative form of the word, which commands you to do something.
So, another way to translate this passage would be as a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">command:</i> “Keep the poor among you always.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Going back to the story: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus and the disciples and some close friends
are eating dinner, when Mary brings in a pound of expensive perfume and pours
the perfume on Jesus’ feet. This is an anointing scene. In ancient Palestine,
there were two events that would call for an anointing: a coronation and a
burial. Jesus is about to die. He is going away, but the poor are always with
you. Keep the poor among you always. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, could it be, as Trozzo suggests,
that this passage that has been used to justify disregard for the poor is
actually a direct command to always have Jesus’ mission for and among the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">poor </i>at the center of our mission?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus’ words about the poor echo
Deuteronomy 15:11: “There will never cease to be some in need on the earth.
Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth…. I therefore
command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’” The
15<sup>th</sup> chapter of Deuteronomy outlines the practice of a Sabbatical
year in Israel’s tradition. Every seventh year, the people were instructed to
forgive all debts. They were also instructed to give generously to the poor in
other years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Also, every 50<sup>th</sup> year, they were to have a year
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jubilee,</i> which called for even
greater generosity and debt forgiveness, and release for those who were
enslaved. The context reminds us that Jesus’ teachings about the poor is a
charge to live according to a different value system, and to work toward
systematic change that would include all persons in a community of justice and
abundance. We live in the tension between the reality that poverty is part of
the way our world works today—and the hope of God’s beloved community, where no
one suffers from poverty. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While
Mary’s behavior may have seemed strange to those who were gathered in the house
that night, it was no stranger than that of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">prophets<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>who went before
her. Ezekiel, who ate the scroll of the Lord as a sign that he carried
the word of God around inside of him. Jeremiah, who smashed the clay jar
to show God's judgment on Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah, who walked around
Jerusalem naked and barefoot as an oracle against the nations.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Prophets <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do </i>these things. They
act out the truth that no one else can <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">see<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">.</b></i> Those who stand around watching
either write them off as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">crazy</i>...
or fall silent before the disturbing news they bring from God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
When Mary stood before Jesus with that pound of pure nard, it probably could
have gone either way. She could have anointed his head and everyone there
could have proclaimed him a king. But she didn't do<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>that. When she
moved toward him, she dropped to her knees and poured the salve on his feet,
anointing him for his death. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
This was the action of a faithful disciple. Jesus received from Mary what
he would soon offer to his disciples, wiping his feet with her hair, as Jesus
will wipe his disciples’ feet with a towel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with ointment so precious that its sale might have
fed a poor family for a year. Mary’s act was an extravagant act of love,
a model of faithful discipleship—in contrast to Judas’s unfaithful
response. In the story, Judas represents the voice of reason and
practicality.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
I think this story invites us to identify not just with Mary or Judas. In the
figure of Mary, Christian discipleship is an act of adoration and gratitude to
the One who is holy. In her silent, prophetic act, she draws our
attention not to herself--but to Jesus<span style="color: red;">. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The good news is the grace of Jesus Christ includes
them both, both the faithful and the unfaithful. Both are included within
the bright, transforming light the cross casts in a dark world. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
How do we respond to Jesus’ self-emptying, extravagant love? With a
calculating, practical, careful way of life, like Judas? Or does Christ
call us to live lives of extravagant love? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The heroes in the scriptures are at their best when they live out their faith
abundantly, extravagantly. Noah building an ark when there isn’t a cloud
in the sky. Abraham and Sarah packing up everything they owned
and heading for God only knows where. Joseph marrying a woman who is pregnant
with a child who is not his. Peter and John announcing to those who
imprisoned them, “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and
heard.” As Paul said, “We are fools for Christ’s sake.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Over history there have been other fools for Christ: Saint Francis,
giving up his material wealth, living among the poor. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
returning to Germany and witnessing to his faith, eventually <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dying</i></b>
for it, rather than staying safely in New York. Desmond Tutu, challenging
the powers that be, when he knew it could <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cost</i></b> him. Fools for
Christ do not live a careful, calculating life-- but an abundant, extravagantly<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>loving
life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Mary’s love was uncalculating. She was too caught up in her love and
gratitude for Jesus to be concerned with her own scandalous behavior and
extravagance. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Jesus said, I came that they might have life—life <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">abundant.</i> We are called to a life of extravagant
faithfulness. If we follow Christ, we will not calculate what is easiest or
what will look best. If we follow Christ, we will not be stingy or
calculating.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Mary showed us that she was beginning to understand that we don't need to
hold back, out of fear. Whatever we need, there will be enough to go
around, for there is nothing frugal about the love of God, or about the
lives of those who are devoted to him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Where God is concerned, there is always <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more</i>--
more than we can either ask or imagine-- gifts from our gracious, extravagant
Lord." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Thanks be to God!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Rev. Fran
Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Dearborn,
Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">April 7,
2019</span></div>
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<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Liz Theoharis, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Always with Us? What Jesus Really Said About the Poor. William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 2017. </span></i><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> Lindsey Trozzo, “Commentary on
John 12:1-8 at Working Preacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"> </a><a href="http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3993"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3993</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span></div>
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<style>@font-face {
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}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }span.FootnoteTextChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }div.WordSection1 { }</style>RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-41543502611534713202019-03-31T11:48:00.001-07:002019-03-31T11:53:27.656-07:00"A God Who Never Gives Up On Us." A Sermon on Luke 15 on the Fourth Sunday in Lent.<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></h2>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJ13VemhvOX3joKgz0fAnUq7IrXy5bC5eCieC3FXh3XZ4l9PiNrjGALbE5HYfrD-5kNTtrku8KiSOWVUudMo0WkjSxJp-c-B23KYhIZYkuDMWvGGLYocOZepZGsrqgLG14eIRQ1I95_18/s1600/Rembrandt_Harmensz_van_Rijn_-_Return_of_the_Prodigal_Son_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJ13VemhvOX3joKgz0fAnUq7IrXy5bC5eCieC3FXh3XZ4l9PiNrjGALbE5HYfrD-5kNTtrku8KiSOWVUudMo0WkjSxJp-c-B23KYhIZYkuDMWvGGLYocOZepZGsrqgLG14eIRQ1I95_18/s320/Rembrandt_Harmensz_van_Rijn_-_Return_of_the_Prodigal_Son_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rembrandt, "Return of the Prodigal Son"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">"A God Who Never Gives Up On Us"</span></h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Luke 15:1-3, 11-32</span></h3>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Writing in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Christian Century,</i> Justo Gonzalez tells about a story that made him giggle
when he was a boy, about a man who went to the movies. When he saw the
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer roaring lion at the beginning, he decided that he’d already
seen that movie and walked out of the theater. “Silly as the story may be,”
Gonzalez says, “I now take it as a warning—because many of us do something
similar when we hear scripture that we already know well.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“There was a man who had two sons,” we hear in today’s
Gospel lesson. We immediately recognize this as the beginning of the prodigal
son, so there’s a temptation to decide that we don’t have to pay much
attention, because we think we already know the story and its meaning. But when
we really listen to it, scripture can surprise us. This is word of God. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we read it afresh, God speaks to us and
our circumstances, and helps us to hear a new word.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The story we know as the “Parable of the Prodigal Son” is
one of three parables Jesus tells in Luke 15. The thing the three stories have
in common is the theme of being lost. The shepherd loses a sheep, a woman loses
a coin, and the father loses a son. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The introduction provides the context of the stories.
They’re a response to how the Pharisees and scribes have been grumbling and
criticizing Jesus, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and even eats with them!”
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The parable is responding to the
Pharisees and scribes—not primarily to those whom they consider sinners or
outcasts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Jesus doesn't argue with them. He just tells them a series of stories,
about a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep to fend for themselves while he
went out after one stray... about a woman who turns her house upside down
in order to find one lost coin... and about a compassionate father who
deals graciously with his two sons. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, I want to remind us that the Pharisees and scribes were
deeply religious people. They were very concerned with obeying God and all the
religious laws of Judaism. From their perspective, it was those other
people—the tax collectors and sinners—who were lost. They were unlikely to
identify themselves with the lost sheep or the lost son. They were more likely
to identify with the ninety-nine sheep or the obedient elder son. So, they
probably would have been shocked to hear in the story that the shepherd leaves
the ninety-nine sheep to go searching for the one lost sheep…or to see the
elder son missing the feast celebrating his brother’s return. These parables
would have challenged their understanding that they were the faithful, obedient
ones.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">All three stories address the Pharisees'
concern that Jesus is condoning sin by keeping company with people they judge
to be unacceptable. All three parables reply that God is too busy rejoicing
over found sheep, found coins, and lost children to worry about
what they did while they were lost. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Jesus declares: “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one
sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no
repentance…. I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over
one sinner who repents.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">
I was reminded this week of Rembrandt’s painting, “The Return of the Prodigal
Son,”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
and I spent some time meditating on that image. I also re-read parts of Henri
Nouwen’s book with the same title.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Nouwen tells about his first encounter with the painting when he saw a poster
in a friend’s office, and was deeply moved by it. He said it made him
want to cry and laugh at the same time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Several years later, friends invited him to go with them on a trip to what was
then the Soviet Union, and they made arrangements for him to spend a few hours
at the <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Hermitage in Saint
Petersburg </span>with the painting that been on his heart and mind for several
years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The painting is hung in the natural light of a nearby window. In the
hours Nouwen studied it, the light kept changing, and at every change of the
light, he would see a different aspect revealed. I think Nouwen’s
discovery in this painting points us to the amazing gift this parable is to
us. No matter how often we hear it, there is always a new angle or
perspective, a new revelation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think it would good for us to
listen to the parable of the two sons, to meditate on it a few more times this
Lent, and to try moving back and forth between seeing ourselves as the lost son
who is welcomed home with open arms… and the obedient elder brother who
apparently thinks he is more deserving. Lent is a good time to ponder both the
grace of the God who seeks us and refuses to give up on us and welcomes us home
and also the temptation that religious people face, when we think that we are
better or more faithful than those other people. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Luke the Evangelist tells the story so simply and in such a matter-of-fact way
that it’s difficult to comprehend that what happens is un-heard of.
Biblical scholar Kenneth Bailey says that the way the son leaves amounts
to wishing his father dead. Bailey writes:<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
“For over fifteen years I have been asking people of all walks of life from
Morocco to India and from Turkey to the Sudan about the implications of a son’s
request for his inheritance while the father is still living. The answer has
always been emphatically the same…the conversation runs as follows:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
“’Has anyone ever made such a request in your village?’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
‘Never!’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
‘Could anyone ever make such a request?’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
‘Impossible!’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
‘If anyone ever did, what would happen?’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> ‘His
father would beat him, of course!’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
‘Why?’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
‘The request means—he wants his father to die.’”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Scholars tell us that the younger of two brothers would have expected to
inherit a third of the father’s property when he died. Kenneth Bailey
explains that the son asks not only for the division of the inheritance, but
also for the right to dispose of his part. Even after dividing the
property and signing over his possessions to his son, normally the father still
would have the right to live off the proceeds…as long as he is alive. But this
son lets his father know that he can’t wait for him to die, and demands his
money, which would have meant his father would have needed to sell off a third
of the family estate.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The son’s leaving is a rejection of his home and the values of his family and
community. He leaves everything to go to a “distant country.” He squanders
his property in self-indulgent, immoral living. Then there was a severe
famine, and he began to be in need. He was so desperate that he—this
Jewish boy—hired himself out to take care of pigs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In time, the younger son hits bottom. Out in the pigsty, he finally comes
to his senses. “Here I am starving,” he said to himself, “when back at
home my father’s hired hands have more than enough to eat.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
As he trudges along the dusty road toward home, he rehearses what he'll say to
his father: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before
you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. So, treat me like
one of your hired hands."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Meanwhile, back at home, the father has been scanning the horizon, longing to
see his son and welcome him home. When he sees his beloved lost son
trudging home, the father is filled with compassion. He does a very
un-dignified thing. He hikes up his robes and runs to meet him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
When he reaches his son, he throws his arms around him and kisses him, before
the son has a chance to say anything. The son starts to apologize:
"Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer
worthy to be called your son."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Before he can say any more, the father says to his servants, "Hurry--
bring out a robe-- the best one-- and put it on him. Put a ring on his
finger and sandals on his feet." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In doing this, he shows that he's welcoming his son back as a son, rather than
as a servant. The son must have been speechless with astonishment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
But the father isn't through yet. "Kill the fatted calf," he
orders. "We're going to have a feast and celebrate, for this son of mine
was dead and is alive again. He was lost-- and now he's found!"
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The household bursts into activity, and soon a joyous feast is underway. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The younger son never dreamed that his father loved him so deeply. There
were no "I told you so's." This son's life was far more
precious to the father than being right, or putting his son in his place.
The younger son finally saw deep into his father's heart that day-- <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> and what he saw was pure love.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When
the elder son gets back from work, he’s surprised to hear music and
dancing. "What's going on?" he asks one of the
servants. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The servant tells him, "Your brother has come home, and your father has
killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The elder brother refuses to go in to the party. Luke doesn't tell us why,
but my hunch is that he wasn't angry because his younger brother came
back. Maybe he wasn't even angry because his father forgave him.
But the party-- that was another matter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Let the sinners come home, by all means. But what about facing the consequences
of your actions? Where's the moral instruction in that kind of welcome?
What kind of a world would this be, if we all made a practice of having a party
for sinners, while the dutiful, obedient folk are still working in the fields?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
His father comes out and begins to plead with him. "Your brother has
come home, son. He was lost and now he is found. Come in to the
party and celebrate with us!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Do you hear how he answers his father? "Listen!" he
says. "For all these years I have been working like a slave for you,
and I have never disobeyed your command! I've done my duty and followed
all your rules. Yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I
might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back,
who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for
him!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">
God help him, the elder son. God help all of us who understand his hurt
and resentment that run so deep that we cut ourselves off from the very ones
whose love and acceptance we so desperately need.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">
"This son of yours,” </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the elder brother says, excluding
himself from the family in those words. This son of yours, who is
no kin to me. The older son believes his father has chosen the younger
brother over him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The father knows that he has lost this son to a life of self-righteousness and resentment
that takes him so far away from his father that he might as well be away in a
far country.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The elder son wants his father to love him as he thinks he deserves to be
loved-- because he has stayed home and done the right thing-- the dutiful
thing. He wants his father to love him for all of that. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">His father does love him, but not for any of that-- any more
than he loves the younger brother for what he has done. He doesn't love
either of his sons according to what they deserve. He just loves them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But the dutiful older brother can't comprehend a love that
transcends right and wrong... a love that throws homecoming parties for sinners
and expects the hard-working righteous people to rejoice. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
He can't stand it, and so he stands outside. Outside his father's house
and his father's love-- refusing his invitation to come inside to the party.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
But his father turns out to be a prodigal, too-- at least as
far as his love is concerned. He never seems to tire of giving it
away. "Son," he says, “you are always with me. All that
is mine is yours."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
"It was necessary that we celebrate and be glad," the loving father
says to his older son, “for this your brother"-- not just my son, but your
brother--” was dead, and is alive. He was lost and is found."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In other words, the father is saying, “I’m welcoming my son back because it
makes me happy to do it. I love him as I love you—not because of what
either of you deserves…but because you are my children. I’m thrilled and
relieved to have him back home. The only thing that could make me happier
right now would be to have you with me too…to have the whole family at the
table together.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
I don’t think Jesus is telling us that we shouldn’t take sin seriously. Our
Reformed faith teaches us that we are all sinners. But I believe Jesus is
showing us that we need to take GRACE seriously. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
It is by God’s grace that we are all beloved children of God. It is by
grace that each one of us receives not the love we deserve—but the love God
wants to give us. Whether we see ourselves more like the older brother or
the younger brother, we can rejoice because God loves us all abundantly, out of
God’s grace.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The parable doesn't tell us how it all turned out. The story ends with
the elder brother standing outside the house in the yard with his father,
listening to the party going on inside.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Jesus leaves it that way, I think, because it's up to each of us to finish the
story. It's up to you and to me to decide. Will we stand outside
the celebration of love and grace? Or will our yearning for love win us
over? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
We're invited to go inside and join the party. Like the loving father in
the story, God refuses to give us the love we deserve... but persists in
giving us the love we need… and rejoices over the return of every lost child.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Thanks be to God for God’s amazing grace!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Amen!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Rev. Fran
Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Dearborn,
Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">March 31,
2019</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<span style="color: red;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes;">
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<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
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<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> Justo
L. Gonzalez, “What if we are the Pharisees?” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Christian Century</i>, February 26, 2019. <a href="https://www.christiancentury.org/article/living-word/march-31-lent-4c-luke-151-3-11b-32"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;">https://www.christiancentury.org/article/living-word/march-31-lent-4c-luke-151-3-11b-32</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></div>
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</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rembrandt
Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1606-1669. “Return of the Prodigal Son,” and oil
painting likely completed within two years of the artist’s death in 1669.
The original is in the Hermitage, Museum in Saint Petersburg. </span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Henri
J. M. Nouwen, <i>The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming</i>.
Doubleday, 1992.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kenneth
E. Bailey, quoted in Nouwen, Location 449 in Kindle Edition.</span></div>
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}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }span.FootnoteTextChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }div.WordSection1 { }</style>RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-92101743982788860802019-03-24T15:19:00.000-07:002019-03-24T15:24:41.182-07:00"God of Second Chances." A Sermon from Littlefield Presbyterian Church on Luke 13:1-9<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJSDJD8Bf-0ZDwtQTBv4NWnMr1vKJxCBRqYXcnz24T6XDWemulsTYhn5eWT0czcwUSTouKbRM42f6uvj4I4v13el8rafhm6qruZVoZtx9vTeZEloBioo73a9TCzxidRB_GnEpCpkra16c/s1600/fig+tree_Luke+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="400" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJSDJD8Bf-0ZDwtQTBv4NWnMr1vKJxCBRqYXcnz24T6XDWemulsTYhn5eWT0czcwUSTouKbRM42f6uvj4I4v13el8rafhm6qruZVoZtx9vTeZEloBioo73a9TCzxidRB_GnEpCpkra16c/s320/fig+tree_Luke+13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"God of Second Chances"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Luke 1:1-9</h3>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
the headlines are grim, when things go terribly wrong, we try to make sense of
things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually, pretty much anyone
who thinks about God eventually asks: “Why do bad things happen to good
people?” They wonder if God causes calamity. Or if tragedy—either on a large
scale or small—is a punishment for sin?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
think we may ask these kinds of questions because tragedy or disasters—whether
caused by nature, like the devastation we’re seeing in parts of our nation’s
Midwest or in southern Africa, or caused by humans, like the terrorist attack
at the mosques in New Zealand—confront us with chaos and violence and challenge
our sense of order or stability. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
try to make sense out of what happens. We struggle to figure out where God is
in the midst of it. We think: there must be a reason.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Do you think that because these Galileans
suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Or:
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Those
eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think
that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?”</i></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times";">Jesus
points to two calamities that may have been subjects of recent conversation
around the local watering hole-- one an instance of state-sanctioned <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">terror,</i></b>
and one a random <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">accident.</i></b> Both saw people snuffed out with little warning and
for no clearly apparent reason. Both kinds of events remind us to how precarious
our existence is. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Do
bad things happen because people are bad<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The victims of the severe
storms, tornadoes and flooding in the United States…or the flooding from the
cyclone in southern Africa—have they been suffering because they’re worse
sinners than people who haven’t been affected by disasters? The victims of the
latest terrorist attack in New Zealand—did they do something to deserve to be
shot?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
bad things happen, we may long for a cause-and-effect scenario, so we can
explain away suffering as a way of distancing ourselves from it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We might even wish sometimes that God would
give people we think are evil or wrong the punishment <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we</i> think they deserve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">problem</i> with that is that isn’t the way
God works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
Jill Duffield <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">once pointed </span>out,
“The problem with making our relationship with God a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">transactional </i>one, rather than a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">covenantal </i>one—is that, at some point, the math just won’t add
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will be persecuted by Pilate for
no reason other than Pilate chooses to persecute us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or the tower will fall on us because we were
at the wrong place at the wrong time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
might seek a reason, some logical explanation, some underlying purpose and it
simply will not be there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Then</i> what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are we bad people?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God forsaken?”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Kate
Bowler is a professor at Duke who has researched and written about the “prosperity
gospel” for some time. She’s been wrestling with how a prosperity gospel
theology that claims the righteous are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">blessed</i>
impacts her understanding of being diagnosed with stage IV cancer at age
35.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">In a piece in the New York Times a few years ago, she wrote:<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Put simply, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">prosperity gospel</i> is the belief that God
grants health and wealth to those with the right kind of faith… and that “tragedies
are simply tests of character.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Kate wrote, “It is the reason a
neighbor knocked on our door to tell my husband that everything happens for a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">reason</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I’d love to hear it,” my husband
said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Pardon?”
she said, startled.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“’I’d
love to hear the reason my wife is dying,’ he said, in that sweet and sour way
he has.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
Kate writes, “My neighbor wasn’t trying to sell him a spiritual guarantee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there was a reason she wanted to fill
that silence around why some people die young and others grow old and fussy about
their lawns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wanted some kind of order<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>behind
this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">chaos.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">opposite</i> of “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">#</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">blessed” </b>is leaving a husband and a
toddler behind, and people can’t quite let themselves say it: ‘Wow. That’s
awful.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There has to be a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">reason,</i> because without one we are left
as helpless and possibly as unlucky as everyone else.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Kate
thinks the “prosperity gospel” people may wonder: is she a worse sinner?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did she smoke?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did she eat poorly?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not exercise enough?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bad genes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We hope for an answer that will explain <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">why</i> she has cancer—an answer that will help us feel safe from
getting it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
think questions about who sinned or who is the worst sinner are irrelevant<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>here.
In today’s gospel lesson, </span>Jesus gets pulled into a worried conversation
about the latest news cycle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times";">Jesus implies that the victims did nothing wrong, nothing
that caused their demise. </span></div>
<div class="Sermon" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It's such a tempting equation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Jesus won't go there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He denies that there is a simple<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>connection
between what happens to people and the punishment of God.</span></div>
<div class="Sermon" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Does this mean that God never
punishes us for our sins?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not necessarily. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there are natural consequences for things
we do. If we build houses on flood plains, we’ll be flooded out at some
point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we insist on fighting wars, people will
suffer and die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we drink heavily, if
we smoke, if we have poor eating habits, there will be health consequences. If
we pollute the environment, there will be all kinds of negative
consequences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="Sermon" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But Jesus doesn’t get into all of
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He simply denies that there’s a
simple connection between what happens to people and the punishment of
God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="Sermon" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What Jesus <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">does</i> say in today’s gospel lesson is, “Unless you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">repent,</i> you will all perish as they
did.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The issue is not why <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">the tornado hit that particular town or
why the hurricane did so much damage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>God
didn’t single out these people for punishment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The issue is whether or not you and I will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">repent.</i></span></div>
<div class="Sermon" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For
the entire previous chapter in Luke, Jesus has been calling for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">repentance</i>—for lives turned around to
embrace God’s mercy and gift of new life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But people think he is talking about someone else—the Galileans Pilate
had slaughtered as they worshiped, or the eighteen killed in Siloam when that
tower fell on them. </span></div>
<div class="Sermon" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Like
most of us, they try to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deflect </i>Jesus’
challenging words about repentance or avoid responsibility by comparing
themselves and saying, “We’re not bad as they are." But Jesus will have
none of it and makes the point that this is not about comparing ourselves with
others.</span></div>
<div class="Sermon" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Unless
you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">repent--</i>you will all perish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unless <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>repent. </span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus
follows this cheery thought with a story about an un-productive fig tree that
gets one more chance.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b>The
parable clarifies Jesus’ motivations for previously exhorting people to
“repent.” </span><br />
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Give it another year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cultivate the soil some more, and add some
more manure, and give it another chance to bear fruit.” </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A
lot of people hear <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“repentance”</i> and
think of <i><span style="font-family: "times"; font-style: normal;">behavior</span></i> and <i><span style="font-family: "times"; font-style: normal;">guilt</span></i>, as if Jesus’ primary goal
was to reform personal morality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I
think this is a misunderstanding. </span><br />
<div class="Sermon" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>To repent is not so much a matter of
giving up certain habits or practices… or about being <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sorry</i></b>—turning toward
God’s way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Greek word that we
translate as repentance—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">metanoia</i>—means
“to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">turn</i>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
we repent, we see things differently, and we come to new understandings of what
God makes possible…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>about how God wants
us to live… and about what the world is like when God’s will is done.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
Jesus says, “Unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did,” he isn’t
saying that repenting will extend our lives or offer some kind of miraculous
shield against super-storms or disease or catastrophe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather, our repentance will lead to bearing fruit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we turn toward God’s ways and see things
as God wants us to see them, we will live further into God’s intentions for us.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When Jesus calls us to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">repent</i>, he’s inviting us to discover God as the source of our sustenance…
belonging… meaning… and hope in this difficult life-- and into the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Repentance is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">change</i> that occurs within us when God meets us and re-shapes the
way we see everything. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">As a gardener and someone
who grew up in farm country, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I
</span><span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">love the
parable of the fig tree-- especially the image of manure being spread over the
roots of our lives, to help us grow into who we are created and called to be. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is willing to give us another chance… and
can use anything and everything in our lives to help us grow, rooted and
grounded in Christ, to produce good fruit. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">So, I wonder:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does it take to turn us around?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How much manure does it take to bend our
imaginations to trust in God and to live hopeful, faithful lives?</span></div>
<div class="Sermon" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I believe God uses various kinds of spiritual
disciplines to cultivate and fertilize our souls. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This cultivation can break up the hard soil
that forms around our hearts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, with
the help of the good Gardener, we will bear sweet juicy fruit-- the fruits of
the Spirit.</span></div>
<div class="Sermon" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The good news in the story we heard
today is that we worship a God who doesn't want to give up on us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Jesus, God calls us to live transformed lives.
If we will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">turn</i> to the God who
created us and loves us, we will have life and we will have it abundantly.</span></div>
<div class="Sermon" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Thanks be to God!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amen!</span></div>
<div class="Sermon" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Rev. Fran
Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Dearborn,
Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">March 24,
2019</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Jill Duffield, “3<sup>rd</sup> Sunday of
Lent-February 28, 2016”, posted at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Presbyterian Outlook</i> at </span><a href="http://www.pres-outlook.org/"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">www.pres-outlook.org</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> Kate Bowler, “Death, the Prosperity Gospel and Me,” </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/opinion/sunday/death-the-prosperity-gospel-and-me.html?_r=0"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/opinion/sunday/death-the-prosperity-gospel-and-</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">me.html?_r=0</span></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZt9erU5oabACMVwJlXRJI6wg7JyOHmBHi7Iy-mt7JBwWbR870NnzmBimo5Rreg68iIhOYo65gvej0UjXHloeYG6VKZpO2lkJXTGFatJK2h7-QIwlG2mNXyDElQDmtpoip8VX-sq63wG5/s1600/Dominus+flevit+mosaic_hen+chicks_writing+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="377" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZt9erU5oabACMVwJlXRJI6wg7JyOHmBHi7Iy-mt7JBwWbR870NnzmBimo5Rreg68iIhOYo65gvej0UjXHloeYG6VKZpO2lkJXTGFatJK2h7-QIwlG2mNXyDElQDmtpoip8VX-sq63wG5/s400/Dominus+flevit+mosaic_hen+chicks_writing+.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mosaic on altar in Dominus Flevit chapel on Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">"How often have I desired to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!"
</span></span></i>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"What Makes Jesus Weep?"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Luke 13:31-35</h3>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first time I visited the Holy Land in 2006, I felt very
moved by the sight of the Dominus Flevit chapel every time we drove near it on
the bus. So, I made sure that, when I led a small group on a pilgrimage in 2009,
we took the time to walk down the Mount of Olives and visit Dominus Flevit. <span style="color: black;">The chapel was built near the spot traditionally said to be
where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. The church’s name, in Latin, means “the Lord
wept.” The shape of the church is in the form of a tear drop. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The church features a beautiful picture window that faces west, overlooking
Jerusalem, in the direction Jesus was looking as he wept over the city.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "" serif "" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Below the window, on the front of the altar, is a picture of
what never happened in that city. It is a mosaic medallion of a white hen
with a golden halo around her head, which reminds us that Jesus compared himself
to a chicken. The mother hen’s wings are spread wide to shelter the pale
yellow chicks that crowd around her feet. The hen looks ready to protect her
beloved chicks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The
medallion is rimmed with red words in Latin. Translated into English it
reads, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones
those who are sent to it! How often have I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">desired</i>
to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
and you were not willing!" The last phrase is set outside the
circle, in a pool of red underneath the chicks’ feet: “You were not willing.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How
often have I desired.</i> As John Wurster wrote in his recent blog post, this
phrase points us to something significant about who Jesus is. Jesus yearns to
gather us to himself, to shelter us, to be in relationship with us. How often
have I desired to gather you, and you were not willing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too often, we hide. We resist. We follow our
own way, try to live by our own version of the truth. And yet God keeps longs
to be in relationship with us and keeps seeking us out.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
It’s a very vulnerable stance when there are foxes or other predators around
and you're the mother hen. When told that Herod wants to kill him, Jesus
replies, "Go and tell that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fox</i> for
me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I
must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside
of Jerusalem.'" </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus is in very clear and present danger as he faces Jerusalem.
He knows this. The prophet’s job is to speak truth to power, tell
hard truths that people don’t want to hear. We know the prophet is right when
the point to a sin that entangles us—when they name those fragilities we most
fear.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As Eric Baretto says, if we know how and where to look, we
find prophets today in all kinds of places. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Prophets don’t predict what is next.
They look at the world as it is and, through their God-suffused imagination,
see it <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">transformed.</b> What if violence
and death were <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">not</b> the order of the
day? What if <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">compassion</b>, not
selfishness, reigned in our midst? What if we could all see ourselves and our
neighbors as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">God</b> sees us?</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Baretto continues: “The prophet plants herself in the
present, in all its blessedness and mire, and says <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">God is present here</span>. She declares a new world, and in this bold,
courageous declaration, God acts. In the very act of speaking a God-inspired
word of consolation and hope, prophecy comes to life in our midst—as we lift
our hands to serve our neighbor and move our feet to go to the most desolate
places and discover there that God and God’s servants are very much alive, very
much present. We find that such places are not so desolate after all.</span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></b></span></span></span></a></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus is headed to Jerusalem and certain death. He uses the
image of a mother hen who shields her chicks with her own body—and her very
life, to express the wondrous love of God. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
"I must be on my way,” Jesus said. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Must.</i> Jesus uses that word over and over to indicate the
divine necessity to which he must be obedient. Jesus had already announced
to his disciples, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected
by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day
be raised."<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
This is what Jesus is about-- delivering God's grace because it is his
divine calling. It is what he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">must<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>do. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #003366; font-family: "" "arial" "" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus went to Jerusalem to gather that city and the whole
world under the protective wings of God’s grace. Isn’t this a wonderful
guiding image for the church’s ministry? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we see the protective mother hen as an
image of strength and God’s protecting grace in Jesus Christ, it can be
the pattern for our life together as the church. Acting as a caring hen,
the church needs to seek out God’s children everywhere to bring them under the
protective wing of God’s grace. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That’s a tall order. Where in the world do
we start? </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> I
think we start by looking around our world and asking ourselves, “What makes
Jesus weep?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
I see things that I believe surely make Jesus weep: the violation of basic
human rights of so many of God’s beloved children… people in one of the richest
nations of the world who lack adequate shelter or don’t know where their next
meal will come from… so many of God’s beloved children being killed by gun
violence… systemic racism and poverty…Islamaphobia…ethnic cleansing in the land
we call “Holy”… God’s good creation being ravaged so carelessly… warfare…
children in Yemen dying of hunger…children around the world dying of malaria
and AIDS… families separated at our nation’s borders. The list could go on and
on.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When people asked Jesus what the
most important commandment was, he very clearly said it is to love God
completely and to love one another as ourselves. In his hometown synagogue in
Nazareth, he declared that the spirit had anointed him to proclaim good news to
the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to free those who are oppressed.
In word and deed, Jesus called his followers live as God’s beloved and loving
people, to see all of God’s children as beloved, and to work with others for justice,
freedom, and peace. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, I believe that the hatred and
injustice we see around us in the world, the neglect and outright contempt for
the poor, the idolatries in Church and culture, the fearfulness and violence
surely make Jesus <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">weep.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This past Friday we woke up to hear
that at least 49 Muslims whomassa were gathered for Friday prayers in Christchurch,
New Zealand, in a brutal act of terrorism. (The death count now is at least 50.)
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A gunman mercilessly shot hundreds of
rounds of ammunition with a weapon that was scrawled with neo-Nazi symbols and
the names of white right-wing extremists who had killed others because of their
ethnicity or faith. A manifesto released online laid his motivations out to
bare: to kill Muslim immigrants. He cited white nationalist extremists in the
United States and France and elsewhere as his inspiration. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
When we look around and consider all the things we think make Jesus weep, it
can be overwhelming. It may seem impossible. But because we can’t do <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everything<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>is not a reason to do <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nothing.</i></b> We are called to do what we
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can.</i> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a congregation and in our personal lives, we need to look
for the things in our world that make Jesus weep. And then—because we can’t do <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everything</i>—we need to focus on where the
world’s pain and need meet our deepest passions and our gifts and what we have
to offer in service.<span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">We need to do what we <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can</i></b>
do. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span style="color: black;"> I think we can learn a lot from history<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">,</i></b>
from prophets and activists who saw something that was wrong and did what they
could. In his book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bury the Chains</i>,
Adam Hochschild tells the story of a mass movement in Britain swayed first
public opinion, and finally Parliament, to abolish the slave trade and
later slavery itself within the British Empire.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>think that any of you who have a
passion for peace and justice and interfaith could learn from them and would
enjoy the book.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’m sure it seemed like a hopeless cause to a
lot of folk. But activists formed a broad coalition, energized by Quakers
and evangelical Christians, but reaching across the political and social spectrum,
including people of prophetic faith and shrewd politicians, progressives and
conservatives, elites and outsiders.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
William Wilberforce introduced his first anti-slavery motion into Parliament in
1788. It was defeated, and would be defeated nine more times until it
passed in 1807. They kept working until slavery was abolished altogether,
in 1833.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> In the
United States, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Christians were an important part of
the Underground Railroad. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">In
his book, <i>Bound for Canaan</i>,<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a>
Fergus Bordewich tells how ordinary people, black and white, slave and free,
joined together to do what they believed was right, in a movement of civil
disobedience that challenged prevailing social mores and local and federal law.
Bordewich estimates that the network of men and women who harbored or conducted
fugitive slaves, plus those who assisted with food, clothing, and legal
assistance, numbered more than 10,000, and that they carried an estimated
100,000 fugitives to the far northern states and Canada.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
I believe our Christian faith calls us to a truly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">prophetic<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>faith--- a
holistic faith that is united with the struggle for peace and
justice. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
This faith informs my thinking when I ask, “What makes Jesus weep today?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
I see Jesus weeping over our cities… over our world… over the way humankind has
acted… weeping over how we have failed to be the loving, generous, joyful
people we were <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">created</i> to
be… weeping over the violence and oppression in our
world. I hear God lamenting over our unfaithfulness. God
grieves for us… and longs to protect us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem follows a collection of parables that call for
repentance. I believe that Jesus’ lament over the city of Jerusalem is
less a final judgment on the city and more a call to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">repentance.</i> It calls us to listen for God’s word for us
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">today,</i></b>
and to respond faithfully.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Here at Littlefield, we’ve
been working for several decades at practicing hospitality that welcomes people
who are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">different</i> into our building
for English as a Second Language classes and preschool programs and interfaith
programs and interfaith worship services. Some of you have attended interfaith
events at local mosques and enjoyed the warm hospitality there. These are some
of the ways we build bridges of understanding and nurture relationships. It’s
hard to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hate</i> somebody or to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">afraid<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
</b></i>of them when you’ve shared <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">meals</i>
together and prayed together for healing and peace. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Some of you are growing in
your willingness to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">uncomfortable </i>in
your own spaces, even in your own families, and risk speaking up when someone
says something Islamophobic or anti-Semitic or racist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those of us who live in Dearborn have
neighbors and friends who are Muslim. I know that some of you have had
relatives or acquaintances say something that shows their lack of experience or
understanding, like “What’s it like to live under <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sharia</i> law?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Now, to those of us who
live in Dearborn, that’s a ludicrous question. But we have people in our lives
who live elsewhere, and some of them seem to get their information from
propaganda industries that promote <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fear<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hatred.</i> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">It may seem like a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">small</i> thing when you respond to their
questions or remarks by saying, “I wouldn’t know. We don’t live under <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sharia</i> law in Dearborn.” Or, “I have
wonderful neighbors who bring me food and help me shovel my snow,” or whatever.
It may be a small thing, but it makes a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">difference.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">There is so much
misinformation and fear-mongering and hateful stuff circulating in social
media. So, though it may seem like a small thing, we can commit ourselves to
actively using social media for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good,</i>
by sharing posts that promote respect and compassion and understanding. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Another thing we can do is
to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">show
up</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i> As many of you know, I
make it a priority to show up in the community when there’s a crisis or
something that calls for a faithful, neighborly response. When the travel ban
went into effect, some of you were there to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">represent,</i>
holding your signs that quoted scripture passages that command us to treat
immigrants with hospitality and justice, and reminded us that we are commanded
to love one another as ourselves, and some signs that proclaimed, “We love our
Muslim neighbors.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">I’ve lost count of the
number of candlelight vigils and interfaith services I’ve attended in the past
few years. There have been too many terrible mass shootings. I’ve lost count.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">So, Friday, when I heard
about the massacre in the mosques in New Zealand, I decided it was important
that I reach out in solidarity. I attended Friday prayers at one of our local
mosques. And then I attended the vigil at the Islamic Center of America and was
asked to offer a prayer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since Friday, I’ve
gotten multiple emails and Facebook messages and phone calls from Muslim
friends, thanking me for showing up, and telling me how much my friendship
means to their communities. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">It seems like a small thing,
but it means more than you can imagine to people who are grieving and afraid.
Just as we show up for funerals in our community, it offers comfort and shows
we <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">care</i></b>
when we show up when our friends and neighbors are in need. It isn’t something
that only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pastors</i> can do. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">It’s something any of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i> could do, maybe by going out
two-by-two, to reach out in friendship and solidarity, to embody God’s love for
all God’s beloved people by showing up. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We follow Jesus the Christ, who proclaimed the reign of
God…and broke the power of sin and evil…and calls us to follow him on the way
of self-giving love. This same Jesus claims us as his own and promises to
be with us always…and gives us the power of the Holy Spirit to lead us further
into God’s truth and freedom, and to work with others for justice, freedom and
peace.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amen. So be it!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Rev. Fran
Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Dearborn,
Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">March 17,
2019</span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Luke 19:41-44</div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
John Wurster, “Looking Into the Lectionary, 2<sup>nd</sup> Sunday in Lent,” at
Presbyterian Outlook blog. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://pres-outlook.org/2019/03/2nd-sunday-in-lent-march-17-2019/"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;">https://pres-outlook.org/2019/03/2nd-sunday-in-lent-march-17-2019/</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
Eric Baretto, “You Don’t Want to Be a Prophet (Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11), at
Huffington Post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-dr-eric-d-barreto/you-dont-want-to-be-a-prophet_b_6295910.html"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;">https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-dr-eric-d-barreto/you-dont-want-to-be-a-prophet_b_6295910.html</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Luke 9:22</div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
Adam Hochschild, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bury the Chains:
Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’s Slaves.</i> Mariner Books,
2006. </div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a>
Fergus M. Bordewich, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bound for Canaan:
The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad, America’s First Civil Rights
Movement</i>. Amistad, 2005.</div>
</div>
</div>
<style>@font-face {
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}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }span.FootnoteTextChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }div.WordSection1 { }</style>RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-83014345779536811572019-03-10T13:06:00.001-07:002019-03-10T13:06:24.399-07:00"The Temptation of 'If'.'" A Sermon from Littlefield Presbyterian Church on the First Sunday in Lent. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPHjPfgoOE4jSTKXhkBX2XdScnCjFAI8CAxNmajSylPEW-vBWXA4YzdokdnCInLdt07UKJBkX1JlnPcQLIxY_l0p3uMDZLMYO5RzrEQCpIOovXdRGtc-hLWJdQwANsVrvTm3rItYEi1uN/s1600/Wilderness+Judean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPHjPfgoOE4jSTKXhkBX2XdScnCjFAI8CAxNmajSylPEW-vBWXA4YzdokdnCInLdt07UKJBkX1JlnPcQLIxY_l0p3uMDZLMYO5RzrEQCpIOovXdRGtc-hLWJdQwANsVrvTm3rItYEi1uN/s320/Wilderness+Judean.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"The Temptation of 'If'"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Luke 4:1-13</h3>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">If you were here on Baptism of the Lord
Sunday, you remember that when Jesus had been baptized and was praying, heaven
was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a
dove.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And a voice came from heaven, “You
are my Son, the Beloved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With you I am
well pleased.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">”</i></b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At the age of 30, the man Jesus of Nazareth came to know
that he was the beloved Son of God. </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Afterward, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was led by
the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tested</i> by the devil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The wilderness is hot and barren. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gospel tells us that "he was<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>famished."</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>From somewhere comes a voice--
"If you are God's Son, then command this stone, so that it becomes bread."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Jesus remembers John...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Jordan River...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the sky opening and a voice thundering, “You
are my Son...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the beloved."</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But now there’s a different voice:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If</i>
you are God's Son...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>if you are God's
Son."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A rounded stone could become
a loaf of bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who could it hurt?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i>
God's child-- then why shouldn't he have what he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wants?</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The temptation is to
turn away from the way of sacrifice.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The first temptation in the gospel
story is to choose the easy life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We end
up hungry for the wrong things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The life
focused on security…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>worldly success… or
play...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or earthly pleasure-- is a life
spent looking for substitutes for communion with God.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We're tempted to avoid hard things
like forgiveness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somebody says
something thoughtless that makes you feel stupid...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or devalued.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Someone you thought was your friend hurts<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>you deeply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should forgive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Or we’re faced with a situation
where someone needs to be protected, or where we need to stand up for what’s
right and just. </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>These are the times when it’s hard to
follow Jesus. We’re tempted to do what’s easier.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus understood the temptation of
the easy way. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"One cannot live by
bread alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The adversary tries again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“If you
will worship me, all the kingdoms of the world will be yours.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus could have chosen <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">success</i></b>… and prominence or
wealth-- instead of the way of self-giving love and redemptive suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he didn’t.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times;">The tempter tries again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“If</i>
you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>You know what the scriptures say, “God
will protect you."<span style="font-family: Times;"></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As Shakespeare<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>pointed out, “There is no error so grave but that some sober brow
will not bless it with a proper text."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even Satan quotes scripture.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>First century Jews believed that
when the Messiah came, he would reveal himself from the temple roof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus could be the Messiah the people wanted--
if he would do what they expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Did you notice?<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus responds to all three tests with
Scripture. All three responses are from Deuteronomy, the part of the Torah that
details what covenant relationship looks like, that tells and retells the story
of who God is…and who God’s people are… and how God works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus comes back to the faith that had formed
him, the rote prayers repeated so often that didn’t leave him when he needed
them the most. </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Knowing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">who</i> you are and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">whose</i> you are is essential to your wholeness
as God’s child, and to your awareness of what God wants you to do with your life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Satan’s primary objective isn’t getting you to
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do</i> something wrong-- but to get you
to forget who you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Adversary wants you to lose your
identity…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and your sense of belonging to
the family of God.</span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The ways
Satan tries to convince us that we don’t deserve God’s love are subtle and
clever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And these temptations-- like the
temptations of Christ-- are far more treacherous than an impulse to disobey one
of the commandments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Think about this tricky question: “If
you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>a child of God, then why don’t you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">feel</i> more like one?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
can be deadly, because sometimes we don’t feel much like a beloved member of
God’s family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The temptation is to
believe that-- if you’re not feeling like a child of God-- then maybe you aren’t.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Or about this temptation: “If you are a child of God, why don’t you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">act</i> more like one?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When we’re tempted to forget who we are, we’re in a kind of spiritual
desert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The word “wilderness” or
“desert” has often been used as a symbol for being lost spiritually.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes we don’t feel or act like children
of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it seems as though
we’re wandering around in a wilderness, not knowing who we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Being in a wilderness place is an unavoidable part of the Christian
walk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We fight some of our greatest
spiritual battles when we’re out in the wilderness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a time when we’re confronted with ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and we need to clarify what it is that we
want or desire more than anything else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When we're tempted to forget who we
are...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>when we're tempted to take the
EASY way--<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we're called to follow
Jesus’ example.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus went back to the
scriptures that he learned as a child… the stories he’d heard at home and in
the synagogue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He remembered the things
God had done for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He recalled the
truths God had spoken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">That’s what we’re called to do. We need to remember this story of Jesus
in the wilderness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There were no witnesses to this event but Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, he must have told the disciples-- in the
hope that they would remember.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Remember that we have a savior who
understands our struggle. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember how
Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee and made it
clear what his mission was in his inaugural speech in the synagogue in
Nazareth:</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has sent me to proclaim release to the
captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate those who are
oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Remember who you are:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a beloved child of God, claimed by God’s grace…
and called to work in partnership with Christ to embody God’s love and to work
for reconciliation and justice and peace in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Following Jesus sometimes
leads us into the wilderness, where we are tested and prepared by God for
ministry in this world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It isn’t a comfortable
place to be, but there, in the wilderness we come to rely more and more on God
as the source of our strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
stillness of the wilderness, we quiet ourselves to hear God’s voice and to
meditate on God’s word.</span><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When we’re tempted, everything is at stake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Christians we’re called to carry on
Christ’s saving work in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God
has an important plan for our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So,
as we journey through Lent, let us seek to follow Jesus more
intentionally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The good news is that, beginning with our baptism, God claims us and
calls us and by the Holy Spirit gives us the power we need to carry Christ’s
saving love into the world. </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Thanks be to God!</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Amen! </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rev. Fran Hayes, Pastor</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Littlefield Presbyterian Church</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dearborn, Michigan</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
March 10, 2019</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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</style>RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-44498675321182050382019-03-07T20:07:00.000-08:002019-03-07T20:13:07.159-08:00"Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return." <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAng9TfLhGpK3lJVjUKS72eF9mxB3kvly0r-IPOiyNIOmcXXH1iL4a0vF0c4dJGh6WfZjOY0OPBye7_4ZddNd4yBAmf5SQvoV_Cifj6rxtAUZnoOuOARscgUsZo8XxATLKI6VnaMsHM7U_/s1600/Ash+Wednesday_ash+cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAng9TfLhGpK3lJVjUKS72eF9mxB3kvly0r-IPOiyNIOmcXXH1iL4a0vF0c4dJGh6WfZjOY0OPBye7_4ZddNd4yBAmf5SQvoV_Cifj6rxtAUZnoOuOARscgUsZo8XxATLKI6VnaMsHM7U_/s320/Ash+Wednesday_ash+cross.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Earth to earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ashes to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ashes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dust to dust.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Remember you are dust, and to dust
you shall return.“ </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In much of the Protestant church,
Ash Wednesday wasn’t really observed<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>until the last thirty or forty years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do remember celebrating <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Fasnacht</i> Day,” the Pennsylvania-Dutch
version of Carnival or Shrove Tuesday, or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pasczki</i>
Day. I experienced King cake for the first time a few years ago. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The
Methodist Women of the church in which I grew up made mountains of fried
doughnuts in the church basement to sell to raise money for mission, and I
remember the fragrant deliciousness. Some of us have enjoyed Fat Tuesday pancake
suppers. There are so many <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">delicious</i> ways to use up lard,
butter, sugar, and other fats before the Lenten fast.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">The ancient Church in its wisdom worked out the rhythms of the Christian
year. For many of us who didn’t grow up Catholic, Ash Wednesday was a new
experience at some point. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some congregations
eased into holding an Ash Wednesday service that was centered in the Lord’s
Supper, and maybe in another year or two or more also invited people to have
ashes imposed if they wanted them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe
the first year or two, a few people came forward for Ashes, and then another
year more people wanted ashes.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
think the practice has been growing, as people have recognized that it’s a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gift<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>to
be reminded of our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mortality</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It helps to bring things into <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">focus</i> for us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Last week, as we grieved the loss of
our brother Hank, we gave thanks for the gift of his life, and
witnessed to our faith and hope in the Resurrection. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were reminded, once again, that our days on
earth are numbered. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When we are reminded of our
mortality, we remember that not only are we dust and that we will return to
dust, but we remember those who have gone before us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On Ash Wednesday, we are reminded
that repentance means turning away from our self and turning toward Jesus. We
are that the Lenten journey isn’t just about giving up something, but also
about standing up for someone, because our faith calls us to do so. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The season of Lent can be a time for
peeling away layers of insulation and anesthesia and denial that keep us from
the truth of God’s promises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Lent is about looking at our lives
in as bright a light as possible—the light of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is during this time of self-reflection and
sacrificial giving and prayer that we make our way through the over busy-ness <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the messiness of our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We let go of <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">defending</span></span> ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We let go of our self-loathing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We cut through our arrogance and certainty
and cynicism and ambivalence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What’s so wonderful about Ash
Wednesday and Lent is that through being marked with the cross and reminded of
our own mortality, we grow further into the freedom for which God created us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re reminded that the same God who created
us from the very earth to which we will return <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">delights<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>in us and loves
us in all our broken beauty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the season of Lent, we are
invited to return to God with all our hearts…to remember that God is more
amazingly gracious and merciful than we can imagine. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are invited to remember <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">who</i>
we are and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">whose</i> we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Lent invites us into the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">paschal </i>mystery—to renew our
discipleship, our life in Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
season invites us to live out our baptism—to turn away from sin and to turn to
the abundant way of life God offers us through Jesus Christ. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As we receive the ashes and hear the
promise that you are dust and to dust you shall return, know that it is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">truth</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Know<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>that this truth can set you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">free<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>to live in the awareness <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of our mortality and our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">beloved</i>-ness… and let us turn to live our lives in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">light<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
</b></i>of that truth and love. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Amen!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Rev. Fran
Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Dearborn,
Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">March 6,
2019</span></div>
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</style>RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-37204363755775462442019-03-03T17:13:00.000-08:002019-03-03T17:13:23.280-08:00"Holy Transformation." A Sermon on Transfiguration Sunday.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7FKVteVkCm1QSbsJMllwlqzrFNdJjUhCOrpCxL6BLRxdLnv6CerHF276K6pz7Rm416tqbF9XtZ5gIsecZ3h-JEnK5qb8gFRF8A_DPD88hhbNVWWNT1IC6L7zSaX8cOA9yRlsFW-VqIUPo/s1600/Transfiguration_listen+to+him.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="1277" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7FKVteVkCm1QSbsJMllwlqzrFNdJjUhCOrpCxL6BLRxdLnv6CerHF276K6pz7Rm416tqbF9XtZ5gIsecZ3h-JEnK5qb8gFRF8A_DPD88hhbNVWWNT1IC6L7zSaX8cOA9yRlsFW-VqIUPo/s320/Transfiguration_listen+to+him.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"Holy Transfiguration"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Exodus 34;29-35; Luke 9:28-43 </h3>
<br />
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Many of the great events in the Bible took place up on a mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount
Sinai.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elijah called down fire from
heaven on Mount Carmel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Peter made his
confession of faith on a mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus
often preached on the mount.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That's a
pattern we can see in the scriptures.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In both the Old Testament and Gospel
lessons we heard today, we see a pattern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Generally, when Moses heard God's Word<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>for him and the people of Israel, it was when he was off by
himself...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>away from too much busy-ness
and noise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At times, Moses brought the
Israelites out of the camp...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>away from
the distractions of their everyday work and routine-- to hear God speak to them
directly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When we study the Bible, we see this
pattern of withdrawing-- going apart for awhile to be with God-- and then returning.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sometimes it takes longer than we<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>think it might.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Moses came down from Mount Sinai the
first<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>time after a time apart with
God, he found the Israelites worshiping the golden calf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since they'd broken the covenant, Moses
broke the stone <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tablets</i> containing
the Ten Commandments. </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then Moses made a second<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>trip
up the holy mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He stayed there
forty days and forty nights, fasting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
wrote out the second set of tablets containing the Ten Commandments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He prayed, "Show me your glory,” and
God passed<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>before him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The LORD proclaimed the holy NAME to him and
revealed more of the divine nature than had ever been <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">revealed</b> to the people before, saying, </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"The
Lord... the Lord,</i></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a God merciful and gracious,</span></i></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>slow to anger,</span></i></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and abounding in steadfast love and
faithfulness,</span></i></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>keeping steadfast love for the thousandth
generation,</span></i></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,</span></i></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>yet by no means clearing the guilty....</span></i></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It was after<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>this revelation that Moses came down among the people with his
face shining so brilliantly that the people were afraid to come near him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His appearance had been changed by his time
apart with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There'd been a<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>holy
transformation.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We know from reading the gospels
that after his baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the
wilderness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He spent forty days alone in
the wilderness, fasting and being tested, before he began his ministry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus had been praying alone, with
only his closest disciples near him, when he began teaching them that he would
have to undergo great <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">suffering</i>...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>be rejected by the religious
authorities...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>be killed...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the third day be raised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he told them that anyone who wanted to
be his disciples would have to deny themselves and take up their cross daily<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>and follow him.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It's eight days<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>later when Jesus takes his inner circle of disciples and goes up
on a high mountain to pray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While he
was praying they saw his face change, and his clothes become dazzling
white.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then Peter and James and John
saw Moses and Elijah, talking to Jesus. </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A cloud comes-- a sign of God's
presence, as it had been in the Exodus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From the cloud, a voice speaks:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” echoing the
voice heard when Jesus was baptized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At his baptism, there's a moment
when the veil of the present is stripped away to reveal who Jesus is<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and who he will be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, the disciples are told not only who
Jesus is-- but they also hear that they are to "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">listen</i> to him."</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This strange mountaintop experience
of worship happens on the way to the cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The end of the drama is over the horizon-- a tragedy that will end in
death for Jesus...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the scattering
and disillusionment of his disciples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On
the way, there’s this mountaintop experience that looks toward the
cross...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and yet transfigures the cross
in a burst of revealing light and glory.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On the Sunday of Transfiguration,
just before Lent, the church makes its weary way toward the cross on Good
Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The story we heard talks about
withdrawing and returning-- a dynamic we see throughout the gospels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe this pattern of withdrawal and
return is at the HEART of Christian worship...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>and at the heart of our Christian life.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the midst of the pressures of
life...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in the hectic busyness that most
of us experience as ordinary time-- it’s<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
</b>hard to find the time and space to develop a spiritual life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes commitment and discipline to look
and listen for God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday--
the beginning of Lent...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the forty days
leading up to Easter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we want to grow
in our faith...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>if we want to be ready
to experience the new life of the Resurrection, then we need to "take time
to be holy."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today's scripture lessons remind us
how important it is to take time apart to be with God...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and listen for what God wants to say to
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On the way to the cross, we need to
withdraw and listen. We need to watch for the shining light of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">epiphany</i>-- as God reveals his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">glory</i> to us and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">transforms</i> us gradually into God's likeness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That's the reason for a Lenten <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">discipline</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we want to be followers of Christ-- we
need to be true disciples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have to
give Christ time to teach us...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and transform
us into his likeness. </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think some of you can testify that
worship makes a difference in your lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I'm convinced that worship, study and prayer make all the difference.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We withdraw up on the mountain, so
that we can return to the valley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
return to a world that hasn't changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But we've changed-- however gradually.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have seen the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We've
heard a voice<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Without such precious times of
renewal... withdrawal... and vision,<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>we wouldn't be able to endure life
in the valley.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We wouldn't be able to
walk the road that leads to the cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If we expect immediate and total
spiritual perfection-- we're expecting too much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our transformation is happening gradually,
like the transformation of the first disciples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Peter who was so enthusiastic about the mountaintop experience is
the same Peter who denies Jesus in the face of the cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Human failure to comprehend, let alone live
up to, divine revelation is a hard fact of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>God calls us to accept it as fact,
but to be strengthened by the assurance that God never gives up on us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord never abandons us to failure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>God gives us the hope we need to
follow Jesus boldly, and gives us the Spirit of the Lord to lead us further
into the truth...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>further into the freedom
that Christ offers us.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Apostle Paul said that we
"see the glory of God as though reflected in a mirror dimly"...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and that we're being <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">transformed</i> into the same image from one degree of glory to
another."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>God
isn't finished with any of us yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At
our worst moments-- both individually and as a church-- we act as if God is
finished with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We act as if creation
had been finished a long, long time ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But nothing could be further from the truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Holy Spirit still moves over the
face of the waters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God still breathes
life into piles of dust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus still
shouts us from our tombs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>God still sheds new light on our
understanding...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and lights our faces
with the radiance of His glorious self-giving love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God continues to shine upon us... to transform
us, almost imperceptibly, one degree at a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And that, my friends, is good news!</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Thanks be to God!</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Amen!</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Rev. Fran Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Littlefield Presbyterian
Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Dearborn, Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">March 3, 2019 </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
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</style><br />RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-73270722342235670602019-02-24T13:55:00.000-08:002019-02-24T13:55:51.963-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2AHtcW0MA-jIcSdOw963fFay2gGS7UR5MNZ87cjD9Uv5CLOe6vVEWcdbYJpdy2XHJyaH2NGziNIyX5N0QBAmwdlCU-iTnWy41yMhGPs3iWWOxZRHbMa4Tug0miVzPHmtdLxcBxVbxuYnI/s1600/love-your-enemies-300x200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2AHtcW0MA-jIcSdOw963fFay2gGS7UR5MNZ87cjD9Uv5CLOe6vVEWcdbYJpdy2XHJyaH2NGziNIyX5N0QBAmwdlCU-iTnWy41yMhGPs3iWWOxZRHbMa4Tug0miVzPHmtdLxcBxVbxuYnI/s1600/love-your-enemies-300x200.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"To Love as God Loves"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Genesis 45:3-11; Luke 6:27-38</h3>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Writing at the Presbyterian Mission
blog, Rebecca Lister writes about how her son recently finished the
requirements for the Boy Scout’s highest honor, Eagle Scout. As part of his
final project, he designed and built a Little Free Pantry and a Little Free
Library. He and several other Boy Scouts, family members and volunteers helped
install them under some shade trees in front of the church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pantry has been very successful, as it is
often empty. They were thrilled to see that the community was using it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Rebecca was surprised to discover
that not everyone in their community was as pleased about the Little Free
Pantry as they were. She said she talked with several people, both inside and
outside of their church, who question the concept of “free.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Isn’t that teaching people to be dependent on
others for food?” asked one person. “Why shouldn’t they have to work for their
food like everybody else?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another person said, “I know I’ve
seen people go in and take out food who can afford it. I saw one woman talking
on her cellphone as she did it. If she can afford a phone, she can afford
food.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Rebecca says that she’s always taken
aback in conversations like these. She can certainly see their arguments. But
deciding who is poor enough to be really poor—really needy—is dangerous
business. Someone who looks well-dressed and carrying a cellphone may have just
experienced a recent job loss. Perhaps they were impacted by the recent
government shut-down or some other emergency. They may have some money, but
knowing they can get a few cans of soup to heat up for their family for dinner
may be what their weary spirits might need. It isn’t a permanent solution,
ideally. And who knows? Maybe that same person who took something out of the
pantry when they needed it in rough times will put something back in the pantry
in good times.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As someone said, there will always
be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">needy</i> people and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">greedy </i>people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It isn’t our job to decide which is which.
That is up to God. It’s our job to do what God asks us to do—and leave the judging
to God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus doesn’t say, “give to everyone
who begs from you—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">after</i> you find out that
they are really poor and <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deserve</i></span><b> </b>it.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doesn’t say, “give to everyone who begs
from you—but only a little, because they might become <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dependent.</i></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">”</i></b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doesn’t say, “give to everyone who begs
from you—but only if they say ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The way the lectionary works, we
rarely get to the Seventh Sunday after Epiphany, so we don’t hear this passage
from Luke very often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this part of
Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, Jesus admonishes his hearers to love their enemies
and pray for those who persecute you. Be merciful. Don’t judge. Do good to
those who hate you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Offer the other
cheek to the person who strikes you in the face. If someone takes something from
you, don’t ask for them to return it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This text is familiar—but <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hard!</span></span>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people manage to embody these
demanding, seemingly impossible instructions. In the Genesis text we heard
Joseph extending grace and mercy and forgiveness to the brothers who betrayed
him and sold him away into slavery.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We all know the Golden Rule embedded
in this passage, but how often do we truly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">live
</i>by it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can take a lot of effort
to control your anger when someone cuts you off in traffic… or fails to act in
the way we think they should…or wrongs us in some way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We may long for the unqualified
forgiveness, reconciliation, and unearned compassion Joseph shows his brothers.
And yet, we struggle with Jesus’ teachings. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>These verses have been manipulated
and have left those who are already vulnerable and victimized even further
abused. Some preachers over the ages counseled people to stay with abusive
spouses using these verses as proof of God’s will to do so. We need to be clear:
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus never condones abuse, and he
condemns injustice. Jesus insists his followers live by his standard of love
and justice, even when dealing with their enemies. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A lot of people talk about the
“Golden Rule,” as if it’s a simple, easy way to live. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">But
it’s <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hard
</span></span>to break the cycle of retribution and <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">violence</span></span>. It’s hard to
break a habit of counting the ways someone has wronged us. It’s
counter-cultural to practice mutual respect and treat each person with
dignity—even those we don’t think deserve it… or those who are our enemies… or
those who have wronged us. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Keeping
score of wrongs, getting even—that’s what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">enemies</i>
do. Some may secretly hope or plan for bad things to happen to their enemies.
Maybe we just avoid and ignore them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is how much of the world behaves toward enemies. We go to war with
them. We rejoice in their failures and mourn their successes. We try to get
people to side with us against the person we believe has wronged us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Time after time, the Tutsis and then the
Hutus were caught in a cycle of retribution and violence in Rwanda. In the last
terrible outbreak of violence, loyalty to tribe even outweighed allegiance to
religious vows for some clergy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
Jerusalem, sacred sites can separate rather than unite. In the land we call “Holy,”
the body count grows, and the promise of peace seems impossible. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In such
a world as this, what do we make of the ethics of God’s kingdom—or
“kindom”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know the words: “Love your
enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for
those who abuse you. Forgive.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>These
teachings are so often ignored. But we do catch glimpses of how Jesus’
teachings could provide a new way for us to live together: in the United
States’ Marshall Plan’s assistance to former enemies following World War II… in
the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa after the
end of Apartheid…in the World Bank’s partial forgiveness of the debts of poor
nations at the urging of church coalitions supporting a time of Jubilee.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus
asks, “What credit is it to you if you love someone who loves you, if you do
good to someone who does good to you, if you lend to someone who will later
lend something to you?” Jesus calls his disciples to stop keeping score, and to
trust in the God who changed everything by settling the whole world’s old
scores. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When we
gather to worship together, we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, so we
can live into the new life God offers us. But in our individual lives, in our
families and in our congregation, there are sometimes unresolved grievances and
rifts of long duration. Siblings who haven’t spoken to one another in years.
People who hold on to their grievances and can’t seem to get <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">beyond</i> them, even when they cause great
pain.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Reconciliation is
always hard to come by, but nothing is impossible for God. In Genesis, we hear
that Joseph “keeps score no more.” He breaks from the past and invites his
brothers to put the past behind them as well. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus set the example of active
non-violence when he was struck on the face and tormented during his trial. He
sets the principle: “Treat others as you would like them to treat you.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As followers of Christ, we are
called into a new life in which we see things in a completely different way, a
life in which we want to behave differently. We are called to look at each
person through the eyes of love. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Jesus
calls us to love as God loves: “Be compassionate as your Father is
compassionate.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The good news is that it is God’s
very <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nature</i> to be merciful and
loving, even toward those who don’t <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">deserve<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>it. And that includes us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus doesn’t tell people to remain victims—but
to find new ways of resisting evil. “Love your enemies. Do good to those who
hate you.” This is the ethic that moved Martin Luther King, Jr. to kneel down
with many brothers and sisters before water hoses and snarling police dogs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Many people thought he was <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">crazy</span></span>.
“Only violence can fight violence,” they said. But the authorities and
oppressors didn’t know what to do with this kind of resistance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When people around the nation turned on their
televisions and saw these acts of non-violent resistance, hearts were changed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Victims were refusing to be victims. Victims were
refusing to fight back with violence. Victims were standing up for
justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This love is not practical—but
it can change the world. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks be to God!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Rev. Fran
Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Dearborn,
Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">February
24, 2019</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Rebecca Lister, “The Needy and the Greedy: What makes us afraid to give freely
to the needy?</span>” <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.presbyterianmission.org/today/2019/02/22/the-b-flat-christian-4/?fbclid=IwAR3JZUZoEj5ve9intx6v2xzEmSgHu6ActyVg76ESEzflKlSwBEh6AH3wku0">https://www.presbyterianmission.org/today/2019/02/22/the-b-flat-christian-4/?fbclid=IwAR3JZUZoEj5ve9intx6v2xzEmSgHu6ActyVg76ESEzflKlSwBEh6AH3wku0</a></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> Phyllis
Kersten, in “Living by the Word” in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Christian Century</i>. <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.christiancentury.org/article/no-keeping-score">https://www.christiancentury.org/article//no-keeping-score</a></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<style>@font-face {
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}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }span.FootnoteTextChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }div.WordSection1 { }</style>RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-83739123431232335072019-02-10T12:25:00.000-08:002019-02-10T12:34:07.655-08:00"An Amazing Catch." A Sermon from Littlefield Presbyterian Church on Luke 5:1-11.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixosvv9n4xb3QqE5HBBW-MZ9VqcIV7TKY5hmcsRoDHaBA2GNXfirxIBPVCvMp3r0ZPyebtRrtA-fAtthfOA9inIA4DtesCNkrGIvjXl3cOIr6ipZujGi0AGwmOagA4JQr2LAMsK7Nlj1y_/s1600/Fishing+Galilee+Luke+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixosvv9n4xb3QqE5HBBW-MZ9VqcIV7TKY5hmcsRoDHaBA2GNXfirxIBPVCvMp3r0ZPyebtRrtA-fAtthfOA9inIA4DtesCNkrGIvjXl3cOIr6ipZujGi0AGwmOagA4JQr2LAMsK7Nlj1y_/s320/Fishing+Galilee+Luke+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"An Amazing Catch"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Luke 5:1-11</h3>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The call of the first disciples comes early in Luke’s
gospel. After his baptism, Jesus was driven by the Spirit out into the
wilderness to be tested for forty days. After that, he preached his inaugural
sermon at his hometown synagogue in Nazareth, and was rejected and almost
thrown off <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">the cliff. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Then he traveled to Capernaum, where he was
in the synagogue, and encountered conflict. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He healed the sick and cast out demons. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When today’s gospel lesson opens, Jesus is standing
beside Lake Genneseret, which is another name for the Sea of Galilee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people are crowding around him and
listening to the word of God. He saw two boats at the water’s edge, left there
by the fishermen, who were washing their fishing nets. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus got into one of the boats, the one that
belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now, Simon must have been exhausted after fishing all
night with no success, and then working on his nets. I imagine he would have
been looking forward to going home and getting some sleep. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe Simon was remembering how Jesus came to
his home in Capernaum and healed his mother-in-law. Maybe that explains Simon’s
willingness to take Jesus out in the boat, so Jesus can use it as a floating
pulpit. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times";">Out
in the lake, Jesus sat and taught the people from the boat. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";">Luke doesn’t tell us what
Jesus taught the crowds that morning. The focus is on what happens afterward. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When he had finished speaking, Jesus said to Simon, “Put
out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now, I imagine Simon believes this will be a futile
exercise. They’d fished all night and caught nothing, so why should they expect
anything <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">different?</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why should
these professional fishermen take fishing advice from a carpenter? We can
almost hear the exasperation in his voice when he responds, “Master, we have
worked all night but have caught nothing. But because you <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">say</i></b> so, I will let down
the nets.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, they go out into deep water. There’s a subtle
allusion here in the Greek word, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bathos</i>,
that’s used in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Septuagint</i>—the
Greek translation of the Torah, Prophets and Writings—in connection with the primordial
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sea.</i> This was a powerful Jewish
symbol of chaos. Luke perceives the world as chaotic. There’s hostility between
traditional Judaism and the followers of Jesus, the oppressive system of the
Empire, and conflict within the early church.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times";">“Go
out into the deep water.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They go out
into the deep water, and Simon lets down the nets, and they catch so many fish
that the nets began to break. They signaled their partners in the other boat to
come and help, and they filled both boats so full that they began to sink. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times";">When
he sees what is happening, Simon Peter is overwhelmed with fear and wonder,
sensing that he is in the presence of divine power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s caught by surprise. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the midst of his ordinary daily life, after
a particularly unsuccessful night at work, he is encountered by one who changes
everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simon sees the overwhelming
disparity between God’s power manifest in Jesus and his own mortal, compromised
life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He responds by falling down at Jesus’ feet and
begs him, “Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man!” <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From now on you will be catching people.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Greek word, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">zogron,</i>
translated here as “catching” is rare in the New Testament, but it means “to
catch alive.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the Hebrew Scriptures and the Dead Sea Scrolls,
fishing is used metaphorically for gathering people for judgment.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The call to judgment was a theme in the
preaching of John the Baptist.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But, as New Testament scholar John Drury reminds us, the
verb is also used in the Septuagint to denote “rescue,” from peril of death,
not the capture of animals….” As Drury puts it, “The kingdom requires not dead <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fish,</i> but human beings fully <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">alive</i>…people living the life of the good
news in all its fullness.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But in the Gospels, the call to become fishers of people
becomes a call to gather men and women for the kingdom. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Word has come to dwell in the midst of
everyday lives and everyday fishermen. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times";">In today’s
gospel story, Luke tells how Jesus calls Simon and his partners to a new
vocation of catching people so that they might <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">live</i>, a life-giving vocation of being caught up in God’s mission of
salvation for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The good news falls on the ears of Simon and
James and John.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, they pulled their boats up on shore. They had no idea
what lay ahead on that open and uncharted journey from their familiar fishing
boats. But they left everything, and they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">followed
</i>Jesus.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times";">Do
you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wonder?</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why did Jesus choose Simon Peter and his
fishing partners as his first disciples? They’re simple fishermen—middle class
business owners of their time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were
typical representatives of the broken old age, living under Roman oppression, burdened
by high taxes, and beset by other forms of social conflict and economic stress.
They didn’t have any particular religious credentials to commend them. They’re
simply doing what they do every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They’re minding their own business, tending their nets, when Jesus comes
along, enters into their normal, ordinary lives and changes everything. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Throughout the scriptures, we see that human sinfulness
and failure and inadequacy are no obstacles to God’s call. God calls ordinary,
imperfect people to do God’s work.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God doesn’t wait for us to shape up. God
calls us as we are and then works on shaping us into faithful servants. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times";">How
often do we resist Jesus’ claim on our lives because what he’s calling us to do
seems to impractical or impossible? How often do we avoid putting out into the
deep waters of following and bearing witness to Jesus because we’re convinced
that we won’t see any results?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
might it mean for us to go deep-seeing fishing with Jesus—to trust and follow
him outside our comfort zones…to let go of our certainties…to have our lives
radically reoriented?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In our baptism we are called to be a part of God’s
mission to the world in Jesus Christ. We are called to re-orient our priorities
to align with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God’s<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>priorities, to use the gifts God has given us in the service
to others, to share the good news of God’s love in our words and deeds.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 12.0pt;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus’ mission doesn’t wait until we think we’re ready.
It doesn’t wait for us to feel comfortable or certain about how everything will
turn out. We live in a broken and hurting world, and the need for the gospel is
too urgent. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In the midst of our ordinary, busy lives, in spite of our
failures, or our doubts or frailty, we are called to embody God’s love and
justice and peace in our lives, in our communities, in our world. Jesus’ word
to Simon Peter is also a word to us: “Don’t be afraid.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We can trust that Jesus will be working with us and
through us, “catching” others as he has caught us—in the deep, wide net of
God’s mercy and love. We can trust that the mission is in God’s hands, and that
God’s desire is for the nets to be bursting and the boats full.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times";">Thanks
be to God!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";">Rev. Fran Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";">Littlefield Presbyterian
Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";">Dearborn, Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times";">February 10, 2019</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
Ronald Allen, “Commentary on Luke 5:1-11,” at Working Preacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><a href="http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3958">http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3958</a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"> </span>
</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Amos 4:2; Hab. 1:14-15; Jer. 16:16; 1 QH 5:7-9.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
Luke 3:7-9</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
John Drury, Tradition and Design in Luke’s Gospel (London: Darton, Longman
& Todd, 1976), p. 67, cited by Peter Eaton in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Feasting on the Word:</i> Year C, Volume 1: Advent Through
Transfiguration, 2009.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a>
Some examples: Exodus 3:10-12; Isaiah 6:1-6; Jeremiah 1:6-8.</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[6]</span></span></span></span></a> I
am indebted to Dr. Elizabeth Johnson for some of the ideas here, which she
contributed in a commentary in 2013 at Working Preacher. <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1560">https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1560</a></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
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<span id="goog_1572770266"></span><span id="goog_1572770267"></span><br />RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-31887057244603219182019-02-03T21:17:00.000-08:002019-02-04T16:53:19.325-08:00"Disturbingly Good News." A Sermon on Luke 4:21-30 from Littlefield Presbyterian Church.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDiKeCVsVN82cJ_VOQ1HT3brsTtNj1PpcmMuyukL-LJ8S9x_N1i5L25_IFXECTHdMFRJ98sZReivy6XukjWQji_hTLqJKkB6SZfViwNgjs9sicYKp1hWHQnxiZ3iYuOhg8X5rUTPB3wsD/s1600/mount+precipice_Nazareth_steep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="600" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDiKeCVsVN82cJ_VOQ1HT3brsTtNj1PpcmMuyukL-LJ8S9x_N1i5L25_IFXECTHdMFRJ98sZReivy6XukjWQji_hTLqJKkB6SZfViwNgjs9sicYKp1hWHQnxiZ3iYuOhg8X5rUTPB3wsD/s320/mount+precipice_Nazareth_steep.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mount Precipice in Nazareth</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"Disturbingly Good News"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Luke 4:21-30</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today’s Gospel lesson picks up where we left off last week.
Jesus has gone back to Nazareth, his hometown. The hometown boy who’s
done well has come home to preach, and the synagogue is probably packed. Luke
says Jesus’ fame has spread throughout the countryside. People love a winner,
and they love a spectacle. This crowd knows Jesus, and he knows them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus is asked to read the scripture at the Sabbath service
at the synagogue. He stands up to read and is handed the scroll
containing the Book of Isaiah. He reads, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach
good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners, to proclaim
the year of the LORD’s favor…”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When Jesus is done reading, he rolls
up the scroll and sits down to preach, as was the custom. With the eyes of the
crowd fixed on him, he says, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Today<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">,</b></i> this scripture has been fulfilled
in your hearing.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Today,</i>
the hopes in this passage are being realized in your hearing. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Today<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
</b></i>Jesus has come to release and restore, to reach and redeem. Jesus takes
this promise from the prophet Isaiah and brings it into what Cleo LaRue calls <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">now</i>-ness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As Cleo points out, “Sometimes it is
dangerous to do things now. If Jesus said someday, tomorrow, after a while, by
and by, or in the not-too-distant future, he could have pacified the people in
their disappointment about where and to whom he has been sent to minister. But
when he says today—this is my mission and my ministry—he draws a line in the
sand and provokes a response.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Martin Luther King Jr. knew the dangers
inherent in doing things today. Dr. King wrote his “Letter from Birmingham
Jail” after southern white moderate clergy criticized his nonviolent protests
as “unwise and untimely.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Change,” they told Dr. King, “must
come slowly.” They urged him to stop the sit-ins and marches for a while and
give things time to settle down. They saw negotiation with the white power
structure as the more reasonable path and advised King to be more patient in his
pursuit of civil rights for all Americans.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Dr. King explained to his critics
that he had never engaged in a direct-action movement that was “well-timed.” He
refused to abide by a more cautious approach, saying that waiting is too much
of a burden for oppressed people to continue to bear. “Justice delayed is
justice denied.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there has always
been something unsettling about those who choose to act today.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Everything
had started out so well at the synagogue. The people had been amazed and
impressed at the gracious, prophetic words that came from Jesus’ mouth and
spoke well of him. But then things had turned ugly and murderous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The problem, David Jacobsen
suggests, is when the prophetic grace, that divine favor Jesus preaches about,
meets up with privilege.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
Jesus sees into people’s hearts, and seems to recognize in his hometown hearers
how they will react even before they realize. They go from amazement to
consternation quickly. When Jesus uses a proverb from about physicians and
pairs it with another about the fate of prophets in their own hometowns, he
knows his words of prophetic grace will meet with rejection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They want to throw Jesus off a cliff!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I
think another thing that was unsettling to the people in the synagogue was that
when Jesus makes his declaration about the nature of the gospel, the good news
doesn’t protect privilege and power for the hometown people, the people like
“us.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus was proclaiming that “the
Lord’s favor” was extended toward everyone. <span style="color: red;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">For people who have a certain amount of power
or privilege, for those who are afraid that if there won’t be enough for them
if those <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">other</i> people get what they
need— this is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">unsettling.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Luke begins telling about Jesus’ ministry with the story of the sermon in
Nazareth because--if we are going to hear the good news Jesus brings-- the way
we hear good news has to change. We can’t hear what Jesus has to say with
ears attuned to “us” and “them.” Luke wants us to understand that the
gospel is good news for anyone who will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">receive</i>
it as good news of God’s mercy. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The good news is for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everybody,</i> Luke
insists. Luke begins his gospel with this conflict about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“us” and “them,”</i> but before his story is
over at the end of the Acts of the Apostles, every kind of person he can think
of will be brought into the embrace of the good news: rich and poor…women
and men…aristocrats and beggars…Romans and Jews, and people of every nationality
under heaven. Ethiopian eunuchs, for heaven’s sake!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is no “them” in the gospel of Luke, only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“us</i>”—the family of God in Christ.
Luke underlines the point by telling us how Jesus said the most scandalous
things, like “God is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
Even “those people.” Those <i>other </i>people. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> I
think it was Fred Craddock who said we have trouble reading the gospel of Luke
because “We are ‘either/or’ people in the hands of a ‘both/and’ God.” That
makes a lot of people uncomfortable. The way Luke tells it, some people
get mad enough to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">murder</i> Jesus.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The movie “Ruby Bridges” is based on the true story of what happened to a
six-year-old African-American child when the federal government ordered the New
Orleans public schools to integrate in the 1960’s. Ruby Bridges was one
of several little girls who were picked to be the first African-Americans to
attend the all-white public schools. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The scenes in which we see Ruby enter the school, protected by federal
marshals, surrounded by a screaming crowd of protesters, are a powerful
reminder of how violent and ugly people can be when their idea of how things
are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">supposed</i> to be is
threatened. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Probably most of the people in that crowd went to church on Sundays. They
were parents who loved their children and thought they were doing what was best
for them when they told them they shouldn’t play with African-American
children. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In one scene, set in the teacher’s lounge, a teacher said a quick grace as she
prepared to eat lunch, before spewing racist comments to justify her opinion
that persons of color didn’t belong in their school.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
It’s hard to deal with a Christ who confronts our settled ideas about
things. Jesus the Christ is surely the one who comforts and helps
us. But the Christ is also the one who challenges and upsets us and
breaks down our dividing walls.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We live in a broken world where we
lock our doors and set our security systems, in a time when some will
exaggerate and exploit our fears to turn us against other children of God. And
yet those of us who are gathered here know that this is not God’s hope for us.
We are invited and challenged to consider a different way to think of ourselves
and our neighbors. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” This “today” signals that
the age of God’s reign is here…that the time of God’s redeeming purposes has
arrived, the “today” that Tom Long describes as “God’s good future hurtling
toward us, bringing the finished work of God to an unfinished world.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We are here because God has <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">invited</i> us here, out of God’s amazing, gracious love. We are
invited to live into God’s beloved community, in which we are loved and
forgiven and healed and commissioned and sent out to proclaim the year of the
Lord’s favor. Favor for all the broken-hearted: us and them and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everyone,</i> until all the dividing walls
of us and them are broken down and we are all beloved children of God together.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amen!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Rev. Fran
Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Dearborn,
Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">February
3, 2019</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> Cleophus J. LaRue, in “Living By
the Word,” in The Christian Century. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.christiancentury.org/article/living-word/february-3-epiphany-4c-luke-421-30">https://www.christiancentury.org/article/living-word/february-3-epiphany-4c-luke-421-30</a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a>
David Schnasa Jacobsen, Commentary on Luke 4 at Working Preacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3955">https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3955</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a>
Luke 6:35</div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[4]</span></span></span></span></a>
Thomas Long, quoted by <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Cleophus J.
LaRue, in “Living by the Word.”</span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><a href="https://www.christiancentury.org/article/living-word/february-3-epiphany-4c-luke-421-30">https://www.christiancentury.org/article/living-word/february-3-epiphany-4c-luke-421-30</a></span></span></div>
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}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }span.FootnoteTextChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }div.WordSection1 { }</style>RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-35024950403020540952019-01-27T11:14:00.002-08:002019-01-28T11:54:34.499-08:00"Jesus' Mission and Ours." A Sermon on Luke 4:14-21 from Littlefield Presbyterian Church<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"Jesus' Mission and Ours"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Luke 4:14-21</h3>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We’re in the season after Epiphany. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few weeks ago, on Baptism of the Lord
Sunday, we heard how when Jesus was baptized and was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">praying,</i> heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form like a dove. And a
voice came from heaven: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You are my Son,
the Beloved. With you I am well pleased.”</i> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Afterward, Jesus was led by the Spirit
in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Then
Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and he began
to teach in the synagogues. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When Jesus came
to the synagogue in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nazareth</i> on the
sabbath, he stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed
to him. He found the passage that confirmed who he was and what his mission was
and read it: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent
me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to
let the </i>oppressed<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> go </i>free<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>He began to say to them, “Today this
scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">In the midst of everything </span>we
see around us in our world, in the midst of a transition in pastoral leadership
in this congregation, the scriptures still speak to us <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">today.</i> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In February, I’ll be attending a Transitional
Ministry training event in Oregon. One of the books I’m required to read in
preparation is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Changing the Conversation:
A Third Way for Congregations, </i>by Anthony B. Robinson. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s quite a helpful and readable book, and I
commend it to you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">In this
book, </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Robinson tells how management guru Peter Drucker was known for
asking two simple but revealing questions of his clients: “What <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">business</i> are you in?” and “How’s
business?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Robinson was interviewing with a
pastor <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">search</i> committee when he asked
a similar question of them: “What do you believe this church is trying to
accomplish for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God?</i>” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question caught some members of the
committee by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">surprise</i> and left them
groping for words. One man looked slightly troubled by the question. He said,
“Well, we’re trying to do what we’ve <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">always
</i>done, of course.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This response,
Robinson wrote, shows a lack of clarity about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">purpose<span style="color: #7030a0;">.</span></i><span style="color: #7030a0;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Over
time, organizations tend to lose sight of whatever purpose called them into
existence in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">first</i> place<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or
they may drift <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">away</i> from it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When they’re not centered on their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">purpose,</i> they devote a lot of their
energy and resources to their own <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">survival
</i>or maintenance. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
congregations aren’t centered in a clear and compelling <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">purpose,</i> they tend to become <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">reactive.</i>
“They try to respond to every need, itch, hurt, and crisis that comes along.
And that is a recipe for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">burnout,</i>
because people’s needs, itches, and hurts are limitless and endless.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Also, when there’s a lack of shared
purpose, congregations and pastoral leaders tend to become too focused on trying
to keep everybody <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">happy</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">together</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might hear people saying things like, “We
can’t do that—so and so says if we do, they’ll leave the church… or withhold
their giving…” or whatever. When there’s a lack of a strong sense of shared
purpose, a few people can hold the congregation hostage and keep the leaders
and the congregation from moving forward in new <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">directions.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">It is indeed a recipe for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">burnout.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">disciples </i>of Jesus Christ, we have a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mission</i> to fulfill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">listen
</i>carefully and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">prayerfully</i> to the
scriptures-- we discover that God's Word speaks directly to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">us.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It suddenly can become very <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">exciting</i>...and
very<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> energizing.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">As Anthony Robinson puts it, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">vital</i> congregations have a compelling, biblically shaped,
theologically informed purpose or reason for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">being</i> that marshals their energies and resources and directs their
use.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Littlefield
Church has gone through a lot of changes over the years. The community and the
world around the church have changed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
this congregation was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">planted,</i> it was
going to be a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">neighborhood</i> church.
The way they envisioned things in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">beginning,</i>
they weren’t going to need a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">parking </i>lot,
because people were going to walk to church from their homes in the nearby
neighborhoods in Dearborn or Detroit, or drive a short distance. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That worked well for several <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">decades. </i>There was a time when there
were two Sunday services, with people sitting in the balcony and an overflow
room, when Littlefield had assistant pastors and Christian Education directors.
In 1960, Littlefield’s membership peaked at 1,250. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That
was a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pivotal</i> time in local churches
and on a national level, as church denominations lost anywhere from a quarter
to a third of their members, and baby boomers deserted their childhood churches in large numbers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This
was the beginning of some challenging times for Littlefield Church. The Rev.
Harry Geissinger was called to serve as senior pastor in 1961, bringing the
strong visionary leadership the congregation needed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
1960’s and 1970’s were tumultuous times in our society, in the world, and in
the church. The civil rights movement, the war in Vietnam, changing attitudes
toward institutions, and many complex and divisive issues all had their impact
on the church. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Life
in the metropolitan Detroit area was marked by social upheaval and a series of
crises in the 1960’s, including block-busting, cross-district busing for
schools, and the 1967 race rebellion. Beginning in the late 1960’s, Littlefield
struggled with the impact of “white flight” out of its nearby Detroit
neighborhoods and significant growth in the number of Arab-Americans of Muslim
and Eastern Orthodox faiths in its Dearborn neighborhoods.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
Civil War in Lebanon, beginning in 1974, resulted in a rise of Lebanese
immigrants into Dearborn and dramatic changes in the demographics of the
neighborhoods near the church. Then, in 1978, the Israeli invasion of southern
Lebanon sent waves of Southern Lebanese Shia Muslims into Dearborn. You can
read more about this in the history booklet we wrote for the 75<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of the church. (A lot of it is included on the Facebook page we
posted for the 85<sup>th</sup> anniversary.)<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
the Littlefield history document states, these changes in the community had the
result of reducing the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">size</i> of the
Littlefield congregation and expanding the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mission.</i>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Looking
back on this time, a mission study observed, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“In the face of tremendous social changes going on all around it,
Littlefield Presbyterian Church did not split apart or turn in on itself, it
didn’t close down or lose faith, thanks in large measure to the commitment and
talents of Rev.Geissinger. The church was blessed with strong clergy and lay
leaders and a congregation committed to new ideas and approaches. With these
assets, the church survived the turmoil of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s.”</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then,
in the mid- to late-seventies, a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">need</i>
emerged and was identified: to develop a relationship with our Arab-American
neighbors, to bridge cultural differences and overcome misunderstandings among
Christians and Muslims. Since that time, Littlefield Presbyterian Church has
taken a leadership in carrying out a ministry of reconciliation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Dr.
William Gepford arrived in 1979 to begin his work as Director of Arab-American
Relations in Dearborn and Assistant Pastor of Littlefield. This was a result of
“a strong sense of mission and faith in the future,” following months of
discussion, careful planning, and broad-based fund-raising….”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Over
those decades, the membership numbers of Littlefield and other churches were
declining. But Littlefield was doing important work building bridges, promoting
understanding between Christians and Muslims and members were reflecting the
light of Christ as they served the needs of the new neighbors.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
1994, after the resignation of the Rev. Del Meester, the church did <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">another</i> mission study. This is what they
declared about the church: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Outreach to
the community is at the </i>heart<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> of
Littlefield Church’s ministry….Our primary challenge is the one that has always
faced Christians: to discern what God is calling us to do, and to reflect and
model God’s love, justice, and peace….The members of Littlefield believe that
the work of the Holy Spirit among us gives us energy and mission and that we
are called by God to reinvent and reorient ourselves with regard to who we are
and what we do as God’s people.” </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
was after this mission study and an interim period that I was called to serve
as your pastor. Over the 22 years that have followed, we’ve worshiped and
studied and learned and grown and served God and our neighbors and witnessed to
God’s love and justice and peace together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">Now, you’re entering a new time of transition. Though,
truth be told, we’ve been on a journey of transformation over these past few
decades. We’ve been learning and growing and studying. Within the past few
years, we’ve worked together to come up with a brief statement of purpose: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Why
we exist: To love God, one another, and all people. To show God’s love in our
work for peace and justice.” Two short sentences to summarize why you exist as
a congregation. You also worked on a list of your CORE VALUES. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: text1;">We worked
on the statement of purpose because mission can't be an optional activity for
the church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The church exists for mission.
</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">If
a congregation desires to be a vital, growing community of believers, with a
faithful future, they need to resist the temptation of quick, simple answers, follow
Jesus’ example, and spend time in the wilderness<span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">to discern God’s will.</span><span style="color: red;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">They need to open themselves to the
leading of the Spirit, so they can discover more fully the calling God has for
them in this particular time. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The good news is that we can trust
in God the Holy Spirit, “everywhere the giver and renewer of life." We can trust
that, in a broken and fearful world, the Spirit gives us courage to pray
without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to
unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long
silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.…</span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“With believers in every time and
place, we can <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rejoice </i>that nothing in
life or in death can <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">separate<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>us from the love of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a></span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Praise be to God!</span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Amen!</span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rev. Fran Hayes, Pastor</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Littlefield Presbyterian Church</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dearborn, Michigan</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
January 27, 2019</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Littlefield Presbyterian: 85 Years of
Mission on Facebook.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church: Celebrating 75 Years of Mission and Ministry</i>,
1930-2005, page 4.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> Quote
from “Brief Statement of Faith” of the Presbyterian Church (USA), 1990.</div>
</div>
</div>
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<br />RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-21220697033036826322019-01-20T11:13:00.003-08:002019-01-20T11:16:46.703-08:00"An Epiphany of Abundance." A Sermon from Littlefield Presbyterian Church on John 2:1-11.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8eH6HtCJueRsKuqhFi-agiWFpM5wGXMycE8T75jTY9XohDGf6P8Ie18O0Sa9zCJLkrOASEnr1dUcQOolq6vIaDeg0youwyd4ZG6Ddl9zI3NulcmPNVIDAJpO3BsEa2hL1Vyz9fLVgtNxV/s1600/Wine-jars-480x202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="480" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8eH6HtCJueRsKuqhFi-agiWFpM5wGXMycE8T75jTY9XohDGf6P8Ie18O0Sa9zCJLkrOASEnr1dUcQOolq6vIaDeg0youwyd4ZG6Ddl9zI3NulcmPNVIDAJpO3BsEa2hL1Vyz9fLVgtNxV/s400/Wine-jars-480x202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"An Epiphany of Abundance"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
John 2:1-11</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus
and his mother and his disciples are attending a wedding. Anyone who’s
ever officiated or planned a wedding can tell you that things can go
wrong. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In those days a wedding was a great occasion, and most everybody in the
village, plus some people from neighboring villages, would have been
invited. Weddings were hosted by the groom’s family, and the
celebrations lasted for up to a week. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
This celebration is in trouble, because on the <span style="color: black;">third
day,</span> they’re running out of wine. This is a crisis for the family
responsible for hospitality. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
David Lose explains why this was such a disaster: “Wine isn’t merely a
social lubricant…it’s a sign of the harvest, of God’s abundance, of joy and
gladness and hospitality. And so, when they run short on wine they run
short on <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">blessing</i></b>. And that’s a tragedy.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref1;"><span style="font-family: "" "cambria" "" , serif;">[1]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref1;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref1;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Jesus’ mother goes to him and identifies the problem. But Jesus says,
“That’s really not our concern. And my hour has not come.” In the
theology of John’s Gospel, “the hour” is the hour when Jesus goes to the
cross. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
His mother tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
There were six stone water-jars there, ready to be used in the Jewish
purification rituals. Each held about twenty or thirty
gallons. “Fill the jars with water,” Jesus says to the servants,
and they do. “Now draw some out,” he says, “and take it to the
chief steward.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
When the chief steward tasted the water that had turned into wine, he didn’t
know where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.
He called the bridegroom and said, “Normally people serve the good
wine first, and then the cheap stuff when people have already had plenty to
drink. But you’ve kept the really good wine for now.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
John tells us that Jesus did this as the first of his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“signs”</i> and revealed his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">glory,</i>
and his disciples believed in him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
miracles Jesus performs in the Fourth Gospel are never called miracles—but
“signs.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These “signs” are about
revealing a deeper reality about Jesus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the first verses of his gospel—the prologue, which we
heard on Christmas Eve--John identifies the major themes of his message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hear that the Word became flesh and lived
among us, full of grace and truth…. From his fullness we have all received,
grace upon grace. Turning water into wine is revealing abundant grace. And what
does abundant grace <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">taste</i></b> like? Like the really <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good </i></b>wine, when you were
expecting the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cheap</i></b> stuff.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
No matter how hard we may try to “spiritualize” today’s gospel lesson, we have
150 gallons of really good wine at a wedding party that had been experiencing <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">scarcity.</i></b>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Today’s gospel text is about the very nature of God… and about the very purpose
of being human. The nature of God is pure grace-- abundant… surprising
grace. Grace overflowing to the brim, in times and places we least expect
it. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Karoline Lewis has suggested that we
have so modified and codified abundance that it’s hard to recognize<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>it
anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some have monopolized
abundance…hoarded it…thinking that it is theirs to control, theirs to possess,
and theirs to take away. “Theirs to keep for themselves, because those without
it? Well, clearly they have not merited God’s attention, earned God’s graces.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The gospels teach us that abundance
is never about you or me and Jesus alone, as much as we might want it to be—but
about bringing us into life—true life, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">abundant<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>life, for all. In God’s life of
abundance, abundance is not ours to grasp individually, but in beloved
community, in the world God so <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">loves.</i></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
We need to pay attention to the details in this story. The water-jars
were there to be used for Jewish purification rituals-- When Jesus
turned the water into wine, it was a sign that God was doing a new thing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "" "arial" "" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wonder:</i>
What if Jesus had stuck with his original feeling? It is not my problem,
it is not my time. <span style="color: black;">What if all of his life
Jesus had said, "That’s not my problem and it is not my time"? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
That’s unimaginable, isn’t it? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Closer to our own time, in the mid 1950s, Martin Luther King wrapped up his
course work for his Ph.D. and took his first call to a church. His
dissertation wasn’t done yet when Martin Luther King left graduate school and
took a job as a pastor of a church in Montgomery, Alabama. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Not long after he went to Montgomery, Rosa Parks refused to go to the back of
the bus. A meeting was held in the African-American community in
Montgomery, and they asked who was going to lead the boycott. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
All the other pastors and all the other influential leaders of the
African-American community were smart enough to know that this looked like a
risky business. They decided to get the <span style="color: black;">new
pastor in town to lead the boycott. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Rev. Martin Luther King had every reason in the world to say, "It is not
the right time for me. I have a young family. I have a dissertation to
finish writing. I have a congregation that doesn’t know me or trust me
yet. If I start out at the head of this enterprise, what will that
do to my relationship to my congregation? It just isn’t a good
time. I have all these reasons why. This isn’t the time for
me to do something like this.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
But, as we all know, this very human being was moved from “not my time” -- to
yes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
More than <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">60 </span>years have
passed since the Montgomery bus boycott. Fifty-six years have
passed since the March on Washington when Dr. King gave his “I have a dream”
speech. More than 50 years have passed since he wrote his last book before he
was assassinated: “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Have we made <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">progress</i> since that
time? Undoubtedly. But we need to be honest with ourselves about
where we the people of the United States are and about our history.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Later in the Gospel of John, we hear Jesus saying, “You shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref3"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn3"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref3;"><span style="font-family: "" "times" "" , serif;">[3]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref3;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref3;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
I believe the gospel has the power to set us free-- as individuals, as a
community, as a society-- if we have ears to hear the good news… if we have
faith to trust in God’s power to transform us and bind us together in Beloved
Community… if we trust in the gospel’s truth to make us free. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Some of the stories we heard during Advent remind us that sometimes people have
a failure of imagination, like Zechariah, when the angel Gabriel told him
Elizabeth was going to have a baby: “How can this be?” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In our time and place, God calls us to be the people who come to know God, to
experience the grace and abundance of Jesus Christ, to embody that love
and live together in Beloved Community with all of God’s children. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "" "times" "" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Whenever we’re afraid we won’t have <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">enough</i>—enough
money or power or privilege or security-- whenever we think the party’s over
because things are changing, God will keep doing new things and surprising us
with new wine that is sweeter and tastier than ever before… and give us dreams
and visions to help us live more fully into the life of abundance and grace
into which God calls us. Can we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">imagine</i>
it? Is anything impossible for God?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In a world threatened by ethnic, racial, and religious conflict, the
consequences of trying to defend the status quo or to keep most of the money
and resources and power in the hands of a a few… or of wallowing in
the valley of despair and fear and negativity are enormous. But the
rewards of inclusive justice and healing are too important not to try.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The prophets and the gospel call us to dream, to imagine an alternative reality
of Beloved Community for all God’s people. They challenge us to embody it
in our daily lives, trusting that God will provide abundant new wine and
better things than we ever tasted or seen or imagined and a life
overflowing with joy and blessing in God’s presence. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Thanks be to God! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Rev. Fran
Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Dearborn,
Michigan</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">January
20, 2019</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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</span><br />
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</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftn1;"><span style="font-family: "" "cambria" "" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[1]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftn1;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftn1;"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
David Lose, “Epiphany 2B: What Grace Looks Like!” </span><span style="font-family: "" "helvetica" "" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.davidlose.net/2016/01/epiphany-2-b-what-grace-looks-like/</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn2"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref2"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftn2;"><span style="font-family: "" "cambria" "" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[2]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftn2;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftn2;"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Wright, <i>John for Everyone, Chapters 1-10</i> (Westminster John Knox Press,
2002), Kindle Edition, Loc 472.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn3"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref3"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftn3;"><span style="font-family: "" "cambria" "" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[3]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftn3;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftn3;"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
John 8:32</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftn4"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref4"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftn4;"><span style="font-family: "" "cambria" "" , serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[4]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftn4;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftn4;"></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Jim Wallis, America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the
Bridge to a New America. (Brazos Press, 2016), Kindle Edition, Location
388.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"> Karoline
Lewis, at Working Preacher.</span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?m=4377&post=5276">https://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?m=4377&post=5276</a></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt;"></span></div>
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}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }span.FootnoteTextChar { }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; }div.WordSection1 { }</style><br />RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-26938417961283111342019-01-13T12:00:00.001-08:002019-01-13T12:06:04.923-08:00"Jesus' Baptism and Ours." A Sermon from Littlefield Presbyterian Church on Baptism of the Lord Sunday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEd_pSC3SGkuwcuEZBC7mZKAmeJp2Ag4lHe08jij4GqM5B4-RcxAE5XYCulsFGmzoq6cbsQ2W3Un264eTWy88FN_HYBdKfN9YtMwJTJC1Mk87fd_awdFgatPwMK4Gw_LISZVfHKrzt2zjK/s1600/jordan_baptism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="748" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEd_pSC3SGkuwcuEZBC7mZKAmeJp2Ag4lHe08jij4GqM5B4-RcxAE5XYCulsFGmzoq6cbsQ2W3Un264eTWy88FN_HYBdKfN9YtMwJTJC1Mk87fd_awdFgatPwMK4Gw_LISZVfHKrzt2zjK/s320/jordan_baptism.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"Jesus' Baptism and Ours"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Luke 3:15-22</h3>
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Here we are again, in the
season of Epiphany, on Baptism of the Lord Sunday. Each year the
lectionary gives us the story of Jesus’ baptism, as told by Matthew, Mark, or
Luke. This year, it’s Luke. </span><br />
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Most
of the third chapter of Luke follows the story of John's ministry as told by
Matthew and Mark. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John is the voice
crying in the wilderness… John baptizes hundreds who came out to be baptized.
We hear John making it clear that he isn't the Messiah: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"I baptize you with water," he said,
"but one who is more powerful than I is coming. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not worthy to untie the thong of his
sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." </span></div>
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">But
then Luke adds a little interlude about Herod being very angry with John,
because John had charged him with stealing his brother's wife. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, Luke tells us Herod was so upset that
he shut John up in prison. The lectionary wants to omit these verses. They
interrupt the narrative we’re used to hearing, and they complicate how we
interpret the story of Jesus’ baptism. But I think Luke included the verses for
a reason.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">After
the little interlude about Herod throwing John into prison, the story goes on.
"Now, when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been
baptized.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">But
how could John baptize Jesus if John was in prison? Or is Luke simply writing
about something that had already happened before Herod imprisoned John? </span></div>
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">If
we pay close attention, we might notice that Luke doesn’t say anything about
Jesus' baptism. There's nothing here about Jesus going down into the water or
coming up out of the water. We probably assume that this happened as the other
gospels tell the story, but Luke doesn't seem to be very interested in the
actual moment of baptism-- but only what happened after baptism. </span></div>
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">What
Luke seems to be more interested in is that Jesus was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">praying</i> when the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a
dove. </span></div>
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">There’s
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">another</i> difference in the way Luke
tells the story. In the different accounts, we hear John saying, “I baptize you
with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Luke goes on to say, “He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing
floor and to gather the wheat into his granary. But the chaff he will burn with
unquenchable fire.</span></div>
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now, I know some people’s minds connect the “fire” John
talks about to the fires of hell, but that’s not what this is about. Generally,
“fire” in the Bible isn’t about punishment, but about purification.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This imagery is about Jesus separating the good
grain in our lives from the chaff—which is the husk part that is often thrown
away-- and how the chaff would be burned away. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Luke tells us that, when Jesus was baptized, the spirit
in the form of a dove came upon him. As Adam Ericksen points out, the symbol of
the Roman Empire was a fierce eagle—a bird of prey. The early Christians had a
different symbol: a peaceful dove.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Luke pictures John the Baptist as an end-time prophet who
announced that the world was about to change, that the realm of God was being
ushered in—a new world in which all things would live together in love, peace,
justice, mutual support, freedom, and dignity. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When John called people to repent and be baptized, he was
calling them to turn away from complicity with the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">old</i> age and its values and behaviors and to turn toward the coming
realm. John announced that the one who was coming would be more powerful, and would
bring in the new kingdom and leave the Holy Spirit to empower the community to
continue to witness to the realm. </span><br />
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">When
Jesus was held under the water by John the Baptist, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">whenever<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>it happened, he
showed what baptism is, for Jesus and for us. It’s a sign of what’s already true—no
matter what the Herods or Caesars of this world say. God tells us who we are:
“You are a beloved child of God.”</span></div>
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
Jesus’ baptism was an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">epiphany<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>moment—as the Holy Spirit descends
upon him… and he and others heard confirmation from God: “You are
mine. Beloved. I am well pleased with you.” </span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
Baptism teaches us who we are – God’s beloved children. It reminds
us of the promise: God loves us unconditionally. Baptism
reminds us that we discover who we are in relation to <i>whose</i> we
are: God’s beloved children. We belong to God’s family, and baptism
is a tangible <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sign<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i>of that.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
Baptism is about knowing who we are, so we don’t waste precious time searching
frantically for an identity that something or someone else can confer on us-- but
instead, use our lives to live out our God-given, baptism-shaped <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">identity.</i> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
The same Spirit that descended on Jesus baptizes us! We can live in
confidence that-- no matter how often we fall short or fail-- nothing that we
do or fail to do can change the fact that we are God’s beloved children.
This identity is something God gives us—as a gift.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
Maybe you don’t remember, but at your baptism, that voice named and claimed
you. We need to remember our baptism. So, turn to your
neighbor, and remind them. Tell them, you are God’s
child... God’s beloved. God loves you and claims you. <i>[Some
people even got out of their seats to share this good news. There were
smiles and maybe a handshake or hug or two.]</i></span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
There’s something else we need to remember: at our baptism, God gave each
of us the gift of the Spirit. So, let’s turn to one another and
remind one another: You’ve got the Spirit, because God gave it to you
when you were baptized.</span><br />
<i><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">[Again, people moved
around a bit and made sure everybody was reminded that they’ve got the Spirit.]</span></i><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><br />
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Okay,
so what does all this mean? </span></div>
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
Without the rest of Jesus’ life, his baptism isn’t something we can
comprehend. We can only comprehend the purpose of Jesus’ baptism when we
look at the days and years that followed that day in the Jordan. It’s
when we see Jesus taking his place with hurting people that his baptism starts
to make sense. Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan foreshadowed his baptism on
the cross. Baptism was Jesus’ commissioning for ministry.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
During the week before his death, Jesus was challenged by the leaders of the
temple: “By what authority do you do these things?”</span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
Jesus answers by referring to his baptism: “Was the baptism of John from
heaven-- or not?” In other words, I was baptized. That’s how
all this started.” It was in the waters of baptism that Jesus heard the
Spirit calling him to speak the truth and to live with grace.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
In baptism, God proclaims God's grace and love for us. God claims us and
marks us as God’s own. We have a new identity as members of the body of
Christ.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
So, we are baptized and begin a lifelong journey with God... a lifelong
process of conversion and nurture that begins at the font and doesn't end until
death, until we are at last tucked safely into the everlasting arms of the
God who first reached for us in baptism.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
God keeps on reaching out for us throughout our lives. God isn't finished
with any of us yet. Every day we live out our baptism. Every day we
need to respond to God's gracious gifts in our lives... open ourselves
again to God's work in our lives... say yes in all the big and little
things we do and people we meet and promises we keep throughout the
day.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
A major part of God's daily saving work in our lives is God's gift of the Holy
Spirit. Just as God's creating Spirit hovered over the waters in the very beginning,
the Holy Spirit works in us...leads us daily...tugging at our lives until we
are more fully turned toward God. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
In our baptism, we become part of a royal <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">priesthood</i>,
a holy nation, in order that we may proclaim the mighty acts of the One who
called us out of darkness, into God's marvelous light.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref1;"><sup><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">[1]</span></sup></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref1;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref1;"></span> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
In our Reformed part of the Protestant branch of Christ’s church, we take our
membership in the priesthood of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i> believers
very seriously. In fact, in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Presbyterian</i>
Church, we take this calling so seriously that we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ordain</i> our officers for service. The questions we ask at a
service of ordination and installation of elders and deacons-- the
questions you'll hear in a few minutes-- are the same questions asked of a
Minister of the Word and Sacrament, except one. The congregation
makes promises too: to support and encourage and pray for those who are
serving as officers.
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
Every one of us gathered here has been given a particular set of gifts to use
in God's service. This community of believers is part of God's plan to bring
good news of healing and freedom to a broken, hurting world. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
On this Baptism of the Lord Sunday, we are reminded of Jesus' baptism and our
own. We are reminded <i>who</i> we are<i>.</i>.. and <i>whose</i>
we are. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
At your baptism, the same Spirit came down upon you as came down upon Jesus at
his baptism. The same Father said to you, "you are my
beloved son"... or "you are my beloved
daughter." The same Father has continued ever since to hold
you... and to work to empower you for God's work.</span><br />
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">How
easy it is, in the midst of this life, to forget who you are... and whose
you are. So, the church is here to <i>remind</i> you that God has
named us... and claimed us... and seeks us and loves us
unconditionally.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">This
is the gift<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>Baptism gives to us. We are children of God, joined
together with Christ to all the other Children of God. </span></div>
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
So, remember your
baptism and be thankful. For this is who we are. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
Listen attentively for God’s call. Use the gifts God has given you as a
sign of the outbreaking of the kingdom of God. Take on new challenges in
your ministry. Rely on the Holy Spirit to lead and empower and uphold
you. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
As you go out into the world, be the minister that God has called you to be.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">
Amen!</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Rev. Fran
Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Dearborn,
Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">January
13, 2019</span></div>
<br />
<br />
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<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> Adam Ericksen, “Girardian
Reflection on the Lectionary: The Baptism of Jesus: Deconstructing the Fires of
Hell.” </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><a href="https://www.ravenfoundation.org/girardian-reflection-on-the-lectionary-the-baptism-of-jesus-deconstructing-the-fires-of-hell/">https://www.ravenfoundation.org/girardian-reflection-on-the-lectionary-the-baptism-of-jesus-deconstructing-the-fires-of-hell/</a></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"> </span></div>
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<br />RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-44216597678171236682019-01-06T17:23:00.000-08:002019-01-06T17:29:22.982-08:00"A Different Way." A Sermon on Epiphany Sunday from Littlefield Presbyterian Church.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzL38wcvPndPonChsEphWVzHIdj6OElZ5Hvw2k7LLvL5uxIVtmeSQmk5Q1Hd3S-8shBMq1KN6VB2UXn_0rmuVYIDg_p58MxId9gfMu4QmAdYHj9OLyP6QaDCGYpHjJ8GFohYVuxf7hrzbd/s1600/Three+magi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="400" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzL38wcvPndPonChsEphWVzHIdj6OElZ5Hvw2k7LLvL5uxIVtmeSQmk5Q1Hd3S-8shBMq1KN6VB2UXn_0rmuVYIDg_p58MxId9gfMu4QmAdYHj9OLyP6QaDCGYpHjJ8GFohYVuxf7hrzbd/s320/Three+magi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
"A Different Way"</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Matthew 2:1-12</h3>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
after-Christmas sales have been going on since December 26, and a lot of people
in the wider society have moved past the celebrations of Christmas. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the <i>church </i>is on a <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">different</span> calendar. There are <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">twelve</span> days of Christmas. So
today we’re celebrating the <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Epiphany,</span>
which actually falls this year on January 6. In Latin America and
parts of the Caribbean, Three Kings Day is the big celebration of Jesus’
birth. And in the <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Eastern</span>
part of the Church, Epiphany is the important festival and celebrates the baptism<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>of
Jesus.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In Matthew’s gospel, the Christmas <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">birth</span>
narrative is told in the <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">first</span> chapter.
By the first verse of the <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">second</span>
chapter, the shepherds are a distant <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">memory</span>.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the mysterious seers from the East
bring their gifts and worship, Jesus is almost two years old. The
holy family is settled in Bethlehem, raising their <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">toddler.</span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
On the road to Bethlehem are a group of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">magi-</i>- Zoroastrian
priests, who—despite what the song says-- weren’t kings. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matthew doesn’t tell us how many there were.
Maybe they were known as <i>wise</i> men- because of their skills in
interpreting dreams and understanding astrology. They were searching the
darkness of the <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">sky</span>...
following a <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">star</span>...
hoping to find the <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Christ</span>
child. They left the comfort and <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">security</span>
of their homes to travel through the <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">desert
</span>on their <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">quest. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
When they saw that the star had <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">stopped</span>-- they
were overwhelmed with <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">joy!</span>
They <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">found</span> the child
Jesus... and they knelt down and worshiped him. Then
they offered him their gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In his story about the Magi, Matthew tells how some people responded to the
birth of the Christ with <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">joy</span>
and <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">devotion<i>. </i></span>But woven
into the story of the Magi's devotion is the story of <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Herod's<i> </i></span>reaction to the birth of the King of the
Jews. “When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem
with him.” I think we can read between the lines to understand that when Herod
was unhappy, the people in the region had reason to be concerned about what he
might do.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Herod knew that his kingdom would be <i>threatened</i> by a new king. The
possibility of not being in <i>charge</i> of the kingdom didn't bring him
joy. He was <i>confused</i> and <i>afraid</i>… “and all Jerusalem
with him.” If this child was really the <i>Messiah</i>-- it would <i>change</i>
everything. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
In Matthew’s telling of the Nativity story, we hear a note of <i>fear </i>and
opposition to the Messiah’s birth. The news of the birth of a new
“king of the Jews” threatens Herod’s power and the status quo. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Perhaps the fear and agitation were also about how the world might be changing,
that God is doing something new, and that nothing can stay the same. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The arrival of these three astrologers is a sign that the reach of God’s
embrace is broadening…that there is no longer “insider” and “outsider,” but
that all are included in God’s mercy and salvation. This isn’t a new
theme in Judaism. But now it is happening in ways that <i>wise</i> ones
can <i>see</i> it. Who knows what could happen next?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Do you hear the <i>given-ness</i> of that event—the <i>gift?</i> Do
you hear the inclusive and <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">universal</span>
nature of it? What God did in and through Israel in Jesus is not only for
Israel-- but for the whole <i>world</i>, for all <i>people.</i> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
If we were listening carefully on Christmas <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Eve,</span> we heard the angel say this to the shepherds: this
good news is for <i>all people.</i> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Some of us hear this as good news. But for others, this more inclusive
understanding of God’s salvation plan is troubling. For those who are
more privileged or powerful, the idea of change can cause a <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">fearful </span>response. Herod
had instructed the magi to come back and tell him where they’d found the Christ
child. But they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, so they
traveled back to their own country by a different way. An angel of the
Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and warned him the Herod would be searching
for them and sent them to Egypt, so the Holy Family became <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">refugees.</span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Herod was so <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">terrified </span>of the
promise that God would, in this child, restore peace and justice that he was
willing to slaughter the infants of a whole region. When he realized the
magi hadn’t come back to tell him where the Christ child was, he ordered that
all the children two years and under in and around Bethlehem be killed.
This reminded people of what had been written by the prophet Jeremiah: <i>“A
voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her
children, she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref1;"><b><span style="color: blue;">[1]</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref1;"></span></a></i><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref1;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
As David Lose suggests, such a grim account of wholesale massacre and desperate
flights to safety would seem far-fetched were it not for similar atrocities and
tragedies happening right now.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref2"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn2"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref2;"><span style="color: blue;">[2]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref2;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref2;"></span>
How many Syrian refugee families have left everything behind in a desperate
flight for safety? How many children are starving to death around the
world or dying of preventable illnesses? How many families have fled the
danger in their central American homes, desperately seeking asylum? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many families are contending with their
own sorrows and hardships?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The light <i>shines</i> in the darkness, but there is still so much <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">darkness </span>in the world.
But Matthew wants us to know that in Jesus—<i>Emmanuel</i>—God has drawn
near to us and came to live among us, full of grace and truth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
When life is beautiful and filled with goodness and grace, God is part of that,
blessing us and celebrating with us. When life is hard and painful and
scary, God is part of that too, holding on to us, comforting us, blessing us
with the promise that God will stay with us through the good and the bad,
drawing us more and more deeply into God’s loving embrace…and promising that <i>nothing</i>—not
even death—can separate us from God’s love.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ftnref3"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn3"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref3;"><span style="color: blue;">[3]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref3;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ftnref3;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> Our scripture lessons for Epiphany are good
news! We hear the prophet Isaiah saying, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has
risen upon you.” No matter how dark things look to you now, look
around. You shall see and be radiant. Your heart shall<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> thrill</span> and <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">rejoice.”</span></i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The Gentiles from the East, these <i>outsiders</i> kneeling to worship the
Christ child, remind us that to worship the Christ with them is to see
humanity <i>differently</i>, as one family of <i>God,</i> and that the mission
of the church is to nurture, promote, work for, and celebrate the oneness of
the human family—not to <i>divide</i> it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Here too we can learn from the Magi and how they responded to Christ’s birth.
The magi had to take another road home. Not the most direct route,
or the most convenient or comfortable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Now that <i>we</i> have traveled to Bethlehem, things can be different for <i>us</i>.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
I love the way Peter Gomes puts it: “<i>For we have come from an encounter
with the world of the possible in the midst of the impossible. We have
seen God…and survived to tell the tale, moving about not knowing that our faces
shine with the encounter, bearing the mark of the encounter forever, and
marveling in the darkest night of the soul at that wondrous star-filled night.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
The world will change because <i>we </i>are changed. We have seen God—not
high and lifted up—but lowly and <i>vulnerable. God with us! </i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We have seen the reality and power of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">love</i> to conquer hate and violence. We have wondered at the
mystery of life and love. We have seen the Christ child, and nothing will
ever be the <i>same.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
We are <i>changed.</i> And because <i>we</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>are changed, the <i>world </i>will change, gradually, as we live
out our call to carry Christ’s light out into the world... to let the
light of the gospel <i>shine</i> through our <i>lives</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Let the light in, live in it, and let your light <i>shine</i>… That
is the heart of the Christian life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Which brings us to this <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Table.</span>
For here Christ, the Light of the World, offers himself to us in the gifts of
bread and wine. This table is open to all who have been claimed by Christ
in baptism, all who come to be fed, all who desire to know the truth and power
of Jesus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
So, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">come.</i> Taste and see…and <i>feast</i>
in the radiant reality of Christ our Light. May the Light of the World
not only shine on your life, but live in and be reflected in you. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
Amen! </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Rev. Fran
Hayes, Pastor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Dearborn,
Michigan</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">January 6,
2019</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</style>RevFranMusingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03036643262998050150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3288170975560848695.post-11743151561656186232018-12-23T17:54:00.006-08:002018-12-23T18:06:29.781-08:00"Saying Yes to God." A Sermon from Littlefield Presbyterian Church on the Fourth Sunday of Advent.:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2 align="center" class="DefaultText">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">"Saying Yes to God"</span></span></span></h2>
<h3 align="center" class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Luke 1</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></h3>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
</b></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Angels don’t show up very often in the Scriptures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do</i> appear, usually something big... strange...and wonderful is
about to happen.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The angel Gabriel came to tell Mary
that she had been chosen by God to help change the world, by bearing the Christ.
</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Though Gabriel
called Mary "favored one,” she apparently didn't feel favored-- at least
not at first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She felt perplexed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“How can this be?”</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And yet Mary responded to Gabriel by
saying, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Let it be with me according to your word."</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In other words, Mary says, “I'm not
sure what all of this means.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but nevertheless,
here I am, ready to be of service in God's work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever you say, God."</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What a wonderful, faithful thing for
Mary to say!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It couldn't have been an easy
decision for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Change never is. </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There was a lot at stake for
Mary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was a young peasant girl from
a small village.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her marriage to Joseph
had been arranged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Mary was poor...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and vulnerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a female, her economic SURVIVAL depended
on marriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her security depended on
her attractiveness as a wife and mother.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So--
what did it mean for a girl like Mary to say yes to God’s plan?</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It meant risking all that she had hoped
for...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>all her plans for her life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It meant risking her security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it meant risking her very life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The penalty for a woman caught in adultery in
her day could be execution by public stoning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If Joseph believed that her pregnancy was a result of an illicit affair,
then-- by law-- Mary could be taken to the edge of town and stoned to death. At
the very least, Mary would be disgraced in the eyes of the people of the
village. She’d be damaged goods.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Mary's story reminds us that to be
God's servant in the world means risking radical changes in our priorities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It means placing our very lives into God's
hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It means trusting in God to care
for us—even through dangerous times.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yet Mary responded in obedience and
trust and courage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Here I am, Lord."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'll be your servant."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now, Mary has reason to be afraid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luke tells us-- after the angel left-- Mary
hurried to visit her elderly cousin Elizabeth, who had been unable to bear
children all her life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As proof that nothing
is impossible with God-- the angel Gabriel had told Mary that Elizabeth was six
months pregnant in her old age.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When Elizabeth hears Mary's voice,
the child leaps<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>in her womb, and she knows that she has been especially
touched by God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Filled with the Holy
Spirit, Elizabeth calls out:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"You
are blessed among women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blessed is she
who believed that God's promise would be fulfilled!"</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>By declaring both Mary and the fruit
of her womb “blessed,” Elizabeth begins a series of blessings that weave
through Luke’s birth narrative and intensify its tone of joy and praise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon will all add
their blessings, praising God for what God is doing at this moment in history<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and recognizing that those who are
privileged to be instruments of God’s saving work have been richly blessed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Mary
starts singing a song the church is still singing today-- a song we might think
of as the first Christmas carol. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
song is a song of joy and praise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely, from now on, all generations will
call me blessed."</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Mary sings about the God who saves
not just souls, but embodied people. The God she celebrates isn’t content
merely to point people toward heaven. God’s redemptive work begins here on
earth. God fills the hungry not only with hope, but with food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God isn’t satisfied with comforting the
lowly, but lifts them up, giving them dignity. This is a merciful and subversive
song, that sings of how God shows strength by disrupting the world’s power
structures, bringing down the powerful from their thrones, and lifting up the lowly.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Through the centuries, Mary has been
a model of faith<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God needed Mary's
freely given <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"YES” to</b> God's
gracious invitation to become the Mother of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mystery of Incarnation could not have
taken place without Mary's wholehearted "YES."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that "YES” couldn’t have taken place
without Mary's unbounded trust in God.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Do you wonder?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: black;">How was such
radical obedience and openness on Mary's part made possible?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did she get from saying, “How can this
be?”—to “Let it be, according to God’s word”?</span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think it grew out of the sense of trust
that had developed in her as she heard the stories of the God of Abraham and
Isaac and Jacob...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and how God had
always dealt with her people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That long
history had taught her two things about God-- that God was utterly
mysterious...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and yet always good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God's ways are almost never obvious...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but they inevitably work out better than we
could imagine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that's some of the good
news of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The old King James Version puts part
of Mary’s song of praise this way: “He hath scattered the proud in the imagination
of their hearts.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that’s an
especially apt translation, for it is by our imagining, by what our hearts
picture in fear or desire, that we humans are pushed and pulled to act-- or not.
</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Imagination can be a channel for
oppression or destruction—especially when fear and resentment prevail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it can also serve to gather and bless and
inspire us. <span style="color: red;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="color: red; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">We live in a society in which the gap between the rich and
poor keeps widening… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a society in which
many people of goodwill are finding it important and necessary to declare that black
lives matter… where it’s important and necessary to stand in solidarity with
our Muslim neighbors and with refugees and people seeking asylum. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We live in a time of fear and suspicion of
people who are different… and a growing number of people believe they need guns
to protect themselves against all the terrible things they imagine. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We live in a world in which many
people lack adequate food or safe water or shelter or sanitation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
ways of the world seem to have taken over, and mercy is in short supply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it doesn’t have to be that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary models for us a way of joyful, hopeful
obedience, working with God to change the world, hoping in God’s promises. </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If we aim to follow the Jesus whose
birth we await this season, we will need to extend hospitality to strangers
instead of building walls to keep them out. We will feed the hungry, tend the
sick, and welcome little children instead of firing tear gas at them or
punishing them for being brought across our borders by parents who are
desperately seeking safety. </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When our fears get the best of us
and tell us to build walls to keep people out or to arm ourselves to keep
ourselves safe, I hope and pray that we will instead run with Mary to
Elizabeth—to the arms of a faithful covenant community that will remind us of
God’s many blessings and embolden us and help us to see the face of Jesus in
the faces of those who are marginalized. </span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you read through the first few
chapters of Luke, you’ll notice that several songs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary sings the “Magnificat” in today’s
story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Zechariah sings when his son John
is born and his tongue is finally loosened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The angels sing of peace and goodwill when they share their “good news
of great joy” with the shepherds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
Simeon sings his song of farewell when he has seen God’s promises
fulfilled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Why all these songs?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think David Lose is right when he suggests
that singing can be an act of resistance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>African slaves knew this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
they sang their spirituals, they were praising God and also protesting the injustices
of their lives and pointing the way to freedom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The civil rights leaders in our nation
knew this, too, as they sang their freedom songs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The protesters in Leipzig in 1989
knew this as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For several months
before the fall of the Berlin wall, the citizens of Leipzig gathered on Monday
evenings by candlelight around St. Nikolai Church—the church where Bach
composed so many of his cantatas—to sing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Over two months, their numbers grew from a little more than a thousand
people to more than three hundred thousand—over half the citizens of the city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They sang songs of hope and protest and
justice, until their song shook the powers of their nation and changed the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Later, when someone asked one of the
officers of the Stasi, the East German secret police, why they didn’t crush
this protest like they had so many others, the officer replied, “We had no contingency
plan for song.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today,
I hope we will sing Mary’s song of praise with her...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and watch for signs of how “the world is
about to turn.”</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A lot of what we do when we come
together in worship is practicing this imagination of the heart, by the gift
and command of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the liturgy, we imagine
that love rules already, that the lowly are lifted up, that death is conquered,
sin cleansed away... peace triumphant...and Christ touched and seen and
tasted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the verge of Christmas, we
imagine and sing with Mary.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Imagine with the Magnificat its dream
of a justice that re-distributes wealth and privilege and power, so that
everyone has what they need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine a
world where the lion and the lamb can be together in peace… where those who
have been proud and rich can be in solidarity with those who yearn for a
turning of the socio-economic tables… imagine discovering that there can be enough
for everyone in God’s realm…and remember that we're invited to participate more
fully in God's saving work in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Mary was invited to bear
Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so, my friends, are we.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We can choose to say YES to God, and
open ourselves to let God use us as instruments of love and grace and mercy and
justice and peace.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.0pt; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 12.0pt;">Today’s
gospel story is about Mary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it’s your
story and mine as well. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God has chosen each
of us, favored each of us, graced each of us, and spoken God’s Word to, over,
and in each of us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.0pt; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 12.0pt;">By the
power of God’s Spirit, God has descended upon us and conceived Christ in us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are called to be God-bearers, a</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt;"> calling that can bring with it
extraordinary privileges as well as significant hardships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the promise remains the same: </span><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 12.0pt;">nothing is impossible for the One we
serve and bear.</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">We are called to bear the love of Christ out into the world...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and to let it transform the world, as it
transforms us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>" Let it be with me, according
to your word.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> " </span>Let it be with us, according to your
Word.”</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Let it be!</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<br /></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Rev. Fran Hayes,
Pastor</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Littlefield
Presbyterian Church</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Dearborn, Michigan</span></div>
<div class="DefaultText">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">December 23, 2018<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="DefaultText" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 161.75pt;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3288170975560848695#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> David
Lose, “Singing as An Act of Resistance, at davidlose.net, December 14, 2015.</div>
</div>
</div>
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