tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-165562372024-03-13T22:47:12.956-04:00Rainbow Pastor...musings, rants, prayers, and general ramblingsRainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.comBlogger492125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-77668553514673658822018-10-29T16:29:00.002-04:002018-10-30T13:05:18.381-04:00Clarence Darrow--Beyond Scopes and Leopold & Loeb<br />
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Personalities fascinate me--people do. One way I try to understand history and places is through people--which is why I love good historical fiction.<br />
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When I relocated here to Chicago, of course I looked at the people involved here--the historical figures of Chicago's past. Having grown up in the Midwest (Michigan) and having parents who were both Illinoisans by birth, I naturally had had some of that infused into me as a child! Mayor Daley, Old Lady Leary, Frank Lloyd Wright (one of my mother's favorites, plus there were several FLW homes in my Michigan hometown), the many figures of organized crime, Jane Addams, and Jane Byrne were names I knew well.<br />
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But as I re-acquainted myself with Chicago's famous names, one in particular caught my interest--Clarence Darrow. Now, I had known of him since high school, when we read "Inherit the Wind" in biology class (yes, biology class, I am fairly certain--if any of my high school classmates read this and want to correct me, please do, but I'm pretty sure it was Mr. B. who had us read it). I'm sure Darrow's speeches had an influence on my intention to attend law school--life took me down a different path--but I retained an interest in him. My companion interest in historical crime brought me back together with Mr. Darrow in the Leopold and Loeb case. My college history professor gave us more about the history of the labor movement in the 1890s-1910s than I ever learned, before or since--the Haymarket riots, the miners in Colorado and West Virginia, the LA Times bombing--and there was Mr Darrow in the middle of things again.<br />
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Well, when someone keeps showing up, it's time to learn more about them.<br />
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My friends, Clarence Darrow should be far more celebrated by the progressive movement than he is. He is one of our forgotten heroes.<br />
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He was born in Ohio (1857), the son of a progressive thinker father and a suffragette mother. He moved to Chicago with his wife Jessie and son Paul, when he began to feel a lack of professional progress in Ashtabula. Chicago quickly realized his legal brilliance, and he did some work for the city, went to work for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, and was generally active in what we would today call "networking." He joined various clubs, met influential people, including John Altgeld (Chicago mayor, soon-to-be business partner and future Illinois governor), and generally being social. But when the head counsel for the railroad died, Darrow had a wake-up call. All seemed clear for him to succeed as head counsel--and he realized he could not do that work the rest of his life. He quit the railroad, defended Eugene V. Debs, and began a career in labor law. In essence, he gave up a life of guaranteed income (if probable graft and possible outright bribery) and went to work for the working folk, with income from the unions. Darrow switched sides with a vengeance. Remember that the unions were much less powerful than today--their very existence was in doubt on many occasions. Then, after Darrow plea-bargained two labor defendants' charges--they were alleged to have bombed the Los Angeles Times newspaper--into prison sentences rather than the probable death penalty, the enraged unions refused to pay him the rest of his fees (they had wanted a trial and the possibility of complete acquittal, which was not possible, in Darrow's opinion). At the same time, California charged Darrow with jury tampering in the case. He was ultimately acquitted of the charges (one jury found him not guilty and the other jury was unable to come to a decision), but the labor unions refused to employ him any more. Darrow had frequently performed legal work for the settlement houses (precursors to social workers) in Chicago on a pro bono basis, and of course some of the labor work he had done was, in fact, criminal law. He had divorced and remarried several years earlier; so he had an ex wife, a son, and a wife to support. So he turned to a mix of criminal defense, corporate law for small businesses, and civil law as a career, with a bit of labor law thrown in from the Chicago locals. <br />
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Darrow's most famous cases, after his labor law period, date from the last twenty years of his life. Leopold and Loeb, the Scopes trial, the Dr. Ossian Sweet trial (a black Detroit man tried for shooting at a mob attacking his home), and the Massie trial--were from this time. With the probable exception of the Massie trial, he defended individuals facing overwhelming odds--the underdog.<br />
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Darrow was an early feminist, a prison abolitionist (he said several times he hated prisons, most famously in a speech to prisoners in Chicago's own Cook County Jail); anti-death penalty--his statement against capital punishment in the Leopold and Loeb case is still quoted--and believed that crime was caused by the environment a person was raised in, and was not innate in a person. He blamed it on poverty and a lack of opportunity--a bit simplistically, from what we understand today, but then that was in the 1920s, in the midst of the Great Migration, when ghettos were forming and racism barely acknowledged. Nevertheless, he named racism as a factor fearlessly in the Sweet trial--and gained an acquittal.<br />
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Darrow was never a rich man. It's interesting how often people automatically think a lawyer is wealthy. He did well for one period in his life--as a corporate railroad lawyer and city hired gun. Once he went out on his own to work for labor and the progressive causes, his income dropped like the proverbial stone. Many cases he took pro bono ("for the [public] good"; bar associations still require their members to work a certain number of hours pro bono). Some were sent his way by Jane Addams, the founder of Hull House and early social worker. Others came from the union halls or those who had heard of him by word of mouth as someone who assisted the underdog.<br />
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I won't review his cases-there are several biographies of him, including "Clarence Darrow for the Defense," by Irving Stone, who had access to many of Darrow's papers (sold to him by Darrow's wife), and the recent "Clarence Darrow: Attorney for the Damned," by John Farrell, which is very balanced and, given the distance in time, more reasoned. Darrow also wrote an autobiography with the highly (un)original title "The Story of My Life," which was less than complete, shall we say.<br />
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I am not neutral about Darrow. I am, unashamedly and unabashedly, a Darrow supporter. He was compassionate, kind, open-hearted and generous to people and causes that, in his time, were too often considered unworthy of a decent defense in a court of law, let alone protection of law. He was aware of his privilege as a white educated male of the middle class; thus the pose as a "hick country lawyer," in sloppy, sometimes stained, clothes and a haircut that often left him peering through a stray lock of hair that persisted in flopping over his forehead. But this unprepossessing appearance was blown away the moment he began his opening argument or cross-examination. Darrow was famous for not only his flights of rhetoric but his legal strategy--he continually thought "outside the box," as we would say today. No one would mistake him for a fuzzy thinker after two minutes of one of his speeches. They rang all the changes of human emotion--usually in the same speech--from clear logic to heart-wringing emotion. He was a big man--over six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a barrel chest--and his deep voice would roll and surge from filling the courtroom and then sink to a whisper and back up the register again. When it came time for closing arguments in a Darrow-for-the-defense case, crowds filled the courtroom, the halls outside, and crammed the windows to hear him (one of the ways he paid the bills between cases was on speaking tours). He famously brought judges--who were supposed to be impartial--to tears on behalf of his clients. He gave them reasons to acquit, or to reduce sentences, to save face for political reasons, in order that his clients would live, or go free. Darrow would use whatever strategy it took, within the law (usually...), to ensure justice was done.<br />
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No, Darrow wasn't perfect--he was human. He was not good with finances, as I mentioned above. He was a soft touch with women; his second marriage was an open marriage, and while he took full advantage of that, Ruby (his wife) seemed to forget the arrangement they had made and resented it, becoming somewhat of a shrew (according to contemporary accounts). Sometimes partial truth was told, when it was more comfortable or simpler or more convenient or could be labeled "confidentiality." But many of his cases were complex, and business affairs among partners (especially law partners) can quickly take on a Rashomon-like feel.<br />
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I find the end of his life particularly sad. He died in 1938, of what I think we would today call congestive heart failure. He had grown weaker and weaker, and in the last months of his life was not seeing friends any more--he was finding it difficult to speak and even his son Paul had difficulty understanding him. This is heartbreaking--the man who had filled courtrooms to hear him, whose voice had been the means of saving lives, whose speeches had brought people to tears--was now unintelligible. Darrow had lost weight to the point that when he died, that huge frame had shrunk to all of ninety pounds. A memorial service was held, and he was cremated. His son and his business manager took his ashes to the bridge in Jackson Park where he had loved to practice his speeches and statements, and scattered them into the lagoon. The bridge is now named in his memory.<br />
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Ruby had hoped to sell some of their effects to clear debts--without Darrow's speaking tours and lectures, she had only her own writing and sales of his books and pamphlets for income. It was still the Depression, however, and while friends and others were interested, their possessions sold for far less than they should have. Darrow's pocket knife for $1.50; his books, with all his annotations, to a used book seller for less than $500, a Persian carpet she had hoped to sell for $300 went for much less. She was able to sell some papers and such to Irving Stone for his use in his biography, which apparently helped, however. It makes me want to cry, though--I'd almost sell my soul for one of his annotated law books, or his pocket knife, even!<br />
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Today, most of Darrow's extant letters and papers reside at the University of Minnesota and are available online. Others are at the Library of Congress, the Historical Society of Chicago, and various labor union archives, as well as the archives of the courts before which he appeared.<br />
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In summary--<br />
Darrow was a brilliant thinker, speaker, and writer. He was ahead of his time in many ways, but he prepared the ground for those of us who come after him. I recognize his faults, but I don't quite understand the people who are so quick to point them out. His faults, with the possible exception of the jury bribery, do not disqualify him from the brilliant human rights work he did. And given the corrupt state of Los Angeles at that time, and the power that was arrayed against the defendants, I am not sure I could blame him if he did try to bribe the jury (which he never admitted and which he was never found guilty of). Darrow's compassion and dedication, his frequent habit of foregoing a fee to help someone or, as in the Leopold and Loeb case, to reduce the appearance of taking it just for the fee--Darrow worked for a legal code that was just for everyone, not only those with money, not only those who were owners, not only those who were white, not only those who were male, not only those were adults or educated or had never been arrested before--but for everyone. I don't know that he would be a public defender today--the bureaucracy of a government position might be too much for him--but he would certainly approve of Gideon v. Wainwright and the public defender's office.<br />
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Next time you're in Chicago, or in Jackson Park, stop by Darrow's bridge. It's being repaired, so you can't actually go out on it right now, but take a look. He spent a lot of time there; I'm willing to bet something of his spirit lingers; of righteous indignation, of compassion, of generosity. Perhaps he'll lend me something of his gift for rhetoric and writing!<br />
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Above all, remember what Darrow knew and fought for --every human being deserves the same rights, and to be seen as a human being, no matter their skin color or gender or age or their past deeds or the accusations against them. And go thou and do likewise.<br />
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<br />Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-3608295777347029992018-10-29T15:16:00.002-04:002018-10-29T15:16:55.915-04:00A Heart Thing<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I haven't said much about the loss of life at Tree of Life Synagogue
in Squirrel Hill (PA) or Jeffersontown (KY). They both hit close to my
heart, for different reasons. I have family in Jeffersontown. I made a
special study of Judaism and antisemitism in seminary, specifically
Christian antisemitism. These events aren't only politics or current
events or pastoral or theological for me. They are heart events. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> When I say "studied Judaism," it sounds cool and detached. That'<span class="text_exposed_show">s not how it worked. Yes, there was a classroom involved. But there was so much more than that. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
My seminary required a study trip, an immersion in a culture different from that of the student's birth, for example, to a Native American reserve, to South Africa, to Israel, to a congregation of primarily Deaf persons, and so on. The purpose was for us to experience a culture different from ours, to learn how our dominant culture had impacted another--because all of us at the seminary were dominant in some way (we might not be white or male or straight or temporarily able, but we were Christian). My immersion trip was to Poland, to study the Shoah (Holocaust). I
returned to study the Psalms in the face of 9/11 and then to do an
independent study of antisemitism in the New Testament during Lent (the Lenten and Holy Week readings contain some of the most vicious antisemitic language in the New Testament) while
also studying Judaism in Jesus' time under a Reconstructionist rabbi.
You could say I've engaged with Judaism and antisemitism a bit. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not an expert, I''m not Jewish. But my heart is entangled with my Jewish sisters and brothers. I have just enough understanding of Jewish thought to hurt at the murder of elders celebrating a new life among them. One of those elders survived the Shoah I went to Poland to study. One of the others present was actively involved in saving the lives of HIV/AIDS patients. They were all carrying forward life--the light of G-d in the world, doing good. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As do so many of us, Jew, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, agnostic, Unitarian, pagan, Hindu, atheist, whatever spiritual identity. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you've studied with a rabbi, they take on a lifelong obligation to you. Even today, when I have contacted the two I have studied with, they have unfailingly responded with grace and wisdom and knowledge--almost twenty years later! It's a heart thing. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Several Friday-night Shabbat services--welcomed as a guest, the "Shabbat shalom" so gracious. It's a heart thing.</span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been to a Seder dinner twice--laughter and arguments about what comes next and good food (well, except for the gefilte fish...) and being treated like family. It's a heart thing. A family thing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that's what it comes down to. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those who can do such things--shooting black grandparents in a grocery store (when he couldn't get into the church), shooting Jewish grandparents in a synagogue--do not see them as members of their family--their human family. The shooters see black people and Jewish people (and, possibly, probably, LGBTQ+ people, and immigrants and Muslims and Latinx people and others) as not quite human, as not deserving of the same quality of life as the shooters do--or of any life. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a heart thing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can their hearts be changed? At this stage in their life, I suspect not. Wiser heads than mine, friends and relatives who are psychologists and therapists and theologians can weigh in on that. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Young </i>hearts are malleable, though. Give children the opportunity to know all kinds of people--ages, colors, spiritualities, genders, occupations, education levels, etc.--from the beginning. Give them books and toys and take them to movies and show them TV shows with all kinds of people in them. Send them to diverse schools. You don't have to be lecturing about it. They'll figure it out. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a heart thing. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Some things to know (in no particular order):<br />
--This is not ahistorical. Everywhere Jews have gone, the government or
some faction of society has eventually decided they are unwelcome (see:
Spain, England, Germany, Italy (which invented the term ghetto for
Jews), Russia, Poland, etc.) </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do not know why hate-mongers through the centuries have so often fixated on the Jewish people, but it seems to have been so. </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> --There really isn't a Jewish belief in an
afterlife. Those of you who are planning vigils, etc., please don't talk
about the deceased looking down on us from heaven, or being angels. I'll leave
further discussion to my rabbinic brothers & sisters.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">--Men, if you're offered a yarmulke (cap, or kippah, plural kippot), please wear it. It's a sign of respect--covering one's head in the presence of G-d. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /> --Kaddish
is a mourner's prayer, said for the dead (and it is simply "Kaddish," not "the Kaddish"). Yes, it is chanted and may
sound more like singing to some of us. If you don't speak/read Hebrew,
don't try to "sing" along; please simply listen respectfully. Prayers are at the heart of Judaism. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
--Candles are always appropriate. They are symbols of the light of G-d
(the name of the Holy One is never spoken or written out), so spreading
that light is a mitzvah, a good deed. Light candles. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /> --Finally,
Jewish people are, sadly, experts in mourning and tragedy. This sort of
thing has happened to them many times over the centuries in many places.
Follow their lead as to what they need or want from their Gentile
(non-Jewish) friends and neighbors.</span></span></div>
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-32060439455325035382018-09-03T16:18:00.000-04:002018-09-03T16:18:08.428-04:00Peace Vigil for Immigrant Children and Families--Brookfield, IL; August 26, 2018<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<h2 class="Body" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>Text of Reflection and Prayer</b></span></h2>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b> </b>Good evening, Brookfield! We’re gathered tonight from many
different faith traditions and from no faith tradition, and I want to respect
that. I speak from a tradition, progressive Christianity, that respects other
traditions, and tries to appreciate their teachings without appropriation.
Please forgive me if I step over that line tonight—it is unintended, and I
welcome education. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a vigil for the children separated from their parents as
they crossed the border, as they entered this country. Children—infants to
teenagers—taken from their parents, from the only caretakers they knew, without
explanation, many of the children unable to speak in any language, handed over
to for-profit child care providers who were not properly screened. The result has
been children who are traumatized—no longer bonded to their parents when they
are reunited, who do not recognize or trust their parents, who have been
abused, medicated to keep them docile or quiet, shipped to other parts of the
country, inadequate records kept, in effect lost in the system—by an
administration that thought no-one would notice, no-one would care. We noticed,
we care. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In both Christian and Jewish tradition, the Divine is often seen
as a loving parent—“You are my child, today, today I have begotten you.” Israel
is the Holy One’s child—“Like a child on leading strings, I led you.” </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the Christian writings, in the Gospels, children appear
frequently as symbols of innocence—“if someone should lead these children
astray, it would be better for them that they have a millstone tied around
their neck and they be drowned in the sea.” “Let the children come to me,”
Jesus said. “Who would give their child a serpent when he asks for fish?” </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And there is no greater mourning than that of a mother for her
children. The prophet Jeremiah says:: "A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning
and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be
comforted, because they are no more." </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the voice of our immigrant sisters, weeping for their children—they
do not know where to find them; they have been taken from them. We, who are the
privileged ones who live here, this is our cause—to insist that our elected
leaders in Congress and the administration find those children, return them to
their rightful parents, help them heal—they will never be the same, but help
them—and change this hateful, evil policy—remove it from our land. This is what
justice demands. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All spiritual paths that I have studied, all moral systems I have
read of, have one tenet in common. “Do to others what you would want done to
you.” Whether you follow a spiritual path or not, we can all agree on this. And
we would want our children kept with us.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My friends and neighbors, do not tire of this work, this
struggle, this fight. We remember, we work, for these children, to return them
to the place they belong—with their families, where they belong. I’d like to
offer a moment of prayer to strengthen and encourage us in this work, in this
struggle. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Holy One, Creator of the Universe, Allah, You Who Are,
Grandfather; Higher Power; we have gathered today to remember these children
and families and to gather courage and strength from those memories. Give us
wisdom and teach us your ways; may we speak truth to power, demanding answers and
justice for these children. Do not let us weaken or give up out of frustration
or weariness; remind us of your love for us, like a parent for a child, and
that as we are never abandoned by you, we cannot allow this administration, or
any human power to abandon these children either. Grant us an open heart to
love and strong shoulders to bear any burdens, until the day comes when all the
children are home with their families and justice is served upon those who
separated them, and the policies are changed, so that no more children will
suffer as these have suffered. May it be so, may it be so, may it be so. Amen. </span></div>
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-11923384006815045052018-02-25T19:17:00.002-05:002018-02-25T19:17:25.637-05:00Boundaries and LinesI've been thinking recently about boundaries--walls, barriers, hedges, and so on--of all kinds. Some are good, in that they keep us safe--from wandering or falling into places we ought not to be, whether it is a canal or quicksand or a tiger's cage (take that literally or metaphorically, as you wish). We clergy are taught in seminary to keep those barriers up and strong--between us and our congregation, between us and our mentors, between us and the people we may walk with as counselors, even between us and our colleagues of different denominations.<br />
<br />
For the most part, these barriers, these boundaries are a Good Thing. They do keep us--and the others--safe. With these hedges of protection, we don't get personally invested in our parishioners' home lives, our mentors don't direct our careers, and we aren't controlled by our colleague's theology, no matter how much we may admire them.<br />
<br />
But sometimes...sometimes the walls can be so high we cannot see the person on the other side, only their head floating along above the foliage, assuring us that all is well.<br />
<br />
Or is it?<br />
<br />
Sometimes, I think, the boundaries--hedges, barriers--prevent us from really seeing each other. We see the head, the hat floating along, and think, "See, all is well. Music ministry is lovely, the choir sang so well at Christmas, all is well;" or "That couple always looks so happy, I envy them;" or "He is so contented being single, and keeps so busy." And, reassured, we keep on about our own lives. But we never really know. Perhaps the music director is doing well--but do we know?<br />
<br />
It's a fine line here--ha, another boundary--between intrusion and care, and it varies between <br />
individuals. But I have noticed this over-boundarization, so to speak, as if we are afraid to risk--something. Do we fear the rejection--"No, I'm fine, you worry too much," or the anger--"Who told you anything was wrong?" Are we worried about causing others to examine things they otherwise wouldn't? Or is it the not wanting to be seen as the Pollyanna do-gooder? Maybe it's knowing that all too frequently, there's not much we can do even when we are asked to help.<br />
<br />
I'm just musing here, really. I'm not issuing a call for action (or inaction, either). Just wondering why we do and don't do some of the things in our lives, especially as pastors.Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-91151255173756715782017-06-29T18:20:00.004-04:002017-06-29T18:20:55.227-04:00Geekiness....<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://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y3veo2tyunI/WVV88WRwPTI/AAAAAAAADe0/27A05FJjt_EHMsKPSX8DZStiIlFJD73lgCLcBGAs/s1600/26136981034_2f2b5ed1a2_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1024" height="250" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y3veo2tyunI/WVV88WRwPTI/AAAAAAAADe0/27A05FJjt_EHMsKPSX8DZStiIlFJD73lgCLcBGAs/s400/26136981034_2f2b5ed1a2_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A zibaldone much older than mine. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Not even sure how to label this one.<br />
<br />
I've tried all sorts of organizational tools in my lifetime--planners and notetaking systems and project trackers of a variety of styles and designs--paper, web-based, apps, you name it. I've never found one that really and truly and completely works with all the parts together in one place--monthly, weekly and daily schedules, to-do lists, worship planning helps, journaling,prayer lists and contact information all in one--oh, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace_book" target="_blank">commonplace book</a>links between them. It probably can't exist.<br />
<br />
I've managed to create a system, though, that works for me, and actually, it is better this way. My journaling and prayer lists remain private because they are separate--so no one but me sees those prayer needs (mine or anyone else's) or my less-than-elegant attempts at poetry. I can actually carry it (my last stab at combining as much of this as I could ended up weighing more than my laptop--and was not available as an app for said laptop, or for its replacement tablet).<br />
<br />
The catalyst for my epiphany was an article on a renaissance book called a "zibaldone," or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace_book" target="_blank">commonplace </a>book. These were carried about by renaissance writers and artists who used them to record, well, pretty much everything. Journals, yes, but also their expenses, the names of new people they met, the details of a deal they'd struck, a drawing of a architectural detail they liked, a flower that struck them, poetry, notes from a meeting, a sermon--anything they wanted to record. They were the smartphones of their day, without the separate Pinterest, cameras, Evernote, recorders, and spreadsheet apps. Always available, never need charging, can't get lost in the cloud... I started using one (I like Moleskine, but I just like their size and price and feel). I put everything in there--my journaling, notes from team and Board meetings, from community group meetings, from phone calls, anything I am likely to want to remember. Bonus--I can index them! I can write a word or phrase in the blank space at the top of the page to remind myself what I'm talking about on that page: "Food closet;" "Pentecost planning,"Worship team meeting," "Bonnie," and so on.<br />
<br />
And then I found Moleskine's 18-month weekly datebooks. I've used daily planners for years and years--one side for appointments and to-dos, the other for notes and planning. It worked for a long time, until life started getting more complicated. As a full-time pastor, I am juggling way more projects and needs and things than ever before. I was continually transferring things from day to day to day. Even when I tried assigning tasks to days within the week (task A to Tuesday, task B to Wednesday, etc.) invariably task A did not get done, or not completely, and had to be moved to Wednesday, and then something came up and then of course I had tasks C, D, and E...all of which had to fit in Wednesday and Thursday...). But the weekly worked great--the days of the week on the left-hand page with their appointments and meetings, the right-hand page blank ruled for that to-do list. I rarely have more than two or three appointments in a day, and there's plenty of room for that.<br />
<br />
So. My zibaldone for journaling and notes, the datebook for planning (I do keep the dates in my phone, too--it's an extra step, but I do always have my phone with me, even when I am not "at work"), a prayer app for keeping track of prayers (so I can record prayer requests on the run and not only pray then but include it in my daily prayers and also <br />
in the prayers of the people on Sundays), and contacts in my phone (which does link with the calendar in my phone).<br />
<br />
Worship planning... well, I have several calendars in my phone which let me know Christian, Jewish, Moslem, Sikh, Jain and Hindu holidays. But that's not really something, I have discovered, that I can do in a planner or journal anyway. It's more of a "need to be aware of when setting dates" than anything else. Worship planning takes place over weeks, not days or hours; it's not something you really need in a planner, except to note the holidays/observances and make time for thinking about/working with the planning team.<br />
<br />
Anyway, this system has been working for me for about four-five months, and I think it is going to stick. It has worked well with a seminar, with travel, with planning I am currently doing for a big capitol fundraiser for the church.<br />
<br />
A journal/zabaldone, a datebook, a smartphone. Oh, and they all fit in my bag without hurting my shoulder too. Bonus! Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-80914860258621633022017-06-24T17:14:00.002-04:002017-06-24T17:14:27.705-04:00Random Friday Five on a Saturday....1. Health Care<br />
So I am in that doughnut hole. Too old and with too many pre-existing conditions to get low premiums but not old enough for Medicare; make too much for Medicaid, but not really enough to easily cover my premiums, co-pays, and deductibles on my own. As a pastor, yes, I pay my own insurance. The current health care bills in Congress are pretty disastrous, not only for the severely disabled, for the folks we saw on the news protesting on the Hill and being dragged away by the Capitol Police, but for millions of people. I have several pre-existing conditions: cancer, migraines, a bleeding disorder (in my childhood, never had a problem in several operations since), a pregnancy complicated by a cesarean section (I'm of an age to never have children again), a couple of sprained ankles, a sprained wrist, arthritis, a brain cyst (completely benign, I was born with it). Only the arthritis and the migraines are a current, ongoing concern, and my neurologist and I have the migraines under control; my primary and I are doing all we can about the arthritis. Yes, the cancer could return, I grant that. The rest are unlikely or no more likely for me than for anyone else. And yet my premiums are pretty high--about 12% of my yearly income, not including deductibles and co-pays--and that's for a bronze plan. I could skip it, living on pain meds when the migraines or arthritis flare up, praying the cancer doesn't return...but what if it does? Here's my point--I am not the only one doing this calculus, trying to decide whether to roll the dice. Not get the insurance (possibly paying a penalty, if that's part of the final bill) and pray I stay healthy; or get the bare minimum plan I can afford that will cover cancer care, just in case, and scrimp by somewhere else (but what else can I cut back)? Catch 22. And I am not alone.<br />
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2. Family!<br />
OK, this one's much happier! My son (AKA Tall One to readers of an earlier incarnation of this blog) was married last month, and I could not be happier. He married a wonderful woman, who is smart and kind and independent and gives him a run for his money and loves him--as he loves her. It was a beautiful wedding n Washington DC, officiated by a former mentor and friend. The whole weekend was wonderful (well, aside from the flight there and back--but that was only three or four hours out of the weekend). I got to see my mom, and my sisters and some of their significant others, and friends I had not actually seen in years, catch up with people I used to count as family--and who still are, really. What a warm and loving time to share with people who mean so much to me!<br />
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3. Chores<br />
Why am I so reluctant to do them, even though I like having done them? Scrubbing the bathroom, doing laundry, mopping the floor....ugh. But I love having clean clothes, clean floors, etc. Human nature. Go figure.<br />
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4. Reading books<br />
"And of the reading of books there shall be no end."<br />
I have several books that I am stuck in the middle of, not because I am finding them boring, but quite the opposite--they are pulling on my emotions so strongly that I dread reading further. Underground Railroad, All the Light We Cannot See, and Barkskins are calling me back but I am dreading the emotional rack they will put me on. So I am reading other books, good books, but books that do not threaten my emotions, coward that I am. I should have checked them out of the library, then I would have had to get them read.<br />
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5. Pride!<br />
June is Pride month; June 28th marks the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in New York in 1969 that is the traditional start of the LGBTIQ rights movement. There were sit-ins and riots before that, but the Pride parade the next year was the first. As other civil rights and human rights movements took shape in the 60s, members of the LGBTIQ community (which had not really coalesced as such yet) began to take note and began to deman our civil rights too. The rainbow flag was created in San Francisco to represent the values of the LGBTIQ community; in some communities, a black stripe and a brown stripe have added to include people of color, which has roused some controversy. Still, the rainbow has come to symbolize inclusion, diversity, and welcome around the world. When attending a Pride event, the proper greeting is "Happy Pride!"Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-53943893003510163262017-02-06T14:00:00.001-05:002017-02-06T14:00:46.538-05:00Public Education<div><i>Disclaimer: </i></div><div><i>I took a couple of teaching classes, even a field experience. I was very involved with my son's grade school and middle school. Education's been an interest of mine. But I am not an educator. I'm not even an educator lite. I don't think I'm even qualified to run for the local school board.</i></div><div><br></div><div>One of the Cabinet nominees who has been receiving a lot of resistance has been Betsy DuVos, the nominee for Education Secretary. While she has a demonstrated interest in education, she doesn't seem to have the expertise or training needed to oversee the many programs run by the DoEd. They run from higher education grants and loans, to standardized testing of grade schoolers, to voucher programs for charter schools (one of her favorites) to university campus safety programs, to name a very few. The Secretary of Education obviously can't be an expert in all these areas, but should understand and be conversant with basic educational concepts, know the pros and cons of standardized testing (regardless of their own opinion), know what laws and regulations govern education nationwide and how they are applied, and so forth. They should understand that these regulations and laws apply to all students equally, not only the ones the Secretary (or the Department) feels comfortable with (that is, not only students attending certain schools, or of certain religions, or in certain states, etc.). </div><div><br></div><div>There's a couple of reasons public schools were instituted in the US, and they are intertwined. One was because only some parents could afford to send their children to private schools, others could only afford cheap, low-quality schools, and some could not afford any schools. So we ended up with the same stratified society as Europe had, and that the US was, at least in part, formed to escape. Those with education were the ones who owned all the land, the banks, the stores; those without education were labor. I'm talking about the late 1800's, by the way--before then, there was no public education, or very little. But with the rise of industrialization, those very industrialists began to realize it worked--at least somewhat--in their favor to have an educated workforce. Workers who could read and calculate, who knew how to figure a right angle and write a coherent paragraph--these were what they needed. And so public schools were born. The added value was that everyone got the education--child of the bricklayer, child of the electrician, child of the grocer, child of the senator, child of the steelworker--every child in the public school got the same education. At least theoretically. </div><div><br></div><div>An employer could require a high diploma as part of her hiring requirements and assume that the person could read, write, knew the four basic functions of arithmetic, had a passing acquaintance with algebra and maybe even calculus, had had some civics and maybe some rhetoric. Perhaps they had had some shop or home ec; they had some music and art classes. They certainly had had gym class. </div><div><br></div><div>So those two reasons--equality of education and accessibility to education--were intertwined. Whether it was a bit of an unholy alliance is another question. The goals were laudable, certainly. </div><div><br></div><div>It's gotten harder over time. When I went to high school, we weren't required to take gym--and in retrospect, we should have been. We didn't have rhetoric, and I think it would have useful. Shop I had in middle school. But we did have a richness of art classes, of music, including jazz and marching band; a full roster of home ec, of advanced placement science, language, English, history, and math classes. And the changes have only gotten more complex. When my son graduated from high school ten years ago, he didn't have rhetoric either. But he started using Powerpoint in middle school for class projects; he graduated from high school using Excel, Word, and the Internet as a matter of course. He had art classes, he had home ec, had music and gym. </div><div><br></div><div>I recognize fully that we were both fortunate in that we went to well-funded schools--we had access to music and art and gym and advanced placement classes and computers. </div><div><br></div><div>But my point is more about the changes in curriculum and the philosophy of education--why do we educate, why have a public education system? </div><div><br></div><div>When I lived in Canada, I learned they actually had three school boards. There was the public school, the Catholic school, and the French school. The debates about the degree of autonomy each should have and what each should be required to do were sometimes quite heated (all received government money). The debates generally narrowed down to this: the schools saying "We are independent for a reason, parents want us to teach their children in a specific way, and that is our charter;" and the government saying, "You receive government funding, therefore you must follow government rules." Generally the French board followed the rules. The return salvo was usually the Catholic board saying, "But religion!" Whether the topic was hiring, teaching sex ed, gay-straight alliances, or how many vacation days to offer. </div><div><br></div><div>To me, the solution seemed straightforward. If you want to make your own rules, don't use government funds. If you don't have enough financial support without government funds, then there isn't enough demand for your services. Now, in Canada, there is a bilingualism law, so the French school option may be required--I am not sure. </div><div><br></div><div>Here's the point I'm trying to make: Public schools exist to educate the public--equitably and well. The Department of Education exists to ensure that not only public schools but all schools--public and private, the latter of whatever designation--are also educating students well. In order to do that, the Department of Education needs to be headed by someone who understands what education is, who has a thorough grounding in education, who is able to understand what works and what does not, who will recognize fads and false quick fixes for what they are, who has hands-on experience working in the classroom at some level with students, who has taught, who is an educator. Betsy DuVos is not such a person.</div><div><br></div>Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-34313425618730693522017-01-27T16:21:00.001-05:002017-01-27T16:31:11.207-05:00Random Frday Five... <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yQYnkPcMZLQ/WIu5wv5JruI/AAAAAAAADTk/SFjoFeVvz4oPCK1KzWvtJP2kdd00y526ACLcB/s1600/Hammock-Under-Palm-Tree-Leaves-In-Maldives-1280x800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yQYnkPcMZLQ/WIu5wv5JruI/AAAAAAAADTk/SFjoFeVvz4oPCK1KzWvtJP2kdd00y526ACLcB/s400/Hammock-Under-Palm-Tree-Leaves-In-Maldives-1280x800.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">It’s a
midwinter Friday and I have many things I could/should be doing for the church
and at home and my energy is nowhere to be found. So I am going to blog a bit
and try to get a start on the sermon and call it a day. There’s tomorrow for
the rest of it. </span></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><b><u><span style="font-size: large;">A Random
Friday Five!</span></u></b><br /> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">1. What's the weather like where you are?</span></span></span></i></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Meh. Grey
and overcast. We had a little snow, enough to show on the grass, but not enough
to even make people turn on windshield wipers. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><i><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br />
2. What is your dream vacation spot and/or activity?</span></span></span></b></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">At the
moment, either of two scenarios. One would be a cabin in the woods with a deck
overlooking a lake. I would alternate reading in a hammock/deck chair with
walking in the woods and canoeing. In the evening, after something grilled, I
would watch a good movie, then read again then fall asleep to the song of the
loons on the lake. Alternatively, I would follow the same schedule at a
secluded beach in Hawai’i substituting the Pacific, the beach, and beach-combing
for the lake, woods and canoeing; there would be no loons. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><i><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br />
3. What book are you currently reading? (Just pick one. I know how you people
are)</span></span></span></b></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Just one?
You’re no fun. OK, the one I just started is Annie Proulx’s latest, <u>Barkskins</u>,
a multigenerational saga about Canada’s European timber/fur dynasties and the
First Nations they displaced—at least, that’s what I understand from the jacket
copy, the online discussions I’ve seen and what I have read so far. Having
lived in Canada recently and learned about this first hand (both First Nation
and European friends), it’s of great interest to me. Annie Proulx is a gifted
writer; to have a topic that fascinates me written by one of my favorite
authors makes for a bit of heaven. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br />
<i><b>4. Name a household chore you don't mind doing.</b></i></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">I don’t mind
washing dishes. There’s just me, so there aren’t a lot of them, for one thing.
It warms up my hands, which warms the rest of me (I’m on a new medication that
messes up my internal thermostat and I am always chilly now). And it’s an easy
way to feel like I have gotten something done!</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br />
<i><b><span class="textexposedshow">5. You have an unexpectedly free afternoon. What do
you do? (This is only a hypothetical, sorry. I can't be going around handing
out vacation time).</span></b></i></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="line-height: 107%;">There’s a couple of thrift shops I’ve been meaning to visit,
and since this is a hypothetical free afternoon, it’s hypothetically spring,
too, so I will also go to one of the local parks for a walk. </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="textexposedshow"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Thanks, Monica, that was fun!</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></div>
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-85300437218644546372016-07-23T11:33:00.001-04:002016-07-23T11:33:42.920-04:00Reflections on Munich<div>(I wrote this as a long Facebook status this morning, and it has received so much positive feedback, I am posting it here as well)</div><div><br></div><div>The Munich shootings are really affecting me. I have been moved and saddened by all the violence the world has experienced, and felt connected to the tragedies in various ways, most powerfully to the shootings at Pulse in Orlando, which left me numb and in emotional shock, even while I ministered to others in shock. </div><div><br></div><div>Munich is different, because it is bringing up memories of a very different time in my life, a period that I don't often think about, although it was very good in many ways. </div><div><br></div><div>I lived in Munich for five years as a US military family member. It was a small installation and many Munchners weren't even aware we were there. My then-husband, our son, and I had many friends outside the military community--German nationals as well as ex-pats--so we were blessed with opportunities to get to know the city as a lot of Americans never did. A gala for the Bavarian State Opera at the Olympia Park (a friend played violin in the orchestra); the best place for mussels, tucked away by the English Garden; sailing on the Starnberger See (Lake Starnberg)... Munich is a city of my heart--if I had a way to live there forever, I would. </div><div><br></div><div>We didn't shop at OEZ; it actually was on the opposite side of the city to where we lived, in the south-east side of Munich. But a friend lived near the Olympic Park, and so we probably dropped in, once or twice, I think. It's hard to remember, after 20+ years. </div><div><br></div><div>But what I do remember is the warmth, the friendliness, of the Munchners. My German was never great--but they appreciated that I tried, and they loved that what I had learned and used was the Bavarian dialect (which made my High German-speaking teacher from Frankfurt shake his head in despair)! The laughter, the willingness to help this silly Amerikanerin (American woman), who at least had the wit to appreciate good German baking/clothing/music/produce/sport.... </div><div><br></div><div>And then yesterday, to think of them hiding in storage rooms, finding refuge in cafes, in mosques, terrified in the confusion, people shot down at one of the city's landmarks.... It feels so incongruous, so wrong.</div><div><br></div><div>What is most tragic is that Munich is not alone in this. Munich is not unique. It feels that way to me, because it holds such a special place in my heart. But Paris holds a special place in other people's hearts; and Istanbul; and Mumbai; and Dallas; and San Bernardino--and Orlando. And so many more. </div><div><br></div><div>I don't have any answers. I don't have any way to tie this off neatly and easily. </div><div><br></div><div>Everywhere in the world is precious ground, and nowhere in the world should be a killing ground.</div>Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-64509278705993001112016-06-10T12:24:00.001-04:002016-06-10T12:24:39.831-04:00Friday Five: Throwback Tunes!Today being Friday, we are back to the Friday Five! And we're talking music, specifically the music of our yout'. My tastes have changed somewhat since then, although recently I've gone back and rediscovered some of my favorites. <br />
<br /><b><i>Which musical artist from your teen years would you love to see in concert?</i></b><br /> The best really was Billy Joel--that I saw in concert, that is. The artist(s) that was (were) performing--well, there were several that were sort of overlapping--getting their start at the same time I was in high school/university: kd lang, Prince, Melissa Etheridge, Indigo Girls, Sweet Honey in the Rock... Buffy Saint Marie for sure. And others that were already known that I wasn't able to see in concert--Bruce Springsteen, for example.<br />
<br /><b><i>Which album was your favorite during high school?</i></b><br />
Buffy Saint Marie's Fire and Fleet and Candlelight; played it to death. Although there were several of John Denver's that got a lot of play too.<br />
<b><i> </i></b><br /><i><b>If you could create a festival (like Woodstock, Lilith Fair or
Lollapalooza) of your favorite bands from high school or college, which
bands would you choose?</b></i><br />
Ha--this would be quite interesting, a very eclectic mix. In no particular order: Prince, Bruce, kd lang, Beatles, Buffy Saint Marie, Melissa E., Billy Joel, Indigo Girls, and the Kinks.<br />
<i><b> </b></i><br /><i><b>What was the best concert you’ve attended in your life?</b></i><br />Billy Joel, his 42nd St tour (I think). He didn't have a warm-up act, he played for three solid hours plus a twenty-minute solo encore and we had great side balcony seats.<br />
<br />
<i><b>What song from your childhood, teen years or adulthood means more to you now (because of lyrics or the power of memory)?</b></i><br />
This is proving difficult. I'm not sure there is one. Many of my favorite songs can take me back, remind me of people and places and events. I don't know that any of them have any more meaning now than they did then, though. But here's one that was played at practically every dance my senior year of high school, even though it is barely danceable...<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8pPvNqOb6RA" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-59083431120369265892016-06-06T13:08:00.001-04:002016-06-06T13:08:57.461-04:00Houston, We Have Touchdown... I've landed in my new habitat--Brookfield, IL!<br />
<br />
The trip out, driving a U-Haul filled with all my worldly possessions including myself and Dylan, was mostly smooth. The last bit was exciting, thanks to a thunderstorm, rush hour, and some hinky Google Map directions, but I made it!<br />
<br />
Dylan and I are settled in a long-stay hotel, looking for a home, preparing for office hours this week and starting to schedule meetings and plan for the coming days and weeks--in other words, to settle in. He seems quite comfortable in the hotel, appreciating the first floor window sill view of the landscaping and parking lot, as he can keep an eye on the chipmunks, squirrels, cars, dogs, children, etc. quite easily.<br />
<br />
I would like to get into an apartment soon, but the last two apartments I had hoped for were both gone... However, I have appointments to see a couple more this afternoon, and calls in on still more...here's hoping!<br />
<br />
Most of all, I am ready to get back into the habits and routine of pastoring--the daily readings and pondering and note-taking for the message, the exchanges and emails and meeting prep, the search for the worship materials and putting it together...I've missed it the last couple of weeks of move prep and moving! I am eager to get to know this amazing congregation better and have them get to know me--to work with them, to learn with and from them and for us to grow together.<br />
<br />
Office hours start tomorrow...are we ready?<br />
<br />
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<br />Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-36835268667475830412016-04-27T17:56:00.002-04:002016-04-27T17:56:52.464-04:00 “Only Healing” Easter 2 (April 10, 2016, MCC Windsor)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Acts 3:1-10</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Peter and John went to the Temple one
afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached
the Temple, someone lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put
beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from
the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he
asked them for some money.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Peter and John looked at him intently, and
Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame person looked at them eagerly, expecting
some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll
give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Then Peter took the person by the right
hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly
healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk!
Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">All the people saw him walking and heard
him praising God. When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so
often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded!</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mark 6:53-56</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">After Jesus and the disciples had crossed
the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. They brought the boat to shore and climbed
out. The people recognized Jesus at once, and they ran throughout the whole
area, carrying sick people on mats to wherever they heard he was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wherever he went—in villages, cities, or the
countryside—they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to
let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him
were healed.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">****</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Will you pray with and for me? Holy One,
you are the healer of our spirits. Be with us as we open our hearts to your
presence with us, and give us grace in this time to truly take in your love and
wisdom. In all your names, amen. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Healing has always been important in
religions, in cults, in spirituality. It’s not difficult, I think, to
understand why. When a person is ill, whether in the body, mind, or spirit, all
they want is to get well, whatever that takes. And sometimes it is hard to know
why you are ill—this was especially true in the distant past, before humans
understood about germs and viruses and antibiotics. A person would just
suddenly get sick, and sometimes would get better, and sometimes wouldn’t for a
long time, and sometimes would be OK afterwards and sometimes would suffer permanent
damage—and sometimes wouldn’t survive at all. Injuries too—sometimes people
could be sewn back together and would be OK and other times not. They didn’t
know about keeping wounds clean and infections and internal bleeding. Obviously
they could observe that people whose wounds were kept clear healed better, but
that wasn’t always possible—and sometimes they died anyway, if they had
internal injuries, or if the wounds were worse than they appeared. Even into
relatively modern times, something as minor—to us—as a cold could be deadly.
When we read Jane Austen novels---or at least when I do!—and we read of someone
spraining an ankle and having to stay as a guest where they had just been
passing by, we might think it contrived. But the reality is that in those days
of no springs in the carriages—which meant a lot of bouncing around—an injured
rider was bound to injure herself again. And of course she couldn’t ride
horseback—you need feet and ankles for that even sidesaddle. Walking was
naturally not an option. And so, in one of her books, a character does stay on
a visit of several days with friends she had not even been planning to see,
when she twists her ankle and cannot get home; and then catches a cold which
threatens to turn into pneumonia—and this in the days before penicillin,
remember. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So in Jesus’ day, while medicine could do
some things, and people had more medical knowledge than we often give them
credit for, knowledge that was mostly lost in Europe during the Middle Ages,
health was still crucial. Someone who became ill, or had a chronic illness, or
a disability, was an economic liability to his or her family. It is a cruel
truth. A person who had mobility limitations—this in the days before
wheelchairs or artificial limbs or elevators or ramps; or who was visually or
hearing impaired; or simply had cancer—this person could not contribute much to
the household income, could not work in the field very well or care for the
children or weave or cook or care for the flocks and herds. They had become a
liability. Given the economic realities of the time, many of them, as this
person at the Beautiful Gate did, became beggars in order to contribute
something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet, of course, they had
families who loved them—this was their daughter, their brother, their cousin,
their nephew. And so of course they wanted healing for them. It wasn’t an
economic decision—it was a yearning of the heart.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And so Jesus healed; and so did Peter and
John, following his example. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So here’s a question I’ve always had—and it
popped up again when I started thinking about this reading for today. Why
didn’t Jesus heal all the people? There were a lot of people coming to him for
help, but we don’t hear that he healed all of them. And I’m sure Peter and John
passed other beggars in the gate—it’s a natural place for beggars to gather,
anywhere people have to slow down, where traffic slows down and people gather.
You see it today, at the on-ramps and off-ramps to freeways and the big
intersections in the city. There were many people, but not all were healed.
Why? </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">For a long time, I thought it was because
not all of them were worthy—the ones who weren’t healed didn’t have enough
faith, or hadn’t asked, or were too afraid. But the more I thought about it,
the less I liked that answer. Why would Jesus pick and choose? If all those
people came to him for healing, why would he heal only some of them? </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">A couple of things changed my thinking. One
was understanding the difference between curing and healing. Curing something
means it is gone, no more, bye-bye. A person can be cured of very few things—a
minor cold or a scratch, maybe. But anything else—well, it leaves a mark on you
and is with you always, in some form or another, and may always affect your
life, sometimes in major ways. A person cannot be healed from diabetes, for
example; nor cystic fibrosis or substance abuse or cancer. Even a broken bone
leaves the bone weakened, and something like cancer leaves a person's body
permanently weakened and scarred. The effects of these illnesses are always
with them, and they are always in recovery from them—they are healing or
healed, but never cured. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So Jesus—and John and Peter--carried out
healing, not cures. The bodily manifestations of the individual’s illness--the
skin disease or the mental illness or the lameness-- may have been gone, as
with the person at the gate to the Temple, who was able to dance when he could
barely stand before. But the effects of the illness are still there, if not
physically then emotionally and spiritually. Many cancer survivors will tell
you they gained an attitude during treatment they didn't have before. It's
partly a new sense of what's important--and it's not usually what was important
before their diagnosis--and partly a new sense of skepticism about what "authorities"
say, since for most of us, we were eating well or at least reasonably,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we had no real risk factors, and yet there we
were in a cancer clinic wait room...</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Not cured, but healed. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Something else I noticed. These were mostly
folks who were already following Jesus. Certainly that's true in Mark's Gospel.
The person at the gate in Acts was not prevented from entering the Temple--he
couldn't serve, if he had been asked, since those serving in the temple had to
be clear of any bodily defect. They were not healed so they could worship; and
they didn't worship as the price of their healing; they worshiped and they were
healed. The only connection the two have to each other is the the healing was
celebrated in worship. There's nothing in either reading to suggest that the
ones who were healed didn't already worship. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The healing showed the power of God through
Christ to restore people to a place in community. Without the healing, they
were marginalized, less than; not actually cast out, like lepers and murders
and so on were; but they were on the very edges of community. Whatever
happened--and remember, the Bible is a book of why, not how--the individuals
who needed healing received it, and provided a sign of God's coming realm. They
had reason to celebrate! Not only were they healed--in and of itself a great
thing--but they had a foretaste of the perfect realm of God's love. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So what does this all mean to us? We are
unlikely to meet Jesus on the front steps of church, although I would guess
that all of us have something we would like to be healed from. We can meet
Jesus in two places--our own hearts, and in each other. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Take time this week to be with Jesus--in
prayer, in conversation as you move through your day, in quiet times of
meditation--what ever works best for you. I am willing to bet that when you do
that, you will see Jesus more often in others as well--the driver ahead of you
in the Timmy's drive through who paid for your coffee; the co-worker who
normally is so hard to deal with, but today confesses her concern for her mother's
health; the man who holds up traffic so that a duck and her ducklings can cross
the road. And you will find him within your self, too--those fruits of the
spirit: kindness, patience, strength, love, and wisdom.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Go, my friends, to be healed, and to heal.
In all God's names. Amen.</span></div>
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-78040873968212021972016-04-27T17:51:00.000-04:002016-04-27T17:51:10.212-04:00"Speaking Truth" Easter 1 (April 3, 2016, Holy Covenant MCC)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Acts 5:27-40 </span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Then they brought the
apostles before the high council, where the high priest confronted them. “We
gave you strict orders never again to teach in this one's name!” he said. “Instead,
you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to
make us responsible for his death!” But Peter and the apostles replied, “We
must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised
Jesus from the dead after the authorities killed him by hanging him on a cross.
Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior.
He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven.
We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God
to those who obey him.” When they heard this, the high council was furious and
decided to kill them. But one member, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an
expert in religious law and respected by all the people, stood up and ordered
that the men be sent outside the council chamber for a while. Then he said to
his colleagues, “Leaders of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to
these men! Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be
someone great. About 400 others joined him, but he was killed, and all his
followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing. After
him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to
follow him, but he was killed, too, and all his followers were scattered. “So
my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and
doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it
is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find
yourselves fighting against God!” The others accepted his advice. They called
in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to
speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go. </span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">John 20:19-31 That
Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were
afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace
be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and
his side. They were filled with joy when they saw Jesus!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again he said, “Peace be with you. As God has
sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the
Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s sins,
they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” One of
the twelve disciples, Thomas nicknamed the Twin, was not with the others when
Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen Jesus!” But he replied, “</span><span lang="NL" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: NL;">I won</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his
hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was
with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing
among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your
finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my
God!” Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen
me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” The disciples saw Jesus
do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book.
But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Child of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by
the power of his name. </span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">****</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Will you pray with and
for me? Holy One, speak through me, in spite of me; may my words be a window
through which the light of your love and truth may shine. In all your many
names, amen. </span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It is good to be here
today! I am so very pleased to be here with you this morning, and I bring you
greetings from your sister churches MCC Windsor and MCC Detroit. </span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So here we are with the
traditional Sunday-after-Easter-reading--Thomas, so-called Doubting Thomas.
I've always had a respect for Thomas, though--he didn't go along with the crowd
of the rest of the disciples, he didn't assume that if the rest of them had
seen something, then it must have really happened. No, he wanted to know for
himself, He wasn't going to take anyone's word for it. And so Thomas makes his
statement of bravado about fingers and hands and wounds...a bit graphic if you
ask me, but clear and definite--that would indeed be proof! He reminds me of my
friends who have a hard time with spirituality and mystical experiences such as
prayer and labyrinths. He wants to know if such things happen, how do they
happen? How is it possible for them to happen? what is the process by which, or
through which, they happen? If someone says they felt a sense of peace at the
center<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of the labyrinth, for example, my
friends want to explain it as a result of the exhilaration of walking; or the
crowd effect--everyone else says they feel peaceful, so the power of suggestion
makes them feel peaceful. And so on. </span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Thomas refuses to be
drawn into the herd instinct. He stands apart and insists on his own
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which is, that he hasn't
seen any risen Jesus, and until he is certain it's really Jesus and not a ghost
or apparition or ghost or mirage, he's not going to assume it is Jesus, who
cares what Peter and John and Andrew and all the others say. </span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It takes a lot of
courage to stand up like that, to be so strong of character that you will not
give in to what the group thinks, even your group of friends and family. Even when
it is something you want very much to believe, as Thomas wanted to believe that
Jesus was not dead. </span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It takes the same kind
of courage for Gamaliel, the member of the Jewish Council who stood up for the
apostles, to speak in their defence. But he has a very good point. If the
apostles are not sent by God, if their message is not, in fact, of divine origin,
then it will fall apart and vanish, whether the council supports it or not. If
it is sent by God, then there is nothing they can do to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>prevent it, and if they try, then they will
be working against God. It is maybe an uncomfortable truth, when the rest of
the council wants to toss the apostles out on their ears, but he insists on it.
</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Both of them, both
Gamaliel and Thomas, are aware of a truth that it is easy to put aside or
forget. We do not know the whole story. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. put it
this way. He said, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see
the whole staircase." </span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">We can't see the end of
the road from where we are; all we can do is step out in faith, knowing we are
making the best decision we can for the moment we are in. Thomas was honest in
his doubt; in his faith, he spoke his doubt. "I need to know that this is
for sure Jesus," he says, in effect. "I want to know those are really
his wounds. I don't want to be fooled by my hope and my longing to see Jesus
again."</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus honoured that
doubt and called his bluff--"Go ahead, touch my wounds." And that was
enough for Thomas. Actually it was more than enough. Thomas became, according
to tradition, one of the great evangelists, carrying the gospel to India, so
that when Europeans arrived in the 1500s, they were greeted by the Mar Thoma
Christians. "Mar" is Aramaic for "lord" or
"lady"--so Lord Thomas, the one who had brought the word of God to
India. Incidentally, that's also the origin of the names "Martha" and
"Mark"....just saying....</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">That insistence on
doubt by Thomas led to so much more than his doubts being laid to rest. So
often, what seems minor or a small action to us has major effects for others. </span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I'm sure we've seen the
YouTube videos of one person helping another, who helps another, who helps
another--until it circles around and the first people is helped. Or--my
personal favourite--the one from Singapore, in which the man performs small
acts of kindness, that very few others would even notice. He moves a dying
plant over to catch the water running out out of a downspout; helps the older
woman get her food cart up over the curb; gives the beggar woman and her
daughter the last of his cash; shares his meal with a stray dog. And in the
end, he has a new pet, a lovely tree blooms, a child is going to school. No
great reward, no special recognition--but the reward of friendship and a life
well-lived. He doesn't do those things for any reward at all.</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Facebook is a very
interesting place, as those of you on it know. One of the rewards of Facebook
that I appreciate is reconnecting with friends from high school. I know that
for some of us high school was not really a wonderful time or place. The first
year or so were not for me, either. But then things settled into place, and I
found my tribe. I wasn't out at the time--partly because I was so confused by
my feelings, being bi/pan sexual--but a deeper part of me knew, and the people
I was closest to at the time are either part of the LGBTTIQ community
today--including two of my ex-boyfriends, go figure--or are firm allies.
Shortly after I reconnected with one of the latter, she messaged me and said
she had been hoping we would reconnect, as she had always wanted to thank me.
And then she told me this story. When we were both in 8th grade, we had been in
a horseback riding camp over the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She had felt awkward as she had had little direct experience with
horses, unlike most of the rest of us. I had, apparently, helped her with some
of those basics instead of teasing her or ignoring her struggles. She had
remembered that and wanted to express her gratitude that I had made the camp
bearable and even fun instead of a nightmare. The truth is that while I just
barely remember the camp and her being a part of it, I don't remember helping
her at all. I don't doubt her memory, or that I did something at some point
that she found helpful and supportive. That I don't remember it doesn't matter.
She remembers it, and it matters very much to her. </span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I tell the story not to
show what a good person I am--if I were doing that, I would no doubt remember
helping her and 16 other people in the class, not mention rescuing a whole
school of orphans from a flood. </span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The point is, it is the
small, almost unintentional comments, moments, actions that we do that can
change lives. I am willing to bet that Gamaliel, the member of the Jewish
council, didn't think again about that morning meeting with the followers of
that carpenter Joshua, AKA Jesus--they didn't become prominent in his lifetime.
And Thomas could not have known, on that early morning, that his doubt would
result in a journey to a very different land and culture, to plant the
knowledge and love of Christ on the continent of Asia.</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">That doesn't mean that
we should be fearful to speak or act--after all, not speaking or acting may
have a result, too! But we should be aware that our actions, our words, will
have results we know nothing of at this moment--and none the less, we move
forward in faith. Even when we cannot see all of the staircase, we take the
first step in faith. My friends, take the first step in faith, confident that
although we may not see the whole staircase, the grace and power and love that
oversees our lives knows every step. In all the many names of our loving God,
amen.</span></div>
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-44047512182527339552016-04-27T17:42:00.001-04:002016-04-27T17:42:37.482-04:00“Because They Were Afraid” Easter Sunday (March 27, 2016), MCC Windsor <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Psalm 118:21-27</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I will give you thanks, for you answered
me;</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>you have become my salvation.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The stone the builders rejected</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>has become the cornerstone;</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">our God has done this,</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>and it is marvelous in our eyes.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The Holy One has done it this very day;</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>let us rejoice today and be glad.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">O God, save us!</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Holy One, grant us success!</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Blessed is the One who comes in the name of
our God.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From the house of the Holy One we bless you.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The Holy One is God,</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>and God has made the divine light shine on us.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">With branches in hand, join in the festal
procession</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>up to the horns of the altar.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mark 16:1-8</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to
anoint Jesus</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’ </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">body. Very early on the
first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb
and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of
the tomb?”</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But when they looked up, they saw that the
stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb,
they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and
they were alarmed.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Don</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t
be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was
crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But
go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There
you will see him, just as he told you.</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Trembling and bewildered, the women went
out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were
afraid.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">****</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Will you pray with and for me? Risen God,
reawaken our love for you. Refresh our hearts with the fire of your love for
us. Remind us of your grace-filled presence with us, even when it seems to us
you are absent. Give us a spirit of courage to speak your truth, to be bold in
your service, to not count the cost when we do your work, to know what we have
seen and heard from you, and give us grace and breath to share it. In all your
blessed names, amen. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">When we make that Easter declaration to
each other, we are in a sense braver than than those women at the tomb. They
had seen the empty tomb; they knew where Jesus' dead body had been laid, and it
wasn't there anymore. They knew something was happening--they weren't sure
what, but something was going on. It was so far outside their experience that
they didn't even have words for it. Neither did anyone else. They had seen
Lazarus raised, or some of of them had--but in that case Jesus had called
Lazarus forth from the tomb. One person raised another. But Jesus had been
alone in the tomb--it was a new tomb, Jesus was the first person in it. So who
had raised him? Or had someone taken the body? Had some of the disciples moved
it to keep it safe? What had happened to Jesus' body? So many questions and too
few answers. And they had to be cautious, too--if they asked the wrong question
in the wrong place, the results could be disastrous. If the Romans found out
the body was gone, they might blame the religious leaders and then the
religious leaders would retaliate on the disciples... Or the religious leaders
would try to blame the disciples. No, better to keep quiet. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The earliest versions of Mark do in fact
end here. The tomb is empty. The angels give the good news--and the women who
were witnesses don't say anything to anyone--out of fear of ridicule, one
suspects, quite apart from the larger implications I just mentioned. The Luke
reading says that the women's story "sounded like nonsense" to the other
apostles, so they didn't believe them. Only Peter goes to see what they are
talking about, and finds just what they said--an empty tomb. He goes home,
still confused. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">When I was young, and read or heard a
story, or saw a movie or TV show I liked, I tried to imagine myself into the
story. I was the daughter or sidekick or friend of the hero or heroine, and
part of the story. How would I have acted, what would I have done? How would
that have changed the story? Usually, of course, I would have had far more sense
than the hapless characters, or even more courage than the brave ones, and
would have solved the riddles much more quickly than the heroes and heroines. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But when we read the Bible, it is harder to
think that we could be better than these people, that we would not make the
mistakes that they do. After all, aren't we all proud of our strengths, like
Samson? And faithful to a fault--until we aren't--like Peter? Unlike most book
heroes, people in the Bible have plenty of faults, and those faults are their downfall--Joseph
and his pride, David and his arrogance, Paul and his absolute adherence to
Jewish law. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And then these women, who experienced the
unforgettable, but also literally unspeakable--because who would believe them?
And even if they did, it would complicate things so much for the authorities
and the disciples--probably a better idea to keep it quiet, and talk it out
among<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>themselves. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">How often do we keep good news inside, out
of fear? Are we afraid to share good news because we don't want to be laughed
at or shunned, because it seems too far fetched or strange, or asks people to
do things they aren't used to doing? What good news are we holding in, even
now, because we don't know how to speak it, or who to tell, or what to do next?
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">There's all kinds of good news to
share--all kinds of prophecy to share--prophecy in the sense of speaking truth
to power. Our sisters and brothers in North Carolina in the US are speaking
truth to power in the wake of sweeping legislation that prohibits
anti-discrimination laws by cities in that state that are broader than the
state's laws, and that expressly prohibits protection for transgender women and
men by requiring them to use the washroom of the gender indicated on their
birth certificate. Their birth certificate can only be changed--again,
according to state law--after surgical gender correction--which many people
cannot afford or which is medically impossible for them. It is, practically
speaking, a farce, as trans men--marked as female on their birth
certificate--who have been taking testosterone will appear fully masculine, but
must use the women's room according to the this legislation--and the reverse is
true for many transwomen. And then there's the logistics--will everyone have to
carry a copy of their birth certificate with them at all times? And what about
people who fall at variant places on the gender spectrum? I have friends who
identify as cisgender women and yet are frequently hassled in women's rooms
because they tend to present in a more masculine way. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Well, you can see this one pushes my
buttons! But these are truths that need to be spoken. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And there are other calls for truth-telling--about
the way we humans treat the natural world, how we treat each other, both our
immediate neighbours and those who share the earth with us, how we treat
ourselves. I am guessing that every one of us has some truth in our hearts that
we are longing to tell--but we are afraid.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The truth the women found at Jesus' tomb
was not kept a secret, was it? Mark's account may have ended while it was still
whispered about, uncertain--but Matthew, Luke and John were recorded when the
truth could be shouted loud and clear--Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The same is true of the truths we are
keeping in our hearts--we cannot keep them there forever; when the time is
right, or even when we think it is not right, it will burst out of us, the
truth will be spoken to power, even if our voice shakes, because, my friends,
like Martin Luther, we can do no other. We will speak that dreadful truth--and
others will join us, and testify that it is their truth too--but even if we are
still speaking alone, we are speaking truth, and that is enough. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And so on this lovely, new, open,
fresh-start Easter, my friends, know your truth, speak that truth to power,
speak it to the Romans, to the disciples, to whoever needs to hear it. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!</span></div>
<br />
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-32497122026391324162016-03-21T18:14:00.001-04:002016-03-21T18:21:35.206-04:00"Joy to Grief" MCC Windsor, March 20, 2016, Palm Sunday<div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Readings</span></div><div>Contemporary Words:</div><div><i>“Even now, I wonder: if I meet God, will God take and hold my bare hand, and focus God’s eye on my palm…? … It is I who misunderstood... God, I am sorry I ran from you. I am still running, running from that knowledge, that eye, that love from which there is no refuge. For you meant only love, and love, and I felt only fear, and pain. So once in Israel love came to us incarnate, stood in the doorway between two worlds, and we were all afraid.” </i></div><div><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>--- Annie Dillard’s essay “God In the Doorway,” in the book Teaching a Stone to Talk. </i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Ancient Words</i></div><div><i>Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 </i></div><div><i>Give thanks to God, who is good;</i></div><div><i> God’s love endures forever.</i></div><div><i>Let Israel say: God’s love endures forever.”</i></div><div><i>Open for me the gates of the righteous;</i></div><div><i> I will enter and give thanks to the Holy One.</i></div><div><i> This is the gate of our God</i></div><div><i> through which the righteous may enter.</i></div><div><i>I will give you thanks, for you answered me;</i></div><div><i> you have become my salvation.</i></div><div><i>The stone the builders rejected</i></div><div><i> has become the cornerstone;</i></div><div><i>the Holy One has done this,</i></div><div><i> and it is marvelous in our eyes.</i></div><div><i>God has done it this very day;</i></div><div><i> let us rejoice today and be glad.</i></div><div><i>God, save us!</i></div><div><i> Holy One, grant us success!</i></div><div><i>Blessed is the one who comes in the name of our God.</i></div><div><i> From the house of the Holy One we bless you.</i></div><div><i> The Holy One is God,</i></div><div><i> and has made God’s light shine on us.</i></div><div><i>With branches in hand, join in the festal procession</i></div><div><i> up to the horns of the altar.</i></div><div><i>You are my God, and I will praise you;</i></div><div><i> you are my God, and I will exalt you.</i></div><div><i>Give thanks to the Holy One, for God is good;</i></div><div><i> God’s love endures forever.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Luke 19:28-40</i></div><div><i>Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Holy One needs it.’”</i></div><div><i>Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”</i></div><div><i>They replied, “The Holy One needs it.”</i></div><div><i>They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.</i></div><div><i>When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:</i></div><div><i>“Blessed is the One who comes in the name of our God!”</i></div><div><i>“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”</i></div><div><i>Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”</i></div><div><i>“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i8cCgV3SUtQ/VvByVgPboSI/AAAAAAAACRo/5zlWvKwQ7ag/s640/blogger-image--1742658705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i8cCgV3SUtQ/VvByVgPboSI/AAAAAAAACRo/5zlWvKwQ7ag/s640/blogger-image--1742658705.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Reflection:</div><div>The joy of Palm Sunday. The rejoicing of the people of Jerusalem as Jesus enters, the one who has been teaching and healing and comforting them—riding in like a conquering hero! Is it possible, they must be asking themselves, that he will take over from the priests, that he will send the Romans packing, and that Jerusalem will be ruled by a Jewish—truly Jewish, not a Roman puppet like Herod—but a real Jewish ruler? Can it be? That would be like heaven on earth! And so they shout and celebrate with a joy that can’t be contained. As Jesus himself says, the very stones of the streets and houses would shout out, even if all the human voices were stilled. </div><div><br></div><div>The words from the Psalm are probably very reflective of what the disciples and the people of Jerusalem were feeling. </div><div>“Give thanks to God, who is good;”</div><div>“I will give you thanks, for you answered me;</div><div> you have become my salvation.</div><div>The stone the builders rejected</div><div> has become the cornerstone;</div><div>the Holy One has done this,</div><div> and it is marvelous in our eyes.</div><div>God has done it this very day;</div><div> let us rejoice today and be glad.”</div><div>“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of our God.</div><div> From the house of the Holy One we bless you.</div><div> The Holy One is God,</div><div> and has made God’s light shine on us.</div><div>With branches in hand, join in the festal procession</div><div> up to the horns of the altar.”</div><div><br></div><div>They could not help but celebrate—their dreams, their hopes, their aspirations all seemed to be coming true! No more Romans, no more grinding taxes, no more arrogant foreign soldiers ordering everyone around—just freedom to live as the laws of God demanded, with justice and peace and righteousness and mercy. </div><div><br></div><div>What is your fondest dream for your nation, your city, your workplace, your family, your community? What would you want to have happen above all things? Take a moment to think about that. What is it that you picture as the best thing that could possibly happen for that situation? A new leader, a new strategic plan, a new attitude or atmosphere? Maybe a reconciliation between some people who have had a falling out? Perhaps there’s a project or a change in policy or procedure that would radically improve things. Imagine what it would be like to have that, whatever it is, in place and working, and your dreams coming true. Imagine that the person who can make that happen is standing in front of you, promising to do just that—bring in the new leader, change the policy, fund the project, spark a new attitude—whatever it takes to bring your dream to life.</div><div><br></div><div>That is what the people of Jerusalem think they see in the near future. Jesus has been so wise, so kind, so just, so full of healing and comfort—surely he will now take the next step and evict the Romans, and take over as the ruler of Israel, as he is entitled to do, being a descendent of David. Isn’t that what all his travels and teachings and work were leading up to? Isn’t this the perfect moment now—at the celebration of the Passover, which is the ceremony of the remembrance of the exodus of the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery to freedom in their own land—so now Jesus can be a more perfect Moses, and lead them out of slavery to the Romans, and rule them in their own land of Israel—isn’t that what this is all about?</div><div><br></div><div>Could there be a more perfect time? Clearly not, and so the people of Jerusalem celebrate the coming of the anointed one, the Christos, in Greek—no, it’s not Jesus’ last name. And so they shout and dance and wave the palm branches of victory. </div><div><br></div><div>Reading</div><div><i>Luke 23: 22-49</i></div><div><i>When the soldiers had brought Jesus to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Holy One, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, the chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the Ruler of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the Ruler of the Jews.” One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this one has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your realm.” Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”</i></div><div><i>It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Beloved Creator, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this one was innocent.” And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oETUmrVN8FM/VvByUWkJ-TI/AAAAAAAACRk/r_LChC7RNO0/s640/blogger-image--303289808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oETUmrVN8FM/VvByUWkJ-TI/AAAAAAAACRk/r_LChC7RNO0/s640/blogger-image--303289808.jpg"></a></div><br></i></div><div><br></div><div>Reflection:</div><div>Wow. That was quite the change. Sunday the celebration and joy and welcome…Friday the rejection and confusion and grief and death. </div><div><br></div><div>In the course of history, we in the Christian church have lost the sense of progression through Holy Week, as the days between Palm Sunday and Easter are called. Christianity was the organizing principle of civic life for many centuries—as it still tends to be in many ways, but not as it was in, say, the Middle Ages or even the Renaissance or the 18th century. Holy Week meant no frivolity—depending on the time period, that meant only religious plays, oratorios instead of operas, no gambling, no balls, even at court; law courts closed and so did shops and theatres. In contrast to Christmas, which was celebrated with gusto—food, drinking, revels, and parties—Holy Week and Easter were seen as more somber and serious holidays. Monday through Wednesday were days of prayer, each with an observation, but it was Holy Thursday and Good Friday when things went into high gear. Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday, remembers the Last Supper—Jesus’ last meal on earth with his disciples and the institution of what we call today Communion or the Lord’s Supper. </div><div><br></div><div>It may have been a Passover meal—the Gospels aren’t clear on that—but it was clearly an intimate meal, shared with close friends, a chosen family, as a Passover seder meal often is. I’ve been privileged to attend a couple of seder meals with Jewish friends, and they are very much family meals. It is also partly a worship service, and the order of the service is called a haggadah, and there are many versions available—a women’s haggadah, the Jerusalem haggadah, an LGBT haggadah, and so on. It is customary, even expected, for there to be discussion and dispute over the ceremony and what is done when. There’s a part for children—a piece of matzo, the crackerlike unleavened bread of Passover is hidden, and the one who finds it wins a prize—and there are questions to be asked by the youngest child, about why the meal is eaten the way it is and so on. It can actually last a long time, and is full of tradition, both religious tradition and the individual family’s traditions, depending on their background. If you are ever invited to share in a Passover meal, please do—and if you have been fortunate enough to be part of one, you know what it is like! But please, unless you have a Jewish friend who is willing to lead you through it, please do not attempt to have a seder meal on your own. I compare that to a non-Christian person trying to celebrate Communion to see what it is like for a Christian…just not the thing to do. </div><div><br></div><div>And then Good Friday. It is interesting to me that here in Canada, which is much more secular in many ways than the USA, Good Friday is a holiday, or a half-holiday, for many people—which it is not in the US; and the same is true of Easter Monday. </div><div><br></div><div>Good Friday in some traditions is observed with the Stations of the Cross—remembering various events of Jesus’ last hours of earthly life as he went from Pilate to Herod and back again, as he was tortured by the soldiers, taken to Calvary and crucified, as he dies and is finally laid in the tomb. This is the one day in the Christian year when Communion is not celebrated—because the Communion host represents Christ, who on this day died, and so cannot be the living bread. In Roman Catholic churches, the tabernacle with the reserved host, that is, the Communion hosts left from the Mass, is left open and empty, to symbolize Christ’s death. As Christ is in the tomb, the tabernacle is empty of the living Christ. </div><div><br></div><div>Holy Saturday one would think would be a day of stillness and Sabbath—of mourning and quietness; a day of nothingness. But simple logistics get in the way here. Easter Sunday is the greatest feast day in the church year, and so all the best linen, all the brightest candle sticks and altar decorations and vestments must be brought out to adorn the church. Not to mention the flowers! And of course all this can’t be done in an hour or two! So in reality, it is a busy day of decoration and beautifying the church sanctuary. Some traditions have an Easter vigil on the Saturday evening or Saturday night, and that can be a lot of fun. The story of the relationship between humans and God is told through the Bible stories of Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and the Ark, the Tower of Babel, The Exodus, and so on, through readings, skits, songs and hymns, right up to the resurrection—when light bursts into the church, all the candles are lit and everyone begins ringing the bells they have brought, the church bells ring, and a huge party starts! I recommend an Anglican or Episcopalian congregation for the Easter vigil—they know how to do it right!</div><div><br></div><div>In other traditions, Resurrection begins more quietly, with a sunrise service; then a worship celebration at the usual time, albeit with all the musicians the church can muster, all the stops out on the organ, flowers everywhere they will fit and everyone dressed to the nines. </div><div><br></div><div>It’s a progression—from that joy of Palm Sunday, through the farewell of the Last Supper and the grief and horror of Good Friday and the nothingness of Holy Saturday to the joy of Easter—that we don’t see anymore, not really. Most of us don’t or can’t attend worship on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. And so we miss part of the story, the power of the joy and revelation of Easter. </div><div><br></div><div>So sometime in the 1960s or 70s, pastors and church musicians began noticing that people weren’t able to come to all the services. And so we now compress Holy Week to one Sunday, Palm/Passion Sunday, and try to be sure that no one goes from the palm branches of Palm Sunday to the joy of Easter without going by the tomb of Good Friday as well. </div><div><br></div><div>Because that’s why we’re celebrating, It’s not that the hopes of Palm Sunday—the new strategic plan, the new leader, the new policy—it’s not that they were put into place and they are working. Far from it. In fact, that new leader, that new policy we had such hopes for was basically thrown out the window. “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” The hopes and dreams were crucified on the cross with Jesus. That’s what Good Friday is all about. Everything we thought we were promised, that new beginning, a new way of dealing with each other—it’s done. It’s gone. It’s over, because Jesus is dead and in a tomb. That’s our grief. That’s why we are numb on Holy Saturday. We don’t know what to do now; where to go, what to do. Jesus is dead. What do we do now?</div><div><br></div><div>Amen.</div>Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-28287715355781111272016-03-16T18:10:00.003-04:002016-03-16T18:15:26.428-04:00"Dare to Dream" March 13, 2016, MCC Windsor<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Contemporary
Word</span></span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“I would say,
if God didn</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t want you to
be so inquisitive, then why did God give you so much curiosity? Can you trust the
Map-Maker a little more? Because I feel like the fear that comes from not
wanting to examine your beliefs looks an awful lot like a lack of faith. …[I]f
your faith is so strong, then it shouldn</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t be a problem to, you know, think about it…So I think
that it shows an absence of trust in your Creator who created you exactly as
you are, you know? If God wanted you to be narrow minded and uninterested, you
wouldn</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t even be asking questions to begin with.
So trust the One who made you and behave as you were made.”</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>
</i></span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>---Elizabeth Gilbert</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">Ancient Word</span></span></u><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Isaiah 43:16-21 </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>
</i></span><br />
<div class="line" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">This is what God says—<br />
the One who made a way through the sea,<br />
a path through the mighty waters,<br />
who drew out the chariots and horses,<br />
the army and reinforcements together,<br />
and they lay there, never to rise again,<br />
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:<br />
“Forget the former things;<br />
do not dwell on the past.<br />
See, I am doing a new thing!<br />
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?<br />
I am making a way in the wilderness<br />
and streams in the wasteland.<br />
The wild animals honour me,<br />
the jackals and the owls,<br />
because I provide water in the wilderness<br />
and streams in the wasteland,<br />
to give drink to my people, my chosen,<br />
the people I formed for myself<br />
that they may proclaim my praise.</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>
</i></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>
</i></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">John 12:1-8</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>
</i></span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Six days before
the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised
from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’ </span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those
reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an
expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’ </span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house
was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>
</i></span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But one of his
disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor?
It was worth a year</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s wages.” He
did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as
keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>
</i></span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>
</i></span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Leave her
alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for
the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not
always have me.”</span></span></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">*** </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Will you pray
with me? Holy one, open our hearts to recognise your presence; to forgive
others as freely as you have forgiven us; and give us grace to love as
completely as you do. In all your names, amen.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Lent Five! One
more Sunday in the season of Lent—and I always feel like next Sunday doesn</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t entirely count, being Palm/Passion Sunday, after
all. So we are still in Lent, still in a place of reflection and
self-examination—still asking ourselves those questions. Or maybe we are still
stuck back a week or two, not sure if we should be asking these questions;
afraid of what the answers might be; afraid of not finding an answer right
away. But Elizabeth Gilbert, in our contemporary reading, has it right, I
think. We were created with a brain and a spirit that question, that wonder,
that want to know more. Otherwise, we would still be living in caves and eating
meat raw, right? We wondered, or one of our ancestors way back when did, what
would happen if--- Or they noticed that when they did something, this other
thing happened—if they protected the young plants they found growing in a
field, and watered them, they grew and became grain that was good to eat. And
if they saved some of the grain and planted it the next year, they had more
grain to eat. But someone asked the question—“what if we saved some of these
seeds and planted them in the spring?” They asked the question, and dared to
look for an answer. They dreamed of enough grain for everyone. Dreams are what
move us forward. Far from being a useless waste of time, our dreams are where our
imaginations run free, where we can say, "what if--?"</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Being in the
middle of Lent doesn</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t mean we can</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t dream. The warmer weather, the return of the birds,
the flowers and trees beginning to bud and push up from the ground—these are
encouraging us to dream--of new possibilities, of new options, of new life--to
imagine things that haven't been done yet, to think, as they say, outside the
box. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The comic strip
Pearls Before Swine is sometimes pretty dark. Recently, though,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s been a series on Larry the crocodile trying to find
a religion that will, as he puts it, let him drink beer and get mad at stupid
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His latest attempt is a
jack-in-the-box god, but his friend Bob, watching as Larry cranks the handle,
points out that it only plays music—what kind of god is that? Until the lid on
the box jumps open, and the jack-in-the-box springs out at them. They decide
that this terrifying god is not for them, either. Well, I could have told them
that</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s what happens when you try to put God in a
box—God always gets out!</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">When we dream,
we dream of better things, of course—not worse. We want peace and plenty and
harmony, love and hope. And we want these not only for ourselves, but for
everyone—because if our neighbours, whether across the street or across the
river or across the ocean, aren</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t experiencing
that same plenty and hope, then they will come and try to take some of ours,
won</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t they? And it</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s not merely a selfish wish to protect what we hope to
have, but it</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s a genuine
desire for everyone to have what he or she needs for health and happiness. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It can be hard
to create that dream, though—there are so many options. All the political
systems and economic systems of the world, ones that have been put into
practice and ones that were only imagined, were formed with the idea of making
the world into what it should be, what it ought to be. Whether capitalism,
socialism, social democracy, communism, a republic, a democratic monarchy—they
each have an idea of the ideal form of the world. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So Isaiah
dreamed of a realm where even the animals, the jackals and owls, which are
generally symbols of death, praise God, who is doing something new and
unprecedented. “I am doing a new thing!” God proclaims--paths in the
wilderness, water where there was a desert. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And that
certainly how Spring feels, isn</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t it? Every
spring feels like the very first one—as if the grass had never been green
before, the trees never spread out green leaves, the daffodils and crocuses and
forsythia and irises never bloomed before. Of course they have—but never in
exactly this way, in these circumstances, in this year, when we have certain
feelings and thoughts and hopes and fears. It is always something new for us. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mary dreamed of
something new. She anointed Jesus with precious oil as an honoured guest at her
table, in her home, out of gratitude for the life Jesus restored to Lazarus,
her brother. And yet, that was not the new thing. Jesus had brought others back
to life—the widow</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s son, the
daughter of the synagogue leader, the soldier</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="ES-TRAD" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: ES-TRAD;">s companion</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">—so while it
was a wonderful miracle, it was not something new. Others beside Jesus had
brought others back to life, too--Elisha, for example.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So what, then,
was Mary dreaming of? Maybe of a time when people would do more than pay lip
service to the words of Jesus. Maybe she hoped to see a world in which Jesus</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’ </span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">teachings were actually the standard by which people
lived, and not empty words. Mary was so hopeful for this dream that she gave
Jesus the most precious thing she had—this bottle of rare and expensive
perfume. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">What is your
favourite smell in the whole world? Is it fresh-cut grass? Or maybe roses in
bloom in the summer sun; coffee on a sunny morning; sandalwood and jasmine on a
warm summer night; woodsmoke and sausages at a campfire? I love the smell of
lavender, and of a spice cake with mocha frosting.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Think of that
smell—close your eyes and imagine that scent all around you, drifting up around
you, up to the ceiling, spreading out to fill the space around you. Bathe yourself
in that scent. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">That is what it
was like in that house at Bethany, when Jesus visited his friends Mary and
Martha and Lazarus. The scent filled the house—like a dream. I can see Jesus
and the disciples and their friends closing their eyes, breathing in the
wonderful scent, smiling; dreaming of something better. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And here comes
Judas, stamping in and smashing the dreams to bits, throwing cold water on
their reveries and their dreams. “We could have sold that perfume for a lot of
money!” </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">I don’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t know where this comes from for Judas. We</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="NL" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: NL;">re told he</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s an embezzler, that he steals from the money that was
supposed to be shared with all the disciples. And maybe it is as simple as
that. But I wonder if it is also that Judas has forgotten how to dream. He sees
the others wrapped up in dreams, in hopes—but he can</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t share in those dreams. Perhaps he prides himself on
his practicality, on being down-to-earth, a numbers man, bottom line and end of
the day sort of person. No flights of fancy for him! And yet, here are all the
others, caught up for a moment in their own beautiful dreams—and he can</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t stand it. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Judas
retaliates with a very practical and charitable suggestion—instead of using all
the perfume on one person, they should have sold it, and given the proceeds to
the poor. It certainly wakes Jesus and the disciples from their reverie, but it
does not have the intended result for Judas. Instead of Jesus</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’ </span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">agreement with him, Judas is rebuked. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">There will
always be poor people, Jesus says, and always an opportunity to do good. But he
won</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t always be with them, so it is right to
seize and enjoy and bless that moment when he is there.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Our
God-moments, our times of blessing and joy, are not to be ignored or minimized
or pushed aside. They are to be seized and enjoyed as the blessing they are. We
have all the rest of time to study and think and work—but for these moments
when we are so keenly aware of God</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s presence, we
can let go of those other things and just be. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I want to leave
you with a thought? A poem? Not sure what to call it, but it goes like this.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Be still and
know I am God.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Be still and
know I am.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Be still and
know.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="SV" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: SV;">Be still.</span></span><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="indent-1-breaks"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Be.</span></span></span></div>
<br />Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-39796642470016681242016-03-16T18:07:00.002-04:002016-03-16T18:07:37.262-04:00"Beginning Again" MCC Windsor, March 6, 2016<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span><u>Contemporary Word</u><br />
<i><span style="color: black;">“...we thought that the Taliban are not that much
cruel that they would kill a child, because I was 14 at that time. But then
later on, I used to like, I started thinking about that and I used to think
that the Tali would come and he would just kill me, but then I said if he
comes, what would you do Malala? Then I would reply to myself Malala just take
a shoe and hit him, but then I said, if you hit a Tali with your shoe, then
there would be no difference between you and the Tali. You must not treat others
that much with cruelty and that much harshly, you must fight others, but
through peace and through dialogue and through education. Then I said I would
tell him how important education is and that I even want education for your
children as well and I would tell him, that’s what I want to tell you, now do
what you want.”</span></i></span></span></span></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span> </span>--- An excerpt from a transcript of an interview by
Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education and youngest-ever
Nobel Prize Laureate. When she was 15, she was attacked and shot in the face by
the Taliban for supporting female education.</span></span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<u><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">Ancient Word</span></span></span></u></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">Joshua 5:9-12 </span></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="text"><b><sup><span style="color: black;"> </span></sup></b></span><span class="text"><span style="color: black;">Then God said to
Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place
has been called Gilgal<sup> </sup>to this day.</span></span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black;">On the evening of the
fourteenth day of the month,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="text"><span style="color: black;">while
camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the
Passover.</span></span><span class="text"><b><sup><span style="color: black;"> </span></sup></b></span><span class="text"><span style="color: black;">The
day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the
land:</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="text"><span style="color: black;">unleavened
bread</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="text"><span style="color: black;">and
roasted grain.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="text"><span style="color: black;">The
manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no
longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of
Canaan.</span></span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32</span><span></span></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>Now the tax collectors and sinners were
all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the
law muttered, “This one welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told
them this parable:</span></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>“There was a man who had two sons. The
younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he
divided his property between them.</span></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>“Not long after that, the younger son
got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his
wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine
in that whole country, and he began to be in need.<span> </span>So he went and hired himself out to a citizen
of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his
stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.</span></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How
many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving
to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I
have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called
your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to
his father.</span></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>“But while he was still a long way off,
his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son,
threw his arms around him and kissed him.</span></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have
sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your
son.’</span></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>“But the father said to his servants,
‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and
sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast
and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost
and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.</span></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>“Meanwhile, the older son was in the
field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called
one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’
he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him
back safe and sound.’</span></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>“The older brother became angry and
refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered
his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never
disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could
celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your
property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’</span></span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></i><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are
always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be
glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost
and is found.’”</span></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span>***</span></span></span></div>
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<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">Will you
pray with and for me? Loving and generous God, open our spirits and hearts to
your word for us today. May all we hear and speak be reflections of your grace.
In all your names, amen. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">Our
Gospel reading today is one of those parables that even people who don't go to
church are familiar with, at least in the general outline--guy has a lot of
money, goes away and wastes it all, comes home to ask forgiveness, Dad throws a
big party, big brother is jealous, Dad says to celebrate because his brother
has come home. It has even affected the language--not in the dictionary,
perhaps, but often when people talk about someone as a "prodigal"
they mean someone who has gone away and is now returning in shame. But the
original meaning, the central meaning of "prodigal" is
"extravagant, generous, lavish." So even though it is usually called
the story of the prodigal son, it could also be called the story of the
prodigal father. After all, he throws a wild party when he son comes home--this
younger son who, in a sense, couldn't wait for his father to die, and grabbed
his inheritance when he could. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">Now, it's
usually read as a parable of forgiveness, and the two short parables just
before it--the lost sheep and the lost coin--reinforce that reading. And that's
true, I think. But it's more than that. Isn't it also about new beginnings,
fresh starts, a chance at a do-over? </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">We're
halfway through Lent; beginning that slide down to Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and
then Easter. We've been asking those questions about what we really believe,
whose we really are, and how we respond to God--and whether we need to change
any of that. Today we are looking at what that might look like. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">Malala,
although a teenager, has already learned a valuable lesson. Hatred solves
nothing--it only makes us like those we hate. It doesn't bring peace or an end
to violence, it doesn't resolve differences in politics, religion, or even in
the family. And so she lets go of that hatred and anger, recognizing that,
difficult as it is to let go of it, that hatred solves nothing. Only by caring
for those who would hurt her as much as she cares for herself can she rise
above the hatred. "Love those that hate you." Now who said that? </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">Joshua is
not a book we often read in the course of the lectionary cycle, but there is
some interesting stuff in there! And this is one of those passages. The Hebrews
are letting go of what bound then to the past. They have been forgiven for
their doubts on the long journey to the Promised Land, and as a sign, no longer
are living on the manna from heaven, but only on the produce of their new land.
It is now their land and they are farming it, keeping sheep and growing crops,
planting vineyards and building homes. They have settled into a new place. They
are finally starting over.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">And so
the the son and the father. The son realizes his error, and returned home. he
is not looking to regain his former place; he knows the enormity of his
mistake--anticipating his father's death, taking the money, and then wasting
it. He didn't even invest it--just spent it "in riotous living," as
the King James translation says. The older brother claims it was spent on
prostitutes, but how he knew that is a mystery. At any rate, it's all gone, and
so the younger brother returns home. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">Robert
Frost once said, "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they
have to take you in." Which is a bit cynical, but also true. And so the
younger son goes home--not in the expectation that everything will be as it
was--he is willing to be a servant, just as long as he has a place to live and
food to eat. Maybe he does think that he father will be lenient to him--after
all, his father did give him they money he asked for, so he seems to be a bit
indulgent--but he can't know that. And he isn't planning to ask for that, even
if he hopes for it. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">And he
receives it. He is given a fresh start, a new beginning--a nice new clean robe,
sandals for his bare feet, even a ring to wear--they start a party, with great
food, and music and dancing, just because he is back home. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">Now, the
older brother is not happy about it all. And I think all of us have felt is was
a little unfair of the father to throw this wild party for the return of the
younger brother when the older brother, who had been dutiful and worked hard,
never got any recognition. Especially those of us who have younger siblings who
got privileges we didn't or got them earlier than we did, or, heaven forbid, at
the same time we did. I remember resenting it mightily that my younger sister
got her ears pierced at the same time I did. It seems silly now, but at the
time, I felt it took something away from me, as the older sister. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">But the
father points out that the older brother has it backwards. He reminds him that
everything the father has now belongs to him--the older brother--because the
younger brother got his share, even if he wasted it. And besides, this is his
brother--isn't he glad he's come home safe? I can easily imagine the father
suggesting a new beginning-wipe the slate clean between the two brothers and
start over. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">Have you,
in your Lenten thinking and journeying and questioning, been feeling the need
for a new start? What better time than Easter, the day of Resurrection, the day
of dying to the old and rising to the new? What do you need to let go of? What
anger or hatred or foolish mistakes have you<span>
</span>made or that others have made do you need to relinquish in order to
celebrate a new beginning? </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US">My
friends, take this opportunity for Easter rebirth; let go of the mistakes and
pain of the past. Forgive where it is needed--whether yourself or others, let
go of the resentment or anger. Start anew, grasp this new beginning offered to
you, take it in both hands and celebrate starting over. In all God's names,
amen. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><br />
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-17419640478866308172016-03-05T14:37:00.000-05:002016-03-05T14:37:04.187-05:00“Cut It Down” February 28, 2016; MCC Windsor<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><u><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">A contemporary
reading:</span></span></u></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“I realize it’s a
state of emergency for trans women and trans feminine folk of colour, and I am
dedicated to raising awareness to the plight of my sisters and siblings, yet I
also know that the intense focus on the publicizing of murder, violence, death
and victimhood becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for the young women I share
space with. I’ve borne witness to young women and girls nonchalantly telling me
that they’re not going to make it to 30 (a benchmark I just surpassed) so
they’re going to “get their life” at all costs. This “get my life” mentality
breeds an urgency in my younger sisters, pushing them to live a hard and fast
life with little protections and resources, with little care or regard.</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I believe that
the constant messaging of inevitable violence is chipping away at my sisters
and siblings, and in my efforts as a writer and storyteller, I aim to strike a
balance and amplify not just our struggles but our triumphs to show that we,
poor-raised trans women of colour, are active agents in our survival rather
than mere inactive objects of exile and extinguish.”</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">---Janet Mock,
trans* woman of colour, writer, and activist</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><u>Isaiah 55:1-9</u> </span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“Come, all you
who are thirsty,</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>come to the waters;</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">and you who have
no money,</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>come, buy and eat!</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Come, buy wine
and milk</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>without money and without cost.</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Why spend money
on what is not bread,</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and your labour on what does not satisfy?</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Listen, listen to
me, and eat what is good,</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and you will delight in the richest of
fare.</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Give ear and come
to me;</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>listen, that you may live.</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I will make an
everlasting covenant with you,</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>my faithful love promised to David.</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">See, I have made
him a witness to the peoples,</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a ruler and commander of the peoples.</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Surely you will
summon nations you know not,</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and nations you do not know will come
running to you,</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">because of the
Eternal One your God,</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the
Holy One of Israel,</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for he has endowed you with splendor.”</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Seek God while
God may be found;</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>call on God while God is near.</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Let the wicked
forsake their ways</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the unrighteous their thoughts.</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Let them turn to
the Holy One, who will have mercy on them,</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and to our God, who will freely pardon.</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“For my thoughts
are not your thoughts,</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>neither are your ways my ways,”</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">declares the Holy
One.</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">“As the heavens
are higher than the earth,</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>so are my ways higher than your ways</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and my thoughts than your thoughts.”</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><u><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Luke 13:1-9</span></span></u></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Now there were
some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate
had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these
Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered
this way?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tell you, no! But unless you
repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in
Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others
living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all
perish.”</span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Then he told
this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to
look for fruit on it but did not find any.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I</span></span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and
haven</span></span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use
up the soil?</span></span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“‘Sir,</span></span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’ </span></span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">the gardener replied, ‘leave it alone for one more
year, and I</span></span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span></span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">ll dig around it
and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.</span></span><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’”</span></span></i><span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">****</span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Will you pray
with and for me? Loving Friend, Gracious God, open our hearts as we hear and
speak today; may all our words, spoken and silent, open ways for us to
recognise your truth for us. In all your names, amen. </span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">How is your Lent
journey progressing, my friends? Are you allowing these questions to percolate
in your mind and spirit during the week? Do you find yourself with more
questions then answers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope so--and
if so, join the club!</span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Last week, we
talked about exclusion--where have we felt excluded, where have we excluded
others, and why. A lot of it is fear, isn't it? Fear of the other, fear of
mockery, of oppression and harassment. Here's another result of fear--denying
our true selves. </span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Janet Mock calls
this fear "getting my life;" young trans women of colour living life
as fully as they can in the moment, because they know the odds and the
statistics are against them; they fear not living their lives as they truly
are. I don't have the exact numbers, but the majority of trans* people who are
killed--murdered because of their gender identity--are women of colour. The
highest rate of hate murders across the board are trans* women of colour.
Sometimes it is because the only work they can find is sex work--which claims a
lot of cis women's lives too. I heard an amazing statistic this
weekend--something like 75% of trans* individuals have post-high school
education, a college or university degree, and yet the median yearly<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>income for the trans* community is $15,000.
Those are Canadian figures, by the way. </span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So, given the
dismal outlook, it is not really surprising that these women seek to grab
whatever goodness they can find, and live in the moment with that goodness,
however fleeting it may be. Who knows when or even if there will be another
good time--better enjoy life when you can. Carpe diem! Seize the day, indeed!And who can blame them?</span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But the answer
is not to go to the other extreme, either--to hide in the closet--and there are
all kinds of closets, not only LGBT closets. The gifted artist who decides to
settle for a job as a graphic artist for a local government, because it is a
steady assured income; the spouse who downplays their achievements so their
partner doesn't feel insecure; the writer who sticks to safe work like blogs
and local news, rather than daring to write the novel bubbling up in them. None
of these choices is inherently bad or wrong--there are a lot of good reasons
for someone to choose a steady or safe job over the uncertainties of the free
market of the art world; and of course you want to be sensitive to your
partner's needs. But these become harmful choices when they are made out of
fear, because they deny the God-given gifts each of us bears. </span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It seems to me
that the ideal is a balance somewhere in between these two extremes. If we can
recognise the good that is all around us, and accept it, then even if our lives
are not all we desire, we can be content. If we are living out our gifts, then
we will be nourished and can share our gifts with others. Like the fig tree, if
our roots are dug and we are fertilized, we will bear much fruit. </span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Sadly, when we
do not or cannot, live out all of who we are, then we are, again like the fig
tree, cut down. It is not through any fault of ours, really--we have not been
fed, we have been taught to be fearful and to hide what is good and best in us
for some reason. Or we have learned that life is not lasting and so we try to
grab whatever good we can, while we can.</span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I don't mean
that we should live by the motto "Everything in moderation," either.
Both ascetic denial of the self and wild Dionysian release are needed at
various times in our lives--there is no shame in either, in and of themselves.</span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Perhaps what I
am trying to get at here is best described by the term "mindfulness."
Decisions made consciously, with full awareness of making them and of all the
influences on us, are mindful decisions. It can be very easy to simply drift
along and allow circumstances or other people to make decisions for us. But
that rarely leads to the full expression of who God intends us to be. How could
it, when that is known only by you and God? The best intentions and love of
friends, family, partners, mentors, colleagues--they are no substitute for that
deep calling within you, to the work God has for you, and only you. That
doesn't mean their advice and insights aren't useful--they are, and may be
confirmations of what you feel, which can support you, or denials of it--which,
of course, are much harder.</span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And mindfulness
implies self-knowledge, an honest assessment of your own strengths and
weaknesses. That knowledge allows us insight into why we make the decisions we
do, and what might be our options in a particular situation--being aware of
making those choices, and making them in full awareness of who we are.</span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Lent, then,
is--or can be-- a time of mindfulness, of examining our motives, knowing where
and how we are in the world, and why. That inner reflection, if we act on it,
is made manifest in our actions in the world. </span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Don't live only
for today--there is another day in store for you, and another and another--if
you will only reach out and take it. But, neither should you hide the gift that
is you away from the world. You were born with purpose; find or rediscover that
part of you that waits to be revealed in all its beauty and grace. Give that
gift to the world, with purpose and meaning, mindfully, with God's grace.</span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In the many
names of the one loving God, amen.</span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-9058180279407614562016-03-05T14:29:00.000-05:002016-03-05T14:29:36.500-05:00“What Are We Waiting For?” February 21, 2016; MCC Windsor<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<i><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Philippians 3:17-4:1 </span></u></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Join together in following my example, brothers
and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who
live as we do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For, as I have often told
you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the
cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and
their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our
citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord
Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his
control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious
body. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy
and crown, stand firm in the Holy One in this way, dear friends!</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Luke 13:31-35</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus
and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill
you.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and
healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for
surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the
prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your
children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were
not willing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look, your house is left to
you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is
he who comes in the name of our God.</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">****</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Will you pray with and for me? Holy One,
speak to our hearts in words our minds can understand; give us the grace to
hear the message you have for us today. In all your names, amen.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The first thing that jumps out from this
gospel reading is that the Pharisees are warning Jesus about Herod--and yet in
other places, the Pharisees are supporting Herod. What is this about? Were they
hypocrites, or trying to cover all their bases, or whatever? Well, some of
them<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>may have been acting out of those
political motives, but we need to also remember that the Pharisees were not a
monolithic group. Some supported Jesus, some did not. Look at the variety of
Christians, of Baptists, of Anglicans, of MCCs in the world today—the same was
true then. Some Christian denominations are very misogynist, or homophobic, or
racist--and others are not. Some are very involved with social justice issues,
and others stay away from anything to do with political issues. It was like
that then too. And this highlights something deeper, which is what I want to
talk about today.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">As we go deeper into Lent, we will be aware
of many statements in our Bible readings that have been interpreted as
anti-Semitic, and some truly are. Let me try to paint a picture for you of what
the times were like when the gospels were recorded, which was
probably in the 2<sup>nd</sup> and 3<sup>rd</sup> centuries, so they are not
really eyewitness accounts. Think of events from three hundred years ago—the colonization
of North America, for instance. We’re only now coming to the real truth of what
happened, and most historians of today prize accuracy. That wasn’t the function
of historians in the first few centuries of the Common Era. At that time,
history was about recording the deeds of famous people—men, of course—and the
details didn’t really matter much. If you’ve ever read any Greek or Roman
historians, like Tacitus or Herodotus, or even better, Josephus, who was a
Romanized Jew—that is, he was born Jewish, but took on Roman customs in order
to curry favour with the Caesars--you will recognise this. Josephus wrote at about this time, his most
famous work being titled The Jewish Wars, telling the story of the Roman
conquest of the Jewish territory and leveling the Temple in Jerusalem.
However, a lot of what he reports in terms of actions, speeches, casualty
numbers, and so on are exaggerated or downright fabricated. What was important
was that the story was told, and told impressively. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
those first recorders of the Gospel stories—who may or may not—probably
not—have been the apostles who gave them their titles—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John—these writers were not interested in accuracy so much as in making their
point. For Josephus, the point was that the Romans were unconquerable; for the
gospel writers, it was that Jesus was the child of God who had been killed
unjustly, who rose again in spite of being executed and now rules beside God in
heaven. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But they faced a problem. Jesus was Jewish;
he had been executed by the Romans, who had conquered the Jewish people and
destroyed their most sacred site. So the Romans were in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>power when these writers were recording their
gospels. Remember that accuracy is not a requirement for them! So since the
Romans could not be made the villains--because they were in power and fully capable
and willing to destroy the infant Christian movement--the Jewish people were
made to bear the blame instead. It is barely present in Mark, the earliest
gospel, and has flowered into the monstrous 'blood libel,' as it is called, in
John, who has the Jewish crowd at Jesus' trial take the blame for Jesus' death
on themselves. There are several reasons why this whole idea of the Jewish
people--or even the elites--forcing Rome to execute someone is nonsensical, but
I won't go into them here.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">We might say, "what does that really
matter today? We know of the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust, and the terrible
uses of those lies. We are do not support such garbage anymore."</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">That may be true for our sensitivity to
anti-Semitism, in fact it certainly is, to the point where we sometimes ignore
poor behaviour by the state of Israel to avoid being accused of anti-Semitism. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But do we recognise our own attempts to
marginalise other groups? And by "we" I mean all of us. Humans can always
find an "other" to exclude--someone living with mental illness, a
physically disabled person, trans* persons, Muslims, black people, women, poor
people, Asian people, atheists...</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus' response to the sight of Jerusalem
is sorrow and pity. He wants to gather Jerusalem to himself and care for the
city like a mother hen, and protect it from marauding foxes like Herod. Jesus'
focus is not on punishing or excluding or denying. Even though Jerusalem has a
record of killing prophets like him, he isn't fearful or vengeful--he is tender
and caring. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The poet Edwin Markham wrote:</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“He drew a circle that shut me out-</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But love and I had the wit to win:</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">We drew a circle and took him in."</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This is what Jesus is doing. He is not pulling
away in anger, or turning and walking away. Like a wise parent with a child who
is throwing a tantrum, Jesus reaches out and gathers the fearful, hurting,
tired city of Jerusalem to his heart, wanting to offer comfort and healing.
This is not something Jerusalem wants, though--always and always the city turns
away, rejecting the prophets and Jesus.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Paul in his letter to the church at
Phillipi, is encouraging the members there, who are experiencing that same
rejection and hatred and marginalization. He offers them hope in the face of
persecution and possibly even death, reminding them that they have higher hopes
than this temporary world can offer.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">As 21st century Christians, living in a
prosperous country in which Christianity is widely accepted and practiced, with
our freedoms of speech and religion protected, with a charter of rights and
freedoms to guarantee us equitable treatment--this feels a bit over-dramatic
and removed from our reality. But what if we looked at ourselves not as those
early Christians but as Jerusalem? </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Maybe it is time to examine our prejudices
and fears. Who are we excluding--maybe without conscious intent, but
nevertheless. We draw circles, don't we?</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So here is your question for this week. Who
do we exclude, and why? And who do we include, and why? When we are willing to
ask those questions, to really engage with them and with the answers, we may be
a step closer to that eternal church, to God's realm.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In all God's names, amen.</span></div>
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-45145895145139528362016-03-05T14:21:00.000-05:002016-03-05T14:21:48.846-05:00“Tempted and Shamed” February 14, 2016; MCC Windsor<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<u><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Romans 10:8-13 </span></i></u></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in
your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you
declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you
believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your
faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never
be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same
God is God of all and richly blesses all who call on the Holy One, for,
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Holy One will be saved.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<i>
</i><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<u><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Luke 4:1-13</span></i></u></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the
Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>where for forty days he was tempted by the
devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The devil said to him, “If you are the
Child of God, tell this stone to become bread.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Mortals
shall not live on bread alone.</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The devil led him up to a high place and
showed him in an instant all the realms of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he said to Jesus, “I will give you all
their authority and splendour; it has been given to me, and I can give it to
anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship
the Holy One your God and serve God only.</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him
stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Child of God,” he
said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written:</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“‘God will command the angels concerning
you</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>to guard you carefully;</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">they will lift you up in their hands,</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put
the Holy One your God to the test.</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">When the devil had finished all this
tempting, he left Jesus until an opportune time.</span></i></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">****</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will
you pray with and for me? Holy One, you are the ultimate source of our lives.
Teach us to trust in you for all our needs—for safety, for nourishment, for
grace. Open our hearts to your loving presence; and may all we speak and hear
be a reflection of your great love for us. Amen. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Today’s the first Sunday in Lent. "What is
Lent?" some of you may be asking. It’s a season, a time within the church, the
forty days before Easter—we don’t count the Sundays, because every Sunday is
considered a “little Easter” for worship purposes. It begins with Ash
Wednesday. The day before is Mardi Gras—aka Fat Tuesday, Carnival, or Fasching.
In many countries, especially those with a Roman Catholic heritage, like
France, southern Germany, the Philippines, Italy, and Brazil, the carnival
season begins very shortly after Epiphany—the twelfth day after Christmas—which
is also celebrated with lots of parties and good food. Carnival is
traditionally a time of freedom, <i>laissez les bon temps rouler</i>, as they say in
New Orleans. It’s a time to clean out all the goodies left from Christmas and
have a great time before the quiet and more somber time of Lent. In Munich,
there’s a tradition of going to a certain fountain and washing out your purse
to show you have spent all your money on Fasching, on Carnival, and are now
ready to settle down and be contemplative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">On Ash Wednesday, many Christian traditions
have services to mark this first day of Lent; foreheads are marked with a cross
of ashes to show that the person is preparing to fast and reflect as Lent
arrives. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In the days of the early church, it was
also a time of preparation for baptisms, which only took place on Easter
morning. For forty days, those who wished to be baptized Christians studied and
learned and prayed and discerned as they prepared to make their decision for
baptism or not. Remember that Christianity was a very minority religion at the
time—like Judaism, Christianity did not permit its followers to worship Caesar
as a God. Unlike Judaism, Christianity did not have a long history behind it to
give it stature and an argument for not worshiping Caesar as the Roman required
their subjects to do. Becoming a Christian meant placing yourself in a position
of oppression and marginalization. It was not undertaken lightly or without due
prayer and consideration. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">We who are already baptized, however, can
also use this time of Lent as a time for reflection and thought and prayer.
Traditionally, Christians give up something that they enjoy—chocolate, TV,
meat, and so on—as a sacrifice and in order to focus more fully on God. Or they
might take something on—reading spiritual books, studying a specific book of
the Bible in depth, a regularly scheduled time at the local soup kitchen, doing
something for someone else every day, and so on, again, as a form of self
discipline. We can do either or both of these. Whatever we choose, we are
making a decision to mark this time as set apart and special—forty days to
think about our faith, what we believe, what is really important to us, what we
cannot give up in any circumstance. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This is exactly what Jesus was doing in the
wilderness for forty days. We can see Satan as more of a concept than a literal
being here; Jesus is being tempted by his own dark side, to take a simpler,
more worldly route. Some things to notice here. First Jesus <b>is</b>
tempted—if he were not drawn to what is offered in exchange for his worship,
there would be no point in it. A friend always makes a New Year’s resolution to
not become a brain surgeon—it's an easy resolution to keep because she has no
interest in becoming a brain surgeon! If you’re not drawn to something, there’s
no sacrifice, there’s no struggle to give it up. I can give up Brussels sprouts
easily; chocolate, not so much! </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I think we can look at this forty-day
retreat of Jesus as a time for him to discern what is truly important to him,
and how he will carry his message of God’s faithful and eternal love into the
world. Each of those temptations relate to a kind of power--political power, in
which Jesus would rule the world; economic power, in which he would feed
everyone, be sure they had what they needed; and spiritual power, the ability
to work miracles, and thus gain power. And yes, Jesus is drawn to the simple
expedients of power—political power, ruling over all nations; to economic
power, filling people’s bellies and thus controlling them; or spiritual
coercion, the demand for God to perform in order to increase his own power. Any
one of them could have led him to power of a sort. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But Jesus denies all of them.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This Lent we are examining questions as
markers on our journey through Lent. This week’s question asks about the
purpose and meaning of our lives. In his forty days of prayer, fasting, and
discernment, Jesus came to understand that he did not want any earthly power,
that the purpose and focus of his life was make God very present to humans, to
remind them that God cares for them, and that the best use of any life is
sharing that love and grace with others, even—or especially—those we fear and
distrust. He refused the temptations of the easy way, the path of earthly fame
and glory, trusting in God's power of grace and wisdom over any earthly power.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">What temptations do we face in our lives?
Our temptations may not be the same—remember what I said about the things that
we want being temptations, but things we don’t want aren’t temptations. So what
is a temptation to me may not be at all tempting to you. And this is true for
material things as well as our values and our purposes in life—see chocolate
and Brussels sprouts above. Perhaps the temptation is to inaction and inertia—it’s
easier to let someone else do the work of struggling for what is right. Or
maybe the lure is to anger and hatred towards those who hate us; or to fear the
new rather than embracing it. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This is a valid and valuable use of our
Lenten time, of those forty days of prayer and reflection. What is my purpose
in life? What is most important to me, when I strip away the extras and the
decorations? Is it my family? My work? My friends? My creativity? My partner?
Is it justice, or hope, or healing? There's a spiritual practice called a Rule
of Life, based on the idea of the rules of orders of the monks.
"Rule" here doesn't mean "law," or "regulation,"
but rather guidelines on how to live. The metaphor of a trellis is often
used--our Rule of Life is the trellis, our lives the vine that grows on and
around the trellis, which supports our lives and gives them form. My Lenten
goal this year is to create my own Rule of Life--those guiding principles which
inform all I do. If the idea intrigues you, the book I am using is
"Crafting a Rule of Life," by Steven Maccia. Creating a rule of life
involves asking ourselves questions--those difficult questions about what we
really believe and whether that is shown in our lives, what our temptations
are, and how to resist them, and recognising God's call on our lives--the same
sorts of questions we will be examining in our worship time--discovering or
re-affirming our purpose and our call.</span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Once we know that, then we know more
clearly what our path should be. In the coming weeks, we will be asking other
questions: questions of doubt,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>about
good and evil, of belonging, of fear, of how God works in our lives. They are
not easy questions. But take the time and energy to dig deep into the questions,
to explore, to contemplate. Lent is not a time of sadness and despair, but a
time for reflection and prayer, with hope and renewal promised us at Easter. </span></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="BodyA" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">May your Lenten journey be full of
questions and answers. In all God’s names, amen.</span></div>
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-89154780386320807562016-03-05T14:13:00.002-05:002016-03-05T14:13:57.057-05:00“Doing the Right Thing” January 31, 2016; MCC Windsor<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><u>Mark 6:1-29</u> </span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied
by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the
synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Where did this man get these things?” they
asked. “What</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s this wisdom that has
been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t this the carpenter? Isn</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t this Mary</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s son
and the brother of James, Joseph,<sup> </sup>Judas and Simon? Aren</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at
him.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without
honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He
could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people
and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Then Jesus went around teaching from
village to village. <b><sup> </sup></b>Calling the Twelve to him, he
began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure
spirits.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">These were his instructions: “Take
nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your
belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter a
house, stay there until you leave that town.<b><sup> </sup></b>And if any place
will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off
your feet as a testimony against them.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">They went out and preached that people
should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people
with oil and healed them.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">King Herod heard about this, for Jesus</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’ </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">name had become well known. Some were
saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous
powers are at work in him.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Others said, “He is Elijah.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like
one of the prophets of long ago.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But when Herod heard this, he said, “John,
whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">For Herod himself had given orders to have
John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because
of Herodias, his brother Philip</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s wife,
whom he had married. For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful
for you to have your brother</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s wife.”
So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was
not able to, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to
be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly
puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Finally the opportune time came. On his
birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military
commanders and the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came
in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Herod said to the girl, “Ask me for
anything you want, and I</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">ll give
it to you.” And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give
you, up to half my realm.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">She went out and said to her mother, “What
shall I ask for?”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“The head of John the Baptist,” she
answered.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">At once the girl hurried in to Herod with
the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a
platter.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Herod was greatly distressed, but because
of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he
immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and
brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave
it to her mother. On hearing of this, John</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a
tomb.</span></i></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Message: “Doing the Right Thing”</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Will you pray with and for me? Holy One,
open our mouths to speak your praise and our ears to hear your wisdom. In all
your names, amen. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Rejection. It's painful, and no one likes it.
We've all faced it--the person who didn't want to date us, the job we didn't
get, the part in a play we didn't get, the friend who turned away when we
needed help. It hurts because someone we care about--whether a potential boss,
a friend or a date--has, in effect, said they don't want to be around us, wants
us to go away. It probably isn't put in quite those terms, but that is what it
boils down to, isn't it? </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus, the disciples and John all face
rejection in this reading. The people who knew Jesus best didn't think he had
any good word for them. They sneered at him. The disciples were warned that
some towns would not listen to them, and would treat them roughly--rejecting
them. And poor John the Baptizer--he was not only imprisoned, but was executed
at the whim of a young woman he probably did not even know. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Most of us won't have to face what John
did--execution--but maybe we have experienced what Jesus and the disciples did.
When have you felt rejection because you were speaking up for truth, or for a
different reality, or because you were inconvenient? It's awfully easy for that
rejection to rear its ugly head. Because, let's face it, we've been on the
other side of that fence--we have rejected someone, at least once or twice in
our lives, haven't we? We looked at them and said, "That's not a smart
person," or a good-looking person, or a nice person, or a strong
person--and so we decided we did not want to be friends with that person. Maybe
it was a new boss, or a family member's new significant other, or even--another
church member. Rejection based on appearances. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">How many of you saw the movie "Legally
Blonde," with Reese Witherspoon? It's not a difficult or deep movie, as you can
guess from the title! The main character, Elle, is a beautiful sorority girl at
a California university. When her boyfriend dumps her, she decides to follow
him to law school, so she can try to win him back. No one really expects her to
do well at law school, even the admissions committee who are--straight
men--struck by her beauty and seeing a way to fill the quota of women admitted
to the school--but she turns out to have a talent for law. She opens herself up
to her full potential. There's a sequence early in the movie in which she
is<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>shown on the first day of class at Law
School with a little notepad and a pen with a feathery end to take notes in
class--and everyone else has a laptop. The next day, she comes into class with
an Apple computer in bright pink. She is adapting to law school, but she does
so in her own way. Not a boring black or silver laptop for her! The point is,
the admission<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>team, her professors, and
most of her fellow students didn't really think she had what it takes to go
through law school--and she proved then wrong.They snubbed her and laughed at her
West Coast glamour girl style; they were judging her based on their first
impressions--and so they rejected her.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Have you ever had the experience of meeting
someone and not liking them very well, only to have them "grow on
you?" My son Ben had a friend like that in kindergarten. He and another boy,
Nathan, argued and actually had a fight one day on the bus--and then became
close friends and still are friends today, 20-some years later. If we let our first impressions rule
what we think of people, we will miss out on friendships and possibly even love
and relationships--whether friendships or something more. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So that rejection thing cuts both ways,
doesn't it? We are rejected and we reject others. In fact, Jesus tells his
disciples to <u>expect </u>it when they go out into the world to spread the good news
of God's love. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It's a risk we take when we offer people an
opportunity for something new, for change. Often the immediate response is
"no," without further thought or discussion. Sometimes that
"no" comes from a place of fear or anger--"things are just fine
as they are, I don't need any changes in my life," "but if I change,
I might lose my job, my home, my partner, my family..." It's why some LGBT
people have such difficulty coming out. There is a fear of how things will
change, even if the changes will be good. I know I was terrified of coming out
to my mom and sisters, even though I knew they would not reject me--or I was
pretty certain of it. It still meant a change in our relationships, and I had
no idea what that would look like. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">For Jesus' neighbours to accept what he was
preaching meant they had to accept that this person who had grown up in this
town was now a crazy teacher, wandering around leading what seemed to be a
cult. They would have had to accept that he had, in fact fulfilled biblical
prophecy, and to admit that they were wrong. But they knew him when...when he
was a kid, a youngster, a brash teenager... I think of the art teacher at one
school where I worked in the library. He wore an ascot scarf--almost never a regular
tie--and his name was Claudio. He had taught in the system for many years, and
one of the other teachers said to me once, "I knew him when he was plain
old Claude." So there's a sense of that for Jesus' neighbours--they knew
him when...</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The townspeople that the disciples met and
preached to would have had their belief systems turned upside down, too. And
Herod--well, you can guess how happy he would be to upend his life--divorce his
wife and be more observant of Jewish religious law. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It's that change thing again. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Because what was Jesus preaching? He was
saying that faith, relationships between a person and God, and between
individuals, was more important that society's rules and distinctions and
prejudices. What does he say are the two greatest commandments? To love God
with all your soul, body and mind, the second, to love your neighbour as you
love yourself. That is why he kept company with people who were often regarded
as riff-raff. It's why he turned down everything he was tempted with--political
power, religious power, spiritual power. Jesus was much<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>more interested in meeting people where they
were, being in relationship with them there, and caring for them as they were.
And his relationship with them led them to face change. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">We don't know how often people were able to
accept that challenge--the disciples did, Mary and her sister Martha
did, others clearly did. But Jesus kept putting it out there, offering a
relationship of love and faith that was based on his relationship of love and
faith with God. This was a relationship so full and deep that Jesus was willing
to die for it--and, in fact, did die for it. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Here in Canada, in 2016, we are rarely
called on to demonstrate our faith in ways that might evoke rejection. There
have been a few times--such as the struggle over same-sex marriage. But no one
was in physical danger--which cannot be said for Christians or LGBT people in
many parts of the world.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The other reason for rejection is
familiarity. That's what caused the townspeople to reject Jesus--"Yes,
we've heard it all before," as well as, "Don't try to tell me how to
live my life, I knew you before you could walk;" aka the Claudio effect. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Do we do that sometimes? Ignore that call
Jesus is making on our lives, because we've heard it all before? Because we
know what Jesus wants, but it requires too much change, more than we want to
deal with? "Later, Jesus, after my kids are all in school,"
"I'll talk about Jesus to some other friends, these would think I am a
freak," or I'll work for you Jesus when I retire." And so on. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But the reality is that responding, being
in relationship with Jesus, will cause changes, yes--but so does life--and those
changes will be for the better--better relationships with others, a greater
peace with ourselves, and on and on. I am not a fan of the prosperity
gospel--turn everything over to Jesus and life will be perfect, you'll win the
lottery and get the partner of your dreams...that seems to their promise--that
once you decide to follow Jesus, that decision will make your life perfect.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">No, it won't. Look at the apostles. Granted
we don't know, really, what happened to most of them, but we do know about a
few. And when you think about it, they did not have it easy. Paul talks about
it, how he was shipwrecked, received lashes, was kicked out of towns...
And many of them were executed by the Roman Empire, because they refused to bow
down to the Roman gods. That's not exactly a life of wealth and ease!</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But what it does do is reinforce and lift
up the power of a relationship with God. Those apostles clearly had a sense of
God's, of Jesus', continued presence with them. That is what enabled then,
indeed pushed them, to continue their lifestyle of traveling to share the news
that God wanted a loving relationship with humans, above all other things. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Relationship with God and others, above all
things--above career, above possessions, above fame, above power. Relationships
and acceptance, mutual respect. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">They can bring about tremendous changes==are
we willing to accept and welcome the challenge, to be in relationships of love
and mutual support with everyone? In all God's names, amen.</span></div>
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-12663391884724200482016-03-05T14:04:00.000-05:002016-03-05T14:04:26.585-05:00“Simple Gifts” January 24, 2-16, Tecumseh United Church (Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<u><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1 Corinthians 12:12-20, 26-31</span></i></u></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For just as the body is one and has
many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it
is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews
or Greeks, servants or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot
would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would
not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I
am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a
part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?
If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it
is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as God chose. If
all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many
members, yet one body. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if
one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now you are the body of Christ and
individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first
apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of
healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent
way.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<u><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Luke 4:14-21</span></i></u></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then Jesus, filled with the power
of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all
the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was
praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up,
he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to
read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the
scroll and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of our God is
upon me, because God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. The Holy One 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 God</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’s
favour.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">” And
he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes
of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today
this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”</span></i></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">*****</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Will you pray with and for me? Holy
One, creator of galaxies and of cats, of trees and of peacocks, of the Rocky
Mountains and the Great Plains, of the storm and of the sunshine; remind us of
your presence with us now, as we seek to understand your grace and your
all-encompassing love. Amen.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In this letter to the Corinthians,
Paul is encouraging them to stand on their own two feet a bit. He reminds them
that everyone has a gift to give in God's service, even though that gift might
not seem like much to others. He uses this familiar metaphor of the body--we
need all the parts of the body, even the least significant, and while people
can and do live quite well without parts of their body, usually some other part
takes over at least part of the job of the missing part. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The metaphorical body that Paul is
referring to is, of course, the church--small c church, meaning all Christians.
Taken all together we are the body of Christ in the world, and each of us, as a
member of Christ's body, has a gift and a task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We all have gifts and none are better
than another, just different. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We each
have a purpose—every one of us—the seniors, the ill, the toddlers, parents,
accountants and line workers and retirees. More important, without each one of
us, each with our special gift, the body of Christ—the church—could not
function. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need ribs as much as we do
hands, elbows as much as hips, shoulders as much as toes. We need teachers and
and toddlers, cooks and carpenters, grandmothers and gardeners--they all work
together for one purpose. No one has all gifts, and all abilities, but we do
have our own unique gifts and talents. This metaphor of the body is not about
equality, but about "completeness." All those different gifts and
talents are to be not only accepted by the church, but are needed by the
church.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our gifts may seem minor or not very
valuable to us, but to others they may mean the world. Take the work of a
church treasurer. Now, this is not a job I can do at all; but there are those
who love the work, playing with numbers and making the statements balance,
analyzing the information to identify trends, etc. A friend of mine and former
church treasurer thought of her time working in the church office on the church
books as “her time.” For her it was a break and relaxation, full of interest
and challenge. She had a gift for numbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To me, that would have been another chore—my “me” time is walking by the
river or reading or gardening; certainly nothing to do with number-crunching!
But for her, this was relaxing and interesting. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We are diverse, and God created us in
diversity—God loves diversity! We are many and varied—in race, gender,
ethnicity, talents, and gifts—we are all needed and all make up the beautiful
mosaic that is the body of Christ. Some of us like to work with numbers, some
prefer words; some are skilled mechanics and engineers who like to figure
out <u>how </u>things work, and others want to know <u>why</u> things work.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, Jesus had a special work, a
special task—“to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the
captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to
proclaim the year of God</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’s favour.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">” We may not be able to heal with a
touch, or turn water into wine, but with God</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">s grace and our own
God-given gifts, we can share the good news of God</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">s love, release the
captives, relieve oppression, and proclaim that God is present with us, in hope
and in grace. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Every one of us has gifts and graces
to offer, to share in and build up the body of Christ, the church. What is it
that brings you deep joy? What is it that you love to do so much that you can
spend hours doing it and not realize how much time has passed? Or what is it
that you do that makes people seek you out? It might be any of those listed by
Paul--caring for others, through the ministry of caring and counseling--or it
can be teaching, sharing your knowledge of a subject with others, helping them
come to an understanding of that topic, whether it is woodworking, or cooking,
or preaching or tying a shoe. Maybe it is prophecy--a clear-sighted vision of
how the world has gone astray from God's intentions. Whatever it is, that is
your gift. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And note this well--Paul says that no
one has all the gifts; everyone has a gift unique to them. We can't all be
teachers--who would be the students? Not everyone is a leader; only a few are
called to prophecy. But whatever your gift, Paul says, use it to the best of
your ability. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the first things I learned as
I began moving towards ordination, as I answered the call of God on my life,
was that clergy don't, and aren't expected to have, all those gifts. One of the
reasons I had resisted my call for so long was because I knew I didn't have all
those gifts. But in that process of discernment, I learned that it is not
expected that one person would have all those gifts. Some pastors are excellent
preachers, others are empathetic and are gifted counselors, some have musical
talent, some are able to see "the big picture" and are able
administrators. Part of the process is to tease out what your own personal
gifts are, and how you can use them as a called, ordained clergy person in the
body of Christ. I knew I was not and am not, especially gifted in working with
youth. I like kids, have one myself--but by no means do I have the abilities,
the skills, to be a youth pastor. I appreciate music, I can read music, I have
a passable voice--but I am not gifted with the talent to be a minister of
music. And thanks be to God! Because that leaves room for others, who do have
those gifts and talents and skills, to do that work of the church to which they
are called--and I am not. When we follow our own calling, and only our own
calling, we leave space for everyone else to follow theirs. Remember Paul said
that the body cannot be only seeing, for then where would hearing be? We can't
all be youth pastors, because then who would be the altar guild or the parish
visitors? </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And these aren't all fancy, in the
limelight tasks, either--we are not all prophets or preachers or healers. But
our gifts, whatever they are, are unique to us--it is your gift of teaching;
even if there are six teachers, every one has a unique style and talent.
Talents may be large or small, famous or unseen. But they are ours.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Every one of us is needed in the body
of Christ--each of us, with our gifts and talents and skills and graces.
Together, we become the visible Church, doing that work of Christ that he was
called to do--and that we are called to do. The Spirit of God is upon us; we
have been anointed to bring good news to the poor. We have been sent to
proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the
oppressed go free, to proclaim that this is the year of God's</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: FR;"> favour.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Take your gift, use your talent,
share your skills and calling with the whole body of Christ, knowing you are a
part of the body, and as needed as any other part. Go and be Christ's
comforting, healing, feeding, liberating body to this hurting world. In all
God's names, amen. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-71863156186284729462016-03-05T13:52:00.003-05:002016-03-05T13:52:34.394-05:00“Secret Healing”January 24 2016; MCC Windsor<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<u><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mark 5:21-43</span></i></u></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">When Jesus had again crossed over by boat
to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he
was by the lake. <b><sup> </sup></b>Then one of the synagogue
leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He
pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put
your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went
with him.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">A large crowd followed and pressed around
him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for
twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and
had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When
she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his
cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be
healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that
she was freed from her suffering.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">At once Jesus realized that power had
gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched
my clothes?”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“You see the people crowding against you,” his
disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’ ”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But Jesus kept looking around to see who
had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and
fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He
said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. </span><span lang="IT" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Go in peace</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> and be freed from your suffering.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">While Jesus was still speaking, some people
came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is
dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t be afraid; just believe.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">He did not let anyone follow him except
Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of
the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and
wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion
and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">After he put them all out, he took the
child</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s father and mother and the disciples who
were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and
said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I
say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk
around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He
gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to
give her something to eat.</span></i></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Refuse To Fall Down</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> by Clarissa Pinkola Estes </span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Refuse to fall down.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">If you cannot refuse to fall down,</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">refuse to stay down.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">If you cannot refuse to stay down</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">lift your heart toward heaven</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">and like a hungry beggar,</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">ask that it be filled</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">and it will be filled.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">You may be pushed down.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">You may be kept from rising.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But no one can keep you</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">from lifting your heart</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">toward heaven</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">only you.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It is in the midst of misery</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">that so much becomes clear.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The one who says nothing good came of this,</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">is not yet listening.</span></i></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Will you pray with and for me? God of
healing and grace, give us open hearts to hear your word for us; may all we
speak and hear ring with your truth. Amen. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This is an odd sort of reading, isn't it?
Mark starts to tell us the story about Jairus's daughter, then interrupts that
story with another one about a woman who tried to steal a blessing, then goes
back to the story about the little girl. When this happens in the Bible, it
happens for a reason. There's something more than comparison and contrast. So
let's take a look at what is happening here. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The two stories are very different. In one,
there's a young girl, whose father seeks help for her. Jesus goes to her, but
insists that everyone stay outside except three of the disciples and the girl's
parents. Jesus heals her, and tells then to give her something to eat. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In the other, it's a woman, very ill for
many years, and in fact ritually unclean, who tries to sneak in and get a
blessing from Jesus, any which way she can. He's in the midst of a crowd; when
Jesus asks who touched him, she confesses. He confirms that she is healed. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Lots of contrasts there--a grown woman, a
young girl; seeking help for herself, versus the parent seeking help;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a crowd in one case and few witnesses in the
other. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But there are a lot of similarities, too.
First, of course, they are both female--notable in a society that mostly
ignored women. They are both cured simply by a touch. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But here's what is most important about
their similarities--they are made somebody by Jesus. A bleeding woman and a
pre-pubescent girl--they would not be seen as somebody in that culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Jesus does. He recognizes both of them as
people on their own right. He names them--the woman he calls daughter--a
loving, welcoming endearment. And the little girl--he says to her,
"Talitha koum." As we might say to a child, "Get up,
sweetheart." Jesus speaks to them, names them as people dear to him. He
recognizes them, and they become somebody. Before they were nobodies--now they
are some bodies.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This is a powerful moment. I think we can
all appreciate the power of being named, known, made to feel like we were
somebody, not just a face in the crowd. Here's a minor example--there's a
website called Caring Bridge--some of you have heard of it, I am sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is basically a blog site for people going
through a health crisis of some kind, and their families. The idea is that
posts are made to the website, and friends and family can check the website rather
than the patient having to endure a constant stream of phone calls and emails.
I am guessing that these days Facebook is the default location, but this was in
the days when Facebook was fairly new. As I was going through my breast cancer
treatment, I had a Caring Bridge site. One of my colleagues on the Pride board
at the time was Melanie Deveau, who, as some of you will remember, had an
afternoon talk show on AM800. Mel was so taken by the idea of Caring
Bridge<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that she set up an interview with
the founder for her show. In introducing her, Mel told how she had found out
about the site from me, paying me some compliments--and naming me. It's not
exactly fame, but I felt recognized too--and I had not realized how much Mel
esteemed me and applauded me. I felt like somebody. I had been recognized for
my work; she had spoken my name. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I think many of us have had similar
experiences. It's not that we want the adulation, or the praises--we simply
want to be seen, and to know we are somebody. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In these days of racial and cultural
tension, I think it behooves us to think about who is made to be nobody and who
is recognized and made to be somebody. The citizens of Flint, Michigan--they
were nobodies, weren't they? Their health and their very lives were made of no
account, by politicians and public officials who thought they could get away
with it because no one would listen to poor African Americans--the majority of
Flint residents. But that didn't work. The residents were heard and seen and
were recognized and became some bodies. We've heard of several incidents where
ignorant individuals harassed or even attacked people because of their
perception of the others religion or culture--attacking a man in a turban and
calling him a Muslim terrorist, for example. That is making a person into a
nobody, besides the ignorance--most Muslims do not wear turbans. The attacker
knows nothing of the person, and doesn't care. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So here is something to think about this
week--do we make people nobodies or some bodies? Do we discount the
contributions of someone at work, because we think they never have anything
useful to offer? Do we do our best to ignore a family member who annoys us? Do
we belittle others on the basis of looks or age? All those are ways to make
others feel like nobodies. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I've told this story before, but it fits
here very well. When I was working as a librarian in Washington DC, I once went to lunch with
my supervisor and another colleague, both of whom happened to be black. We were
on the early end of the lunch hour, and when we went into the restaurant and
approached the hostess's station, my supervisor, Pam, asked if they were
serving lunch yet. The hostess looked at me and said, "We will be serving
lunch in about fifteen minutes; did you want to go ahead and sit down?" I
was stunned for a moment, not believing what I had heard, then turned to Pam
and waited for her to speak--she was the one who had asked the question, not
me. The hostess continued to speak to me, ignoring Pam and Versella as if they
were not there. When we were seated and the hostess left, I asked if they
wanted to leave since the hostess had been so rude. They were much more
gracious that I was, and we stayed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
the hostess had tried to make them into nobodies; they refused to be driven
away, and insisted on being some bodies. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">A minor thing, maybe; but for Pam and
Versella and many others, it is an everyday occurrence, and for any number of
reasons--someone doesn't know them, doesn't see them, and tries to make them
nobodies. Maybe it is the colour of their skin, or their accent, or their level
of education or income; maybe it is their religion or who they love. We humans
seem to be able to find all kinds of ways to draw lines between us and other
people, don't we? </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">My friends, for this week, can we try to
simply see <b>people</b>--acknowledging<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>all
they are, not erasing their identity, but accepting that identity as a human
identity and therefore they are somebody? And can we do the same for ourselves,
not putting ourselves down for our perceived flaws, but recognizing all that is
good in ourselves, and acknowledging that we are some bodies, and everyone in
the world is somebody? We can, if we want to, make people into some bodies.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Go in peace, beloved children of God.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-65169901070862833262016-03-05T13:44:00.000-05:002016-03-05T13:44:06.339-05:00“Seeds for the Sowing” January 17, 2016; MCCW<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<u><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mark 4:1-34</span></i></u></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The
crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in
it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and
in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow seed. As he
was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate
it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It
sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the
plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. <b><sup>
</sup></b>Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so
that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came
up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a
hundred times.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to
hear, let them hear.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">When he was alone, the Twelve and the
others around him asked him about the parables. <b><sup> </sup></b>He told
them, “The secret of the realm of God has been given to you. But to
those on the outside everything is said in parables so that,</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“‘they may be ever seeing but never
perceiving,<br />
and ever hearing but never understanding;<br />
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’ ”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Then Jesus said to them, “Don</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t you understand this parable? How then will you
understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are
like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it,
Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others,
like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or
persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still
others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this
life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in
and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good
soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty,
some a hundred times what was sown.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus said to them, “Do you bring in a
lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is
meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out
into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Consider carefully what you hear,” Jesus
continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even
more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what
they have will be taken from them.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus also said, “This is what the
realm of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and
day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does
not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then
the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe,
he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Again Jesus said, “What shall we say
the realm of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? <b><sup> </sup></b>It
is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when
planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big
branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">With many similar parables Jesus spoke the
word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to
them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he
explained everything.</span></i></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">*****</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Will you pray with and for me? Great Sower
of wisdom, open our hearts to you today. Give us ears for hearing and heart
open to receive what you want us to hear. In all your names, amen. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Well, this seems pretty straightforward.
Jesus tells a parable to his followers, then explain it to his disciples (and
us). The thing about a parable though--which we remember is an extended
metaphor in the form of a story--is that it has many layers, like an onion. You
can keep peeling layer after layer, and always there is something more to find.
</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Something that has really struck me is that
not only are we like the various kinds of ground that receive the seed--that
is, the good news--but we are also the seed--and the sower of the seeds. At
different times in our life we are recipients of hope and faith; or we are the
ones to give that word, or our very presence is a reminder of God's good word. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I love the metaphor of seeds. A seed is a
little bit of potential--like an infant, it can grow into almost anything.
Unless we are expert gardeners or botanists, we can't tell what will grow from
a random seed, just by looking at it. We cannot know, from looking at a baby,
whether she will become a parent, a soccer player, an artist--or all of those.
At the same time, a seed cannot grow into something it is not--a mustard seed
grows into a mustard plant, a sunflower seed becomes a sunflower. A human child
becomes a human adult, not a dog or a tulip or a whale. So seeds have limitless
potential, but within certain boundaries. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">When we are the sower of the seed, we can
only plant what we have--what we know, what we have learned, what is within us,
in accordance with our gifts and talents. I don't have the gift of
communicating with youth--that is neither good nor bad, but it means that I
can't--at least, not very effectively--work as a youth pastor. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">When we are the seed, we can only become
what we are created to be. Marsha Stevens sings of being who she was made to
be, that all the prayers in the world won't make her an inch taller, or make
her what she is not. I would love to be a fabric artist, like my friend Susan,
who made my chasuble--but I was not made with her sewing skills or her eye for
colour and pattern. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And we are the ground, as well. Sometimes
we're distracted by other things, and while we hear the good news, we don't
take it in fully, let alone act on it. Sometimes we receive it and are happy
with the surface appearance of the word, but we don't allow it to sink into our
souls and take strong root. Sometimes it does take root, but other things
happen to us, and we allow them to prevent us from acting on the good news. And
sometimes, we do none of those things--the message of God's love and care sinks
deep into our spirits, and we are encouraged and we act on that message, and
can encourage others, and plant that message of hope in others. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I had a professor of preaching in seminary,
who used to tell us budding preachers that all we were doing was planting
seeds. We would probably never know when or if something we said had a lasting
effect on someone in the congregation, and that was OK, because we weren't
preaching to promote ourselves. We were simply planting seeds. We had to have
faith, he used to tell us, that what we said, if we had approached it
prayerfully and carefully, would settle in some hearts and make a difference.
And sometimes it was cumulative--not just one sermon or study session, but over
time, the effect of our words, our witness, would help those seeds to grow. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But wouldn't it be easier if we did know?
If an angel told me, "don't work too hard on the sermon this week,
everyone who will be there is already committed and their seeds are growing
well?" I could say, "great, I'll take the weekend off and not really
bother with a sermon?" Well, no. I'll let you in on a pastoral
secret--often, the pastor is preaching to her or himself. Reading and studying
and meditating on the readings for Sunday is a lesson for the one bringing the
message as well. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This is where I trust Spirit--and Spirit
has never let me down. I have preached sermons I thought were quite good, or
led changes that I felt would make a real difference, or taken a stand that I
thought would be powerful--and they all seemed to fall flat. On the other hand,
I have preached sermons I thought were less than my best and received comments
such as, "That was amazing!" Or "You were talking right to me,
thank you, I needed that." This is where the work of Spirit comes in--we
do not know, cannot know, the effect our words, our actions, our lives will have
on others. That doesn't mean we should be frozen in fear lest we lead someone
astray. This is why I say Spirit acts as well. There is a clergy saying about
sermons, "Even if it's a dog, walk it proudly; Spirit has your back."
Spirit--God--can speak through our poorest efforts as well as through our best
ones, whether we are preaching, teaching, parenting, shuffling paperwork,
cooking, or praying. All we can do is our best, and plant those seeds. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Plant those seeds. Some will wither away;
some will be trodden down; some will be choked out. But some will grow and
flourish and rise up strong and beautiful. Spirit will be with those seeds, to
strengthen and encourage. So plant those seeds.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In all God's names, amen.</span></div>
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16556237.post-49007650283321031632016-03-05T13:37:00.001-05:002016-03-05T13:37:50.752-05:00“Something New” January 10, 2016; MCC Windsor<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Psalm 103:6-14</span></u></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">God works righteousness<br />
and justice for all the oppressed.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">God made known the divine ways to
Moses,<br />
God</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="NL" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: NL;">s deeds</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> to the people
of Israel:</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The Holy One is compassionate and
gracious,<br />
slow to anger, abounding in love.<br />
God will not always accuse,<br />
nor will God harbour anger forever;</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The Holy One does not treat us as our sins
deserve<br />
or repay us according to our iniquities.<br />
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,<br />
so great is God</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s
love for those who stand in awe of God;<br />
as far as the east is from the west,<br />
so far has God removed our transgressions from us.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">As a parent has compassion on their
children,<br />
so the Eternal One has compassion on those
who are in awe of God;<br />
for the Holy One knows how we are formed,<br />
and remembers that we are dust.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Mark 2:1-22</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">When Jesus again entered Capernaum, the
people heard that he had come home. <b><sup> </sup></b>They gathered in
such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door,
and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a
paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him
to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by
digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. <b><sup> </sup></b>When
Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Child, your sins are
forgiven.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Now some teachers of the law were sitting
there, thinking to themselves,<b><sup>7 </sup></b>“Why does this fellow
talk like that? He</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s blaspheming! Who can
forgive sins but God alone?”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that
this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why
are you thinking these things?<b><sup>9 </sup></b>Which is easier: to say
to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’ </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">? But I want you to know that the Human One has
authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell
you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and
walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying,
“We have never seen anything like this!”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Once again Jesus went out beside the lake.
A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along,
he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and
Levi got up and followed him.</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">While Jesus was having dinner at Levi</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating
with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the
teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and
tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors
and sinners?”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It
is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners.”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Now John</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some
people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are
fasting, but yours are not?”</span></i></div>
<i>
</i><div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jesus answered, “How can the guests of
the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have
him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from
them, and on that day they will fast. “No one sews a patch of unshrunk
cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old,
making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins
will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”</span></i></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="FR" style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">****</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Will you pray with and for me? Wise God,
may what we speak and hear in this hour be a true reflection of your grace. In
all your names, amen.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Our readings for the next few weeks move
into the healing miracles of Jesus in the first part of his ministry. These can
be difficult for modern Christians to understand--we are skeptical of miracles
these days. We tend to want to explain them--the paralyzed man wasn't really
paralyzed, it was psychosomatic, and when Jesus told him he was forgiven, that
removed the psychological block, and he was able to walk. Or, in another case,
the man didn't have leprosy, but some other skin disease, which Jesus was able
to cure. And so on. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">What we are missing when we explain away
the miracles is the sense of wonder people felt around Jesus--a wonder so
great, he is still talked about and venerated 2000 years later. It is that
sense of wonder and awe that led the Gospel writers to include these miracles
in their writings. Notice that none of the four Gospels--Matthew, Mark, Luke
and John--include exactly the same miracles--or, indeed, tell exactly the same
story. Luke is the only account of the wise ones, for example, and Mark and
John mostly ignore Jesus' birth. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The point is not the specific miracles
themselves, or how they might have happened, but that the people began to
believe in what Jesus said, and to acknowledge his power. The fact that he told
the paralyzed man that his sins were forgiven before he healed him was really
what bothered the authorities. God was the one who forgave, not humans--who was
Jesus claiming to be? They could accept the miracles--their history was full of
them, from the parting of the Red Sea to the sun standing still for Joshua to
David slaying Goliath, Elijah raising the widow's son from death...and on and
on. It might be unusual, but not unheard of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The prophets had, for centuries, reminded the people of their faults and
shortcomings. But Jesus told them they were forgiven. That is the new thing,
the bit they could not understand or accept--that sin, or error, is not a bar
to God's love and mercy.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Yes, there is sin in the world--I define
sin as whatever keeps us from God--but sin doesn't define the world, or us. That
word,"sin," is so loaded with implied meaning and the echoes from so
many theologians. Most seem to be obsessed with sin--humans are drowning in
sin, are naturally drawn to it, and held captive to it. But Jesus never saw it
that way. He offered a new way of life, in which people tried to do good to
each other, instead of trying not to do bad things in the sight of God. Do not
mistake me here--I am most definitely NOT saying that Judaism, the Jewish
faith, is only about the letter of the law. The most powerful pronouncements
against greed, mercilessness, false piety and arrogance are found in the
prophets of the Hebrew Bible--"oh mortal, what does God require of you but to do
justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God?" Or "Let mercy flow down like
a river, justice like an ever flowing stream." </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This is what Jesus was about--reminding the
people that God is far more interested in what we are doing for our fellow
human beings than what we are refraining from doing. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It's a change in focus, and we all know how
difficult change is. That is why Jesus uses the metaphor of wine skins and
patching cloth. It is very difficult to join the new to the old and have it
work. New cloth will shrink, and the patch will be useless. New wine, which is
still fermenting, will burst the old--the dried out--wine skin. It can be very
difficult to change things--habits, customs, ways of thinking. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Here in this new year opening before us,
can we choose one thing, one habit, one mindset of ours that we want to change?
What do we need to forgive in ourselves? Where have we shamed ourselves and
told ourselves we are not good enough--whatever that means to us. For this
year, can we each choose one habit, one way of thinking that keeps us from
closeness to God? </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I'm not asking anyone to share what that is
for them; you don't have to write it on a slip of paper, and offer it to God.
If you keep a journal, that might be a good place to write it down and reflect
on it. But the important thing is to name it, to acknowledge what it is in you
that you want to change. Since none of us are perfect, I know there is
something to be changed in each of us. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This week, as you go about your life, keep
that in mind--what do I need to let go of? What needs to be made new in me?
What is keeping me from being all that I am created to be? Let that be your
guide for this year.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In all God's names, amen.</span></div>
Rainbow Pastorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16294525557328362313noreply@blogger.com0