On Wednesday, I had to go out, but I had the privilege of deciding when I went.
So when I looked out, and it was raining, I decided to wait for the rain to pass. While I waited, I was thinking about the fact that not everyone has the privilege of making that choice. Those who are without shelter have limited choices. Those who use public transportation and are unprotected from the elements may not have this privilege.
God created all that exists – including the weather and in our intelligence and our arrogance, we have created the means by which to ignore God’s parameters. We created lights so we could stay awake at night, but then we decided that since we could stay awake, people should work during the night hours. And we created cars because they were more convenient than carriages, and they work in all temperatures and all weather. So we have to go to work in the rain and the snow in the frigid cold and brutal heat.
I just wonder if we have not done ourselves a disservice. And I wonder if we do a disservice to others by expecting others to work all sorts of hours to make our lives more…complete? So we can have what we want whenever we may want it? So we have the emergency care we need – yes. But have we bought the lie that we have to work on all days – in all conditions to make money for others?
As an older person, these are the things I’m beginning to think about. Who am I trying to please with my life?
Our scripture from Isaiah 40 is part of a poem of exilic hope written to the people of Judah during the Babylonian exile – People who felt hopeless and forgotten by God.
Here, the writer asserts that God is both creator and ruler of the world, who promised them a joyous return to their homeland & reminded them that they are not alone. God has not abandoned them, even if they were told this happened as a consequence of not following God’s laws. God was still active in the world and was with them – even if they don’t notice or feel God’s presence. Just as God is still active and present with us – even if we don’t notice or feel God’s presence.
In Matthew’s Gospel, John is criticizing those who are exploitative and self-serving. When the institution loses sight of the higher and greater good of all, we are in jeopardy. When we make money by causing another’s suffering, we have lost our way, and Matthew is very clear that there is a type of “hell” waiting for us whether it is described as “an unquenchable fire” or where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew uses that line six times in his gospel as he is clearly using fear and intimidation to encourage faithfulness. Personally, I am not fan!
BUT – When do we stop and consider how our living affects others? What have I done through my words? What have I done through my silence?
If I asked you right now to name a few people whom you see as exploitative and self-serving, you could at least give me your top three – if not many more! But as Matthew also says, “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eyebut do not notice the log in your own eye? – Matthew 7:3
I don’t know about you, but those at the top of my list for exploitation and self-serving actions are hurting many more people than I think I do; however, this is a good reminder that I may not realize who all I affect by buying the cheapest items made in sweatshops by forced child labor. The reality is that we are terrified of not having enough power or enough money.
White Christian nationalism is about these trying to preserve these two things, and it will fail because God is about diversity.
Look at all that we have considered this summer there is diversity in everything God created!
So why do we think that only white men with money have the answers, especially while they try to hide their own sins! We are part of an ecosystem – and it only works when we all play by the rules.
And Jesus laid out the rules very simply: Love God – Love one another. Care about people other than yourself and your group!
When everything is shared, there is less poverty and crime because when everyone has what they need, there is less need to cheat and steal. We honor the natural and social world by caring for others and making sure others have what they need.
As we begin today, let’s start with a bit of Bible study, as some of you may have been surprised by the scripture choice of Sirach 42:15-22.
This book is part of what is called the Apocrypha, which, if included, comes between the Old & New Testaments and is viewed as an extension of the Hebrew Bible. Sirach, also known as The Wisdom of Ben Sira (meaning Son of Sirach), is known as wisdom literature like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and is written as a teacher’s guide to students.
It is known for encouraging “Fear of the Lord,” meaning observance of these teachings and the laws of Moses, because to the writer, keeping the laws guarantees God’s blessings. This is a poem of praise to God as the creator. What is striking to me is the level at which we are known to God according to this scripture.
“God explores both the Abyss and the human heart, and is intimate with them to their depths;God knows all things, and watches over the signs of the times.God declares the past and futureand discloses the traces of things held in secret.Not a single thought is unnoticed by God, and not a word is hidden from God.“
Take a moment to consider that. Not a single thought is unnoticed by God.
As a teenager, I remember being told to never be in a position that would be embarrassing if Jesus showed up. Obviously, that was meant to put the “fear of God” in me!
But do you believe these statements? Do you believe that God knows everything? Omniscience? Since I believe that God is with all and in all, I do believe that God knows everything.
Do you believe that God declares the past and future?
As God knows everything, God knows the past. As for the future, I believe God knows infinite possibilities for the future. If you believe that God knows the future, then you believe in predestination, which follows the premise that God has already planned out everything that is to happen.
I don’t believe that God would plan for good people to suffer or plan for us to hurt each other in the horrible ways we do.
Do you believe God discloses what is held in secret? This question leads me to another: If so, to whom does God disclose the secret? The adage of “We are only as sick as our secrets” comes out of self-help programs and is repeated because of its truth.
I do believe that God has our best interests in mind, so encouraging us to be honest about our secrets with God and those who can be trusted not to hurt us with this information is helpful to us.
And it is at this point that I saw the connection to the work I have been doing with the Gestalt Pastoral Counseling.
Our bodies hold our shame and guilt as well as our minds and hearts. And our shame and guilt skew our perception as well as increasing our overall suffering.
But God is also able to heal us when we engage with God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit or whatever name you wish to use for the Divine. Unlike the government wanting to listen in on our private conversations, God listens and knows in order to bring healing, wholeness, and love.
So another question is: Do we trust God enough to be open to God’s healing?
Or do we gain something from our secrets or suffering? Yes, welcome down the “rabbit holes” of my thinking. In addition to reminding us of all that God did in creation, I think this scripture is another reminder that we are not God.
I believe the Jewish theory that there is a space within us where a sliver of God resides and our call as God’s creation is helping to mend the brokenness of the world. Our gospel reading invites us to consider what we do with the most precious thing we have–which, by the way, is meant to be the love of God that we know best through the life and teachings of Christ Jesus.
This begs the question: Do you consider the love of God to be your most precious thing?
If not, what then is more important to you? If so, what are you doing with it? How are you showing and sharing it?
The point of this scripture is that we are not to hide our faith or the love that we are so grateful to know. It is to be on the “lampstand” – obvious in the way we live our life – written on our faces by the way we encounter others. This has been taken by some to mean that one makes a show of it – asking others if they are “saved” or “if they know Jesus.”
I think God is looking for how we treat our neighbor, the stranger, the one in need. Are we willing to use our resources to make sure others have what they need?
This is at the heart of the Good Samaritan story. What does the love of God ask of us? Are we diligent in growing our faith through study, prayer and action?
I just finished reading a book called “The Night Watchman” by Louise Erdrich
Which is a historical fiction piece about the congressional 1953 “Termination Resolution” that made American Indians subject to the same laws and entitled them to the same privileges and responsibilities as other citizens. This all sounds very good; however, they already had citizenship, and what it did was take away their protections and their land. So these people who were already living in poverty, were now expected to move into the towns and cities and become assimilated. It took away their land and tried to take away their culture.
And why did we do this? Because they were not considered worth the cost of our support. We viewed them as “others” or “things” rather than people just as we have done with African-Americans and all of the non-white immigrant populations that have come to our country.
On this, the 250th anniversary of our country, we need to admit that we have both a beautiful story to tell and many times failed to be our best selves. We brag about being a “melting pot,” but what we want is for everyone to conform to White Anglo-Saxon European Christian ways. And just to be clear, making someone out to be our enemy who we have the right to ‘rule’ is not new! It has been going on since the beginning of time. It is even described in our Holy Scriptures.
Today, as we consider these scriptures from Genesis and Proverbs, we are called to consider how we can become even slightly better rather than relenting that it is a helpless cause that others will just have to endure. Where, my friends, is the humility in that?
Now if you received the Come Sunday and read it, you are aware that there is a challenge in our scripture too. In Genesis 1, the pronouns used for God are plural – “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness.” (v. 26, NRSV) This has been a point of contention for scholars over the centuries with no clear answer.
Please do not misinterpret what I am about to say; this does not provide a clear answer; however, it is interesting when read beside Proverbs 8. The plural pronouns could refer to God & Wisdom – another theory is that they refer to the Trinity – Father, Son & Holy Spirit.
Historically speaking, Genesis is believed to have been written and compiled between the tenth and sixth centuries before the Common Era, whereas Proverbs is believed to have been written in the sixth or later centuries BCE. Some scholars believe that the female characters described in Proverbs are remnants of ancient goddess worship within Israelite society. But what may be even more profound is that over the millennia God has not tired of us and our foolish, destructive ways.
Or as the writer of Hebrews says, “What are humans that you are mindful of themor mortals that you care for them?You have made them for a little while lower than the angels.” – Hebrews 2:6-7
If we include at this point what we know of the Genesis Ch. 2-3 stories, we will remember that God made a couple, but the couple was not able to follow the rules. They already showed their defiance by eating from the tree that was off-limits. They had everything, and yet, it was not enough!
This same truth applies today! Most of us have what we need and more, and yet we are SO afraid of losing it or not having enough that we demonize others and deport them out of our fear.
Our fear of losing something – Our fear of losing our power as the majority – Our fear of losing the ability to set the rules. And yet, we were created as part of God’s abundant creation with the ability to reproduce and prosper.
And in that scripture, what did we focus on? In the Revised Standard Version that some of you may have grown up with and the New Revised Standard Version, the word is “dominion.” The Inclusive Version used the word “responsible.” The Hebrew word means “to subdue,” so we realized God gave us authority over everything else – we were “King of the Mountain” and everything else had to submit to us.
But with this, we have forgotten that we did not create ourselves. We are all subject to God, the Divine, the Holy – or whatever name you wish to use – who created life. We were created to support and care for the rest of life with a respect for it.
It seems like the wisdom here is to have the humility to recognize our place in the grand order of things. But I wonder if wisdom has been replaced by our longing for power and control.
So I leave you with this question to reflect on: “Does what I do, or give, or offer, make any difference? Does it mean anything?” And a quote from distinguished environmentalist and academic, best known for his work in ecological design and sustainability education, Davis Orr: “The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind.”
Last week I preached about the ground and humility and I felt that I got a dose of humility as that sermon did not flow like it normally does.
So I had to sit with why that was true, and maybe the reason is that I, too, have a difficult time believing that the ground we walk is sacred all the time, rather than just when a miracle occurs. Even though I look for God’s mysteries and graces in nature, I also take much of it for granted.
I wonder if this is why there are more creation stories in the Bible than the first two chapters of Genesis. Just as we needed four gospels to begin to understand who Jesus was, what he taught, and the difference he made to the world, we need multiple creation stories to remind us that this world is not just about us and what we want.
They remind us that we are a piece in the web of life that is God’s creation.
Psalm 104 reminds us to be grateful to God for all that is created, and to recognize that God is also the one who sustain us through it.
“All creatures depend on you to feed them at the proper time.” v.27“Take away your breath – they die and return to dust.” V.29b
And how does God feed us at the proper time? By creating a system that creates more life, sustains it, and then, as it dies, creates new life in its place. Every plant and animal can reproduce not for itself but for the benefit of creation. The oak tree produces acorns, which can create other oak trees to supply needed shade on hot days as well as cleaning the air, but they also supply food for the rabbits and squirrels which supply food for larger creatures, including us.
The Genesis scripture gives a bit more detail on this process as we hear God command the Earth to produce vegetation – “Plants that scatter their own seeds and every kind of fruit tree that bears fruit.” In this, we see the abundant potential of God’s creation. The Earth’s vegetation will produce enough food for all its creatures – including us. And God saw that it was good!
But, we have always had a mindset of scarcity and never believed in the abundance of God. So, we have hoarded resources and are still trying to deny folks of food, water, shelter and safety. We are told that groups of people – Black, Brown, and Indigenous people, and the LGBTQ community are to blame for our pain rather than realizing that all people – regardless of who they are, where they live or how they live are created by the same God and are entitled to the same gifts of creation that we are. And for those who are struggling, we say their lack of hard work puts them there rather than acknowledging that we have created systems to protect the white, straight people out of our fear.
Metaphorically speaking, we too are God’s seeds with abundant potential to care for creation and all its creatures.
We were created to reproduce, care for each other, and the rest of creation. So I’m wondering what seeds within you do you nurture through your relationship with God? What are the “seeds” you plant with those around you? Within each of us is a call from God. That call wants to help us be the best version of ourselves. If we are struggling or hurting, God wants to heal us. If we are unsure of our way, God hopes we will listen for God’s guidance Which will lead us to abundant life now and for eternity.
Hear this quote from former President Jimmy Carter – “I have one life and one chance to make it count for something.I’m free to choose what that something is,and the something I’ve chosen is my faith.Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religionand requires considerable work and effort.My faith demands—this is not optional—my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am,whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I haveto try to make a difference.”
This means the types of “seeds” he tried to plant with others – Seeds of patience, kindness, generosity, and faithfulness – Come to my mind when I think of him.
Yesterday we had our first booth at the Lancaster Pride festival, and we were planting seeds.
We were planting seeds with people who did not know us and were unsure what kind of church we were. The booth directly next to us reminded us that there are a lot of people with religious trauma, they were a counseling service that offered services for religious trauma.
In our booth, we had this beautiful mural that was designed and painted by Deklan, Monica, and Monica’s brother, which had the tree of life on it, but just the branches. We invited attendees to put something on the tree, and they did! Once this mural is finished, I hope you’ll take time to really read what people wrote. Because we asked them to share the ways they’ve been hurt, and some people did. We also asked them to write their hopes for the whole community, LGBTQIA+ and beyond.
I want to share with you just one interaction I had while I was there. A woman and her young child came up, and her child had just the biggest smile, so I said, “What a beautiful smile you have.” The mom then asked what our booth was doing, and I explained. She looked at me, a little concerned, and asked if her child could just color on one. I said, of course, so I handed him a flower, and he used his markers to decorate it. When he was done, I asked if I could put it up on the board for him. He ripped up his flower, and the mom looked scared. I just put out my hand and asked, “Would you like me to take the pieces?” To ease the mom’s mind, I said, “It’s okay, this is what this is about. It’s about making space for everyone, however they need to be here and express themselves.” I think she was afraid I would be angry that the child didn’t do it right. She thanked me because I knew they just needed some grace. So what if the child didn’t do it the way we planned? It’s about knowing that her child was accepted and that she was accepted and cared for.
That’s what PRIDE is about. That no matter who you are, you are a child of God. You are loved and worthy of God’s love and grace just as you are. We had a chance to make a difference in that mother and son’s lives, just in that short interaction. But hopefully, they got a different sense of the church. There was a different sense of the church in the parking lot, telling attendees they were going to hell for going to Pride and bringing their children to Pride. But inside, there were people, like us, who just offered them grace.
That’s who we are called to be, people who offer love and grace.
So this week, I could go on at length about the problems of the world.
As we were hit by a cyberattack, which not only overwhelmed our email system but also, through my email, got into some of my personal affairs. The good news is that after changing some passwords, this seems to be resolving. The bad news is that it occupied way too much of my time this week! It took my mental and emotional energy.
I also saw an email from my friend Megan Malick in her post for The New Path, where she states that this is a time for “Invisible Grief.” Around Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and graduations, these happy occasions have expectations that we will act in certain ways, which may not align with how we are feeling.
Like we talked last week, about how we don’t know what physical or health challenges one is dealing with, we also don’t know what grief may be there. The point of my sharing this is I think that was also true for the disciples during today’s scripture.
Let’s take a moment to reflect on the events leading up to today.
The person, Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had spent so much time with and whom they had come to know as the promised Messiah, was killed by the Roman Empire, and they couldn’t – didn’t stop it. They watched him die and knew his body was buried.
But three days later, they were told of his resurrection. The women found the tomb empty, and “two men in dazzling clothes” showed up and reminded them that he had told them this was what would happen. The women ran and told the disciples, but they did not believe. Then Peter went to the tomb and, after seeing the grave clothes, “he went home, amazed at what happened.”
Then Clopas and a friend were walking and talking on the Road to Emmaus, and a man joined them to listen and then shared the story of faith. And at the meal, he was revealed to be the risen Christ in the breaking of the bread. So they went to the disciples, who are still huddled together, and told them what happened. While they were telling the disciples their Emmaus Road story, Jesus Christ showed up among them and asked for something to eat and ate it to prove that he was a physical being and not a ghost.
Then he stayed with them for 40 days, where they may have thought everything was going back to how it had been. Until he took them out to Bethany, raised his hands, and was physically lifted into the sky and disappeared.
Emotionally, they had been at their lowest and were unsure of how to proceed, when suddenly Jesus was back with them. This had to have taken them a moment – to go from deep sadness and grief to joy-filled surprise. I’m sure they needed some time to believe what they were experiencing. It’s a “pinch me so I know it’s real” moment. I can only imagine they were thinking, “Now what?!?” In their bewilderment wondering, “What are we to do?”
That’s when “two men in white robes” show up and ask them, “Why are they standing there staring at the sky?” Which sounds a bit insensitive, but the point is that they are to be about the work of Jesus. He had empowered them to do the healing work he had done and asked them to continue his mission by being his witnesses to the ends of the earth.
This was their role – to be witnesses – and they did it. This is what led to the creation of the Christian church. Because of their witness, the writers created the gospels. They were the storytellers of their time.
What are we to do with their stories, with our holy scriptures?
I think we are called to be the messengers who share the stories. Like the disciples, we cannot get stuck reminiscing about the past – about what the church used to be – about what we once did. We are called to look forward to what still can be, to listen and discern what the Spirit is saying to us.
Today, we will be praying a Litany of Gratitude for this space as it has seen baptisms, weddings, and great celebrations. It has also housed funerals and times of great loss and grief. This sanctuary has held it all, and the Spirit here still invites us each week. And the Spirit will journey with us as we go to the Bachman Center next week and be with us there for the summer during the renovation. There we will have a blessing of the space and give thanks for the Spirit that is always present when two or more gather in Christ’s name.
When we return after the renovation, We will rededicate this space for the continuation of its mission – of it being a place of inclusive refuge, a place of compassionate justice, and a place of environmental advocacy.
And our role is to continue to consider how we are living that out in our ministries. How are we reaching out to our community to tell them about the inclusive refuge we are working to be? How do we tell them that we care about injustice in our world? How do we tell them that we are working towards being better stewards of the environment?
If you don’t know this about me, the word “obey” has negative connotations to me.
I was raised in a house, yes, I said house, not a home, Because although we looked similar to the Brady Bunch, we were not – we co-existed. So when I am told to “obey,” I want more specifics. Obey what rule? Who wants my obedience? And for what reason?
I am one of those people who does not respond well to “Because I told you so,” even though I used that line on our children, too. It is with this context that I approach this week’s scripture.
So if we look at the problem in the scripture, we remember from last week, we are still in the 14th chapter of John.
This was written to Jewish people who have been ostracized from their Jewish community -put out of their synagogues for believing in Jesus as the Messiah. It was NOT intended to create new followers but to sustain the faith of those already following “The Way.” This happened in the late first century.
Again, this context is crucial to working through the language of John’s gospel. Our focus verse for this week is the words of Jesus saying,
“Those who obey the commandments are the ones who love me,and those who love me will be loved by God.” – John 14:21a
And…being me…I want to know which commandments we are referring to. In the Gospel of John, Jesus gives the “New Commandment.” In John 13:34 and two other times later, “Love each other.Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other.” I would add to this, “Love the Lord your God”
Because they are Jewish – That is the first and most important commandment. It is also the one used by Jesus in the other Gospels where Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all of your beingand love your neighbor as yourself.”
But do you hear the difference? John’s version is inwardly facing. We are to love “each other.” It doesn’t say anything about our neighbor. And the answer to the question of why the difference is the same reason that John’s Gospel appears to look harshly at “The Jews.” Because John’s audience is the minority who are grieving the loss of their community.
They are the outsiders trying to find their way of living “The Way!” Jesus’ statement is an invitation to participate in God’s loving mission!
A2FP81 Rare studio photograph of Mahatma Gandhi taken in London England UK at the request of Lord Irwin 1931
In the Acts scripture, Peter has just had a dream where God told him there is no such thing as clean and unclean in creation.
All creatures in creation are clean and can be eaten as all people are clean and worthy of baptism and inclusion in God’s Beloved Community. So Peter has an attitude adjustment and welcomes the Gentiles. Here I think the words of Mahatma Gandhi are relevant: “Whenever you are in doubt… recall the face of the poorest and the most vulnerable person whom you may have seen, and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to them“
The love that God has for us and the love we are being called to share is an expansive love rather than exclusive.
It seeks to help us grow in knowledge and wisdom to find more hope, peace, love, and joy in the world. So, as we gather, we have to remember to make space.
For instance – for those with disabilities we cannot see. It is allowing others to name what they need that includes them rather than deciding that we know best. And if we are honest, we have done that A LOT!!
This is a humble love that wants the best for others without declaring what that is. God declared God’s ultimate love for us in sending us Jesus, so that we can learn to love as God loves. And this love transcends greed, prejudice, self-Interest, fear, and narrow-mindedness. Instead, God’s love is one that embraces all people and creation! This is the love we are called to experience and to share!
And I leave you with the wisdom of Gandalf… A dismayed Frodo said, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.”And Gandalf responds, “And so do all who live to see such times.But that is not for them to decide.All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
We don’t choose the times we live in, but it’s often the case that the times choose us, to live out our faith, our resistance, and our healing. It is seldom, if ever, fun. Or easy.
But remember the words from 8th Chapter of John’s gospel where Jesus says, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” – John 8:31-32
Before we get into the three conversations that make up today’s reading, I want to say a bit more about John’s gospel and the location of today’s scripture, John 11:4-37.
Last week, I talked about the “signs” or miracles John uses to prove his point that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, Savior of the world. And this chapter contains another “sign” – The resuscitation of Lazarus.
I recently read the argument for calling it a resuscitation rather than a resurrection because Lazarus is going to die again. He did not have a resurrection as Jesus did, nor does he ascend to heaven.
In this scripture, we also have the fifth of the seven “I am” statements of Jesus, “I am the resurrection and the life.” – John 11:25. Interestingly, the 11th chapter is the middle of John’s gospel, and is a literary hinge designed to shift our perspective from seeing “signs”. To see “God’s glory so the Son of God may be glorified.”
This story is so empowering for believers because Martha and Mary tell Jesus with their words and actions what they are thinking. They both believe in Jesus – Martha confesses, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God,the one coming into the world.” But Jesus also experiences their pain and grief.
So when life doesn’t go the way we want or the way we have prayed for it to go, we can stand in the assurance that we can also tell God what we think. We can name our pain – our disappointment – our anger and know that Christ will be moved by it. That does not say that we will have our prayer answered – Because we cannot know or understand all the ways of God – But God is listening and will join us in whatever we are feeling.
We, like the sisters, want to avoid uncomfortable outcomes. And in our grief, we are invited to “let go” To let go of our expectations, to let go of our need for control, to let go and accept what is. Like Jesus, we can “feel all the feels” and express them – No matter who we are – this is what makes us human.
As we celebrate the work of women in our congregation, I want to highlight today Nora Beck Smith, whose story connects with the conversations and hard questions raised by today’s scripture.
Underlying Nora’s story and her call was a yearning from within and important questions about who she was and what she was meant to do. Being a member of St. John’s and then Church of the Apostles, she brought her questions to Rev. Glenn Rader, who was honest enough to admit that he didn’t have the answers to her questions. But he took her to Lancaster Theological Seminar, where she could explore her questions in a safe and nurturing environment.
A Jesuit priest taught Christian history during her time and invited them to see themselves in the stories of scripture and to creatively write about their experiences. This helped her to develop her questions and deepen her faith.
Nora was the first minister to join Rev. Schellenberger & Rev. Rader with this congregation, and we give thanks for her curiosity and call, which she shared with us.
As we are one week from Holy Week, there are a three take-aways that I want you to have today.
The first is that John’s gospel is favorable towards women. In this gospel, women are more than just important characters; their words have been preserved. This Jesus engages women in conversations without demeaning them. In this gospel, it is a woman – Martha in our scripture today – who declares who Jesus is, rather than Peter, who does it in the other gospels.
It will also be a woman, Mary Magdalene, who is the first witness to see the risen Christ. For women’s history month, this is worth noting.
Also, as we will be reading John’s gospel through Holy Week, I want to make sure that when you hear the words “the Jews,” you realize it is often referring to the religious leaders. All the characters of John’s gospel are Jewish – The Samaritans are not considered Jewish because they don’t look to Jerusalem as their holy site. But all the others are.
I say this because this can be read as the most anti-Semitic gospel, and that is not helpful or accurate. So as you read the scriptures, I want you to be sensitive to this. Our Jewish brothers and sisters are very scared right now. I will also name those of the Jewish people that I know support the state of Israel, but not the policies and wars of Netanyahu.
Rather, Jesus models and teaches us to care for those around us- whether they are family or strangers. Caring means empathizing with their stories and wanting the best for them. We are to be creating a world based on mutual care and compassion, not about who has the biggest weapons, biggest egos, and forces others to submit to promote their way of living.
In John’s gospel, Jesus says that he came that we may have life and have it abundantly – John 10:10. Let us work towards an abundant life for all!
Today’s scripture, John 9:1-34, was quite involved, and we did not read it to the end.
In the seven verses we didn’t read, Jesus seeks the blind man and asks him if he believes, and the formerly blind man worships him. Then, Jesus has another confrontation with the Pharisees in which he reminds them that because they do not “see” him for who he is, their “blindness” continues.
But I’m wondering what questions you may have after hearing this scripture?
The goal of John’s gospel is to prove the identity of Jesus as the Messiah, Son of God, Savior of the world.
To make that point, the writer employs two strategies which are evident in this scripture – a “sign” of his power and an “I am” statement. In this scripture, Jesus gives sight to a man blind from birth, a sign that Jesus is one who restores our sight and he declares, “I am the light of the world,” naming that he reveals truth.
Jo-Ann Brant, a Johannine scholar at Goshen College, theorizes that this story is a miniature version of the larger story of Jesus.
the crowd questions his identity (9:8-9),
he asserts “I am” (9:9),
he speaks frankly and logically throughout but is treated as an invalid witness (9:18),
he is accused of being a sinner,
he combats the Pharisees with sarcasm and truth (9:34),
This story ends in irony as the one who was blind “sees” who Jesus really is and those who claim to have vision are “blind” to who Jesus is. Jo-Ann A. Brant, John, Paideia Commentaries on the New Testament(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011), 151-52, 154-59.
As this is Women’s History Month, I want to name the connection I see with this scripture, and it is how the formerly blind men’s and women’s experiences are generally not believed.
Unfortunately, this is also true for people of color and the LGBTQIA community. As the townsfolk questioned if the formerly blind man was even the same person when he told his story, I think of women who were violated, and others failed to believe them.
The popularity of the #MeToo movement the other year was based on that fact. It was finally a way in which women could name the demeaning and violent experiences they had without getting into the details.
Our problem is now complicated by AI, where our images can be used to create stories that did not happen, and because in the 20th century, we learned to trust video and pictures, we are left struggling.
I think we have reached a time when we need to tell our stories in-person and in safe spaces – thus the need for us to provide a safe space for this to happen. AND we need to listen to another’s truth and accept it and whomever they are as true – and here’s the challenge – even when it does not fit into our understandings of the world.
We have to be open enough to accept and respect another’s experience, even if it hasn’t been ours, and it makes us rethink how we understand others.
So where does this leave us?
Well, it may not feel good to hear, but we are like the disciples and Pharisees who want to judge others and point out their failings without looking at our own. And Jesus’ words provide corrections to our thoughts and actions.
We want rewards from God, so we think there needs to be punishments too. But maybe there aren’t. No one was being punished by the man being born blind.
To the Pharisees, just because Jesus healed on the Sabbath does not mean he is not of God. We, like the disciples and Pharisees, focus on the wrong things. Instead of seeing the gift of God, we disqualify it.
This week was a hard week with several attacks within our own country and abroad. We can let our legislators know that this is not the world we want. But we also need to name what we do want. We need to name that we want each person to be valued and respected, no matter who they are. Then we need to practice that too!
We need to be the love we want to see in the world. We need to put ourselves in positions to hear the stories of others –even if it is through documentaries on TV or reading non-fiction biographies of those whose lives are different. We can maintain our hope by reading about the hope and courage of those who have lived through hard times.
This is not the first time our country has experienced hard times. Let us focus on being and building the Beloved Community of God.
The last time I preached here, the topic was Jesus’ baptism. If you were here and you remember that far back, you’ll remember how I proposed that the point of this story was to show us that Jesus was more like us than perhaps we thought he was.
At Jesus’ baptism, the descending dove from heaven was there to affirm to Jesus who he was, God’s Beloved Son. In that story, we can also hear God saying those same things to us, that we are God’s beloved children and we are loved.
Today, we find ourselves back in that continued story. Right after his baptism, Jesus immediately went into the desert and spent 40 days fasting and praying. Have you ever fasted for 40 days? I tried it one time. I attended a charismatic, spirit-filled church more than 10 years ago, and they were big on fasting at least once a year. The pastor there would call the entire congregation to a fast, usually a really specific type of fast, referred to as the Daniel Fast, though it was considered to be a partial fast. Meaning that the person fasting focused on cutting certain food groups out, and they were allowed to eat others because it was called the Daniel Fast. It was considered to be the right kind of fast. It was for the super spiritual people to use this fast as more of a bragging right, or a way to make themselves look and feel more holy than others around them. They would make a big thing of preaching to others about it. They would overemphasize the stomach growls and the digestive issues that result from separating your diet into different groups.
This past week, on Ash Wednesday, we spent time in Isaiah 51, where God was angry at people who would fast for show and at the same time engage in dishonest business practices, abuse their servants, disregard the least among them, and fight with their neighbors. That was very much the culture of the church that I attended. Needless to say, fasting left a bad taste in my mouth. If only for that reason, I’m not gonna call you guys to fast, at least not in that way in our gospel reading.
In our Scripture reading today, Matthew 4:1-11, it said that Jesus fasted for 40 days, and at the end of that, the devil appeared to him, the audacity.
Can you imagine how hungry Jesus was? Remember, Jesus was fully human, so it’s not a stretch to say that he was probably hangry. I know that nobody here can relate to that, but just try to stay with me.
According to the passage, the fast was over, Jesus should have been able to leave the desert, walk into town, and grab himself a burger. But no, this guy shows up and starts his shenanigans. Hey, Jesus, are you hungry? I bet you are. Why not turn those stones into bread? But Jesus doesn’t bite. It isn’t pumpernickel that keeps me going. “Man does not live by bread alone. Rather, he lives on every word that comes from the mouth of the Eternal One” – Matthew 4:4.
Jesus isn’t saying that bread or pizza or ice cream or french fries are bad, or that we should all starve ourselves. What he is saying is that he’s not going to use his privilege as the son of God to satisfy his desire for food. He could have turned the stones into bread or anything he wanted, but why? What would that prove? Maybe the question is, what does not doing it prove?
Perhaps it proves that his relationship with God is what gives him life and the ability to keep going, even when his stomach growls louder than he can speak. The devil didn’t care that he was hungry. He wanted to make him question his identity, to doubt that God really loved him, to lean on his own abilities to satisfy himself, but Jesus didn’t take the bait. If the second and third temptations are more of the same, the devil takes him to the top of the building and tells him to jump. God will send angels to catch you. But Jesus replies by quoting Deuteronomy, don’t you dare test the Lord your God. Why would I cry wolf when there’s no wolf?
Jesus knew that God was protecting him. He didn’t need to run a full experiment to verify that promise. In a last-ditch effort to get Jesus to fold, the devil takes him to the top of a very high mountain and shows him all of the kingdoms of the world, and he says to him, “If You bow down and worship me, I will give You all these kingdoms” – Matthew 4:9. Jesus had had enough at this point. The devil had badly miscalculated, and now Jesus had beaten him. I know who my God is, and you definitely aren’t it. I will only ever worship the one true God, the devil left tail between his legs, defeated. He should have known better if Jesus didn’t fall for the first one.
When I was younger, I used to go to open mic nights and karaoke. If you hadn’t picked up on this yet. I love to sing, I love to play guitar, and I love doing those things for other people’s enjoyment.
Every time I would go out, somebody would inevitably ask me, “Why are you here? Why aren’t you on American Idol?” And I would often reply to them that I didn’t want to be famous. Fame can change people, and I didn’t want to be changed. I remember watching American Idol and noticing how, from the audition to the final performance, the contestants were completely changed. Their look, their sound, and their presence were all shaped and molded by the judges and coaches. A lot of the time, at least from my perspective, it was not for the better.
I felt that if I went on a show like that, I would be selling out. What I had not yet grasped at that point in my life was that I was actually doing that very thing every day. I was presenting to the world in a way that it had molded me and in the way that I thought was most acceptable. Meanwhile, I was hiding and denying who I really felt that I was inside. It was God’s love that broke through and changed me when I finally recognized and allowed myself to come out to myself and the world; no amount of stone sandwiches or rooftop flight experiments or crowns or kingdoms could make me give up my identity, the real me, my soul.
A few years ago, while I was at the beach with my adopted parents, I asked my dad, who is a retired United Methodist minister, if he would baptize me. I had been baptized as a teen, but I wanted to hear the name that I had chosen spoken as I was laid beneath the water. There was no dove, but I heard the same message that Jesus heard from God as I emerged from the salty Atlantic waters. Deklan J. Lewis knows that he is a beloved son of God, and he knows that the love of God is the only thing that truly sustains him.
This month is Black History Month, and we’ve been highlighting a piece of that history each week.
This week, I was looking over the notes that Pastor Kathryn had put together, and I came across this article on the White House Historical Association’s website. I was really surprised to actually find this article. It was amongst the slavery in the President’s neighborhood Initiative materials. This piece was about a woman named Ona Judge.
She was a slave owned by George Washington’s wife, Martha. The article details what is assumed about Ona’s life as Martha’s preferred lady’s maid, stating that she had some kind of status because she had nicer clothes and she got more than one pair of shoes per year. The article seems to assume that she might have been happy as Martha’s personal servant, but it also goes on to tell of Ona’s escape to freedom.
After learning that she was about to be given to another member of the family as a wedding gift, Ona ran away. Later in her life, she shared in an interview, “I was determined never to be her slave.”
I can imagine that, as an enslaved person, personal identity is a complicated struggle. In Ona’s story, we can see her declaring what her identity would not be. Ona lived the rest of her life in freedom. Married, had children, and actually shared her experience in slavery with several newspapers.
Ona could not have done what she did without a strong conviction in her heart. In the same way, Jesus could not have resisted the temptations of the devil or any of the other incredibly difficult things that he did in his life without knowing who he was and who God said he was.
So who are you? Who are you not?
What would you do for a Klondike? Would you turn an iceberg into ice cream? Seriously, what are your non-negotiables? What are the things that you’re not willing to compromise on, and how will you stand up for those things in this season?
I wanted to share a song with you guys, because that’s what I do, that speaks to this idea of knowing who you are and standing firm in your identity. It’s become somewhat of an anthem in the LGBTQ+ community, but I think it really applies to just about everybody.
I am not a stranger to the dark “Hide away, ” they say “‘Cause we don’t want your broken parts” I’ve learned to be ashamed of all my scars “Run away, ” they say “No one’ll love you as you are”
But I won’t let them break me down to dust I know that there’s a place for us For we are glorious
When the sharpest words wanna cut me down I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown ’em out I am brave, I am bruised I am who I’m meant to be, this is me Look out ’cause here I come And I’m marching on to the beat I drum I’m not scared to be seen I make no apologies, this is me
Another round of bullets hits my skin Well, fire away ’cause today, I won’t let the shame sink in We are bursting through the barricades and Reaching for the sun (we are warriors) Yeah, that’s what we’ve become (yeah, that’s what we’ve become)
I won’t let them break me down to dust I know that there’s a place for us For we are glorious
When the sharpest words wanna cut me down I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown ’em out I am brave, I am bruised I am who I’m meant to be, this is me Look out ’cause here I come And I’m marching on to the beat I drum I’m not scared to be seen I make no apologies; this is me
In a time where many people want to make who I am and who a lot of my friends are illegal, we have choices to make.
Do I change my name back to the name that was originally on my birth certificate? Do I change the gender marker on my ID? Do I change the way I dress? Do I grow my hair out so that I’m less of a target to gain access to safer spaces in the current climate? Or do I save my soul and stay true to who I am? Would life be easier and less scary? Probably in a lot of ways, the answer is yes.
Maybe it would be easier for you to go to a different church that doesn’t ask you to stick your neck out for the oppressed. Maybe it would be easier if you kept your thoughts and feelings about ICE raids from your neighbors, your coworkers, and your family, but what would you stand to lose? What would you gain if you didn’t compromise?
I encourage you to hold these questions and the questions that are inevitably going to be prompted by these questions in your hearts this week, meditate on them, and press in. See where you’re really standing at the moment. As we move forward, press pause, listen, and know who you are.
With it being Transfiguration Sunday, I wanted to give you sort of an overview of where we are and where we’re headed.
The liturgical calendar is really a beautiful piece, and I love this graphic of it because it makes it a circle, which is what our calendar really is. Every February 14th comes around, and it’s always Valentine’s Day. Christmas comes around, and it’s always December 25th. Other holidays do move, but we don’t think of time as circular. We make a timeline. We don’t make time a circle or spiral.
Between the end of November and December, Advent begins. Starting with the first Sunday in Advent, we begin looking for the light. There’s this promise that the light is coming, that hope is coming, and so we start looking for the light.
On Christmas Eve, the light arrives and we share it. That’s why we have a candlelight service on Christmas Eve, that’s where that comes from. That beautiful ritual that we have every Christmas Eve that we love so much, it comes out of this idea of the light having now arrived in the world, and so we share it, and this light continues to grow.
At Epiphany, outsiders, the Magi, show up and attest to the light and bring gifts. In Luke’s gospel, it says the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him. Next is his baptism. Jesus hears us often, we make it out as if everybody, as if the crowds hear it, but the crowds don’t react. I just read a thing about how it really says that it spoke to him, that Jesus hears “this is my beloved, my son in whom I am well pleased“– Matthew 3:17. Jesus hears that he has his own affirmation and begins his ministry, and through it, he is inviting people to the light. Last week, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world” – Matthew 5:14.
Until this point, this is the biggest light point, and it’s not a coincidence. That the light arrives as our seasonal calendar has its darkest night. That’s not a coincidence. Now that there is more light in our season, the light begins to expose our shadows & our darkness, and this next season that we begin on Wednesday, Lent, is when we start to see the darkness in the people in scripture, but we also are invited to see the darkness and our ability for evil.
That brings us to the end of the Easter season, it’s almost June, and we’re almost going into our longest day. It’s all lined out, and today is about having a bigger vision. That’s what Jesus was giving the disciples, and I wanted you to have a bigger vision of how the liturgical calendar is lined out.
Here we are, Peter, James, and John go up to the mountain. They have this moment. They wanna build shelters.
The Festival of Sukkot is a Jewish festival where they build. Jesus says It’s not about that. That’s not what we’re doing here, but they hear this time, God speaks to them and not just Jesus, and says, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him” – Luke 9:35. That’s the piece that is specifically for us, listen to him.
If we haven’t gotten it by this time, when we see him gleaming, we have a cloud, and we have a voice and everything, if we haven’t figured out that this is somebody special, not only are we supposed to recognize that he is the son of God, but we are to listen to him, And what is Jesus’ command to the disciples? “But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid” – Matthew 17:7. That’s the commandment, to get up. Jesus says to the disciples, get up, we have work to do. We aren’t staying here on the mountain. It’s not about staying in that mountain moment, but we have to come down from the mountain because there’s work to do. Do not be afraid. It might be scary, but it’ll be okay. Do not be afraid because God’s in this. God’s got this. Do not be afraid. Trust God. Over and over again, we get reminded to trust in God.
This February, we are also looking at African American history I’m trying to pull out specific people who live out Jesus’ commandment.
I wonder if Dr. Alvin Poissant, in his work, had to remind himself many times to get up and do not be afraid. Dr. Alvin Poissant was born in East Harlem as the seventh of eight children. As a child, he had rheumatic fever that put him in the hospital for a long time. When he was in high school, his mother died of cervical cancer.
He had the advantage of going to a primarily white high school, and from there, he was able to get into Brown. He had a bachelor’s degree from Brown. He went to Cornell Medical College and got his MD in 1960, when he was the only black student in his class. Then he went to UCLA, where he did a residency in psychiatry and got a master’s degree in psychopharmacology.
Then he went to Jackson, Mississippi, and there he helped to provide medical care for civil rights workers and helped desegregate hospitals and healthcare facilities. In ’67, he moved to Boston and was directing a psychiatry program in a low-income housing development for Tufts University Medical School.
Eventually he was recruited by Harvard Medical College, and he started as an associate dean of a student affairs and he became a professor of Psych. Psych psychiatry. If I get the all the right syllables, I’ll do it right. In his time at Harvard, he sponsored, which, which was, he was a prof.
He was at Harvard Medical School for 50 years, and he was the voice of diversity. His voice and his work were about improving the public understanding of black children and families, mental health and suicide, school violence, and substance abuse. He wrote and spoke about the importance of nonviolent parenting and advocated for positive imagery of minorities in the media. He also worked to increase diversity in medicine and reduce health disparities by bringing more members of underserved populations into the medical field.
Unfortunately, Dr. Poissant died last February, but I pulled this information from the Harvard Medical School website. Has a huge write-up on his life and work. He was certainly revered and loved. I found this quote by Shirley Chisholm, and I think it fits what he did.
“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas”
Unfortunately, we are living in a time when Dr. Poissant’s life’s work is being erased. I mean, he represented diversity, equity, and inclusion. That’s what he worked for within the medical field and specifically at Harvard. We’re living in a time where all of the ways that we understand who we are as a country are called into question, and we have to decide who we are. The future that we want to leave for the children and our grandchildren. Like Peter, James, and John, we are invited into the vision of what could be and permitted to be active in accomplishing God’s vision of justice.
Like the disciples, we are being asked to have the courage, not to be afraid in the face of intimidation, cruelty, and hatred. Like them, we are being asked to be willing to follow, get up, and not be afraid.
We are the children of light. That doesn’t mean that we’re always good. We have the same amount of potential to be good as to be evil. It is within us all. We have to be focused on being good, we have to be focused on doing the loving thing, on loving our God, loving our neighbor, whomever they may be, and loving ourselves as we are, as the people God created us to be. With all of our gifts, foibles, goodness, and weaknesses. We’ve got all those things,
We have to figure out how we can use our voices now to stand for love. What we cannot be is silent. We will not be silent because that means being complicit. If we don’t challenge voices that are hurting others, they think we agree. We can’t let them think that because they want to control us, too.
We cannot be silent when they want to send ICE agents to our voting places this November. We cannot be silent about it. That is intimidation, and it is illegal, and we need to say that loud and clear. We have to say it is not okay to disappear people. We won’t have that. That’s not the way our country operates. You don’t get grabbed off the street and sent to a camp. I heard them called concentration camps because the definition of a concentration camp is a place where there is a concentration of people being held before they’re sent somewhere else. We have them in this country. We’ve done it before. It wasn’t right before, and it’s not right now.
We cannot be silent about the need for checks and balances within our government. They don’t get to choose what’s moral. That’s our job. Jesus tells us what is right. What does the Lord require of you to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God? That is moral.
So get up and do not be afraid. Let us stand for love.
