Monday, April 29, 2013
April 28th, 2012 Revelation 21:1-6
To listen to this sermon click here. The sermon may take 3-5 minutes before it begins playing.
Revelation 21:1-6
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth;
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
"See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away."
And the one who was seated on the throne said,
"See, I am making all things new."
Also he said,
"Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."
Then he said to me,
"It is done!
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life."
I can’t tell you what heaven looks like, and I tend to disbelieve anyone who claims to
know for sure. To me stories of St. Peter and the pearly gate seem more fitting in bad jokes and
bad theology. Likewise, to read Revelation as a literal translation of what is to come seems a
shallow approach. Because there is so much more to this text then a literal interpretation. There
is a holy imagination, that invites our faithful imagination in this present time. And before you
literal readers out there, who somehow found yourself at a Presbyterian Church, get crosswise,
I am not saying imagination meaning untrue, or some hocus-pocus. I mean imagination as the
great depth to which we are invited to interpret and witness the scriptures. It is the same holy
and faithful imagination with which John wrote the book of Revelation. Of this imagination,
Biblical Scholar, Walter Brueggeman wrote,
***
“The Bible is an act of faithful imagination. It is not a package of
certitudes. It is an act of imagination that invites our faithful
imagination that makes it possible to live faithfully. The Bible is an
act of imagination that is rooted in memory but that presses always
toward a new possibility that is in front of us,” Living The
Questions.
The scripture is always putting forth new possibilities, it is not set in stone. It takes our
imagination to see the scripture alive.
It is alive; Revelation is not this dead thing that was written long ago and will happen
sometime in future. When we read Revelation we ought to remember that time is different.
That we sit, and the author John sat, in an in between time, between Christ having come, and
Christ coming again, between what is already, and what is not yet, between the Alpha and
Omega. In this present time, there are elements of both the beginning and the end, just as there
were in the writing of Revelation. John writes, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the
first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” John both saw something from before, and
imagines something that is to come. He saw creation, and he saw the new creation, a a new
heaven and a new earth for the first had passed away. This place in between is what I think is
the most important. I could care less about how the earth was created, apologies to our
geologists and creationist in the room. Likewise, I could care less about some judgement day,
or what Jesus actually looks like. For me, what is important is neither the first heaven, nor the
heaven to come, but the heaven that is now. The heaven in this in between time, in the midst of
suffering, in the beauty of our joy.
The scripture writes, “And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God.” And notice the direction, it is not people being snatched up into heaven at
some future rapture, it is heaven coming down, and settling on earth. And I look around and I
see, Heaven is now. The fields are turning green, lupine is bursting forth, and Eastern Oregon is
beautiful. This week I watched a calf just minutes after it was born, mother licking it, baby
struggling, then standing, then finding its mother’s milk. This wonder of instinct and nature.
Heaven is now. I see it all the time. Do you? The other week I asked, “Where have you seen
God this week?” and I told you I was going to keep asking you. Well seeing heaven is like that,
because heaven reaches down and touches the earth. Can you open your imagination enough to
see heaven on earth? Where is it touching down?
The scripture writes,
““See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as
their God; they will be his peoples, and God will be with them; God will
wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and
crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.””
It might be hard in recent weeks to see heaven touching down in places like Boston,
but perhaps when we can’t see it, we’re not looking for the right things. Presbyterian
Minister, Rev. Fred Rogers, better known as Mr. Rogers, wrote, “When I was a boy and
I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the
helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” In Boston there were people
tying tourniquets on the wounded, common people, regular people, not nurses or
doctors but regular people helping. Heaven touches down, even in the midst of
mourning and crying. Death still happens, but it is not the final answer. Where have you
seen the helpers? In my own life just this week, two parishioners intentionally offered
kind words and and advice about divorce. Months later, you as a congregation are still
the helpers to me your pastor. Who have been your helpers? I have no doubt many of
them sit in these pews. The home of God is among mortals. God will dwell with them,
they will be his people’s and God will be with them. God dwells here now. I see it all
the time. God is making all things new.
The scripture closes by saying,
"Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."
Then he said to me,
"It is done!
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life."
It is done my friends, God is the beginning and the end, God is here, heaven is touching down.
And I am going to ask you, just like scripture asks, to write it down too. I am going to ask you,
on little sheets of paper in the pews, to write, how you imagine heaven touching down. If it was
important enough for John to write Revelation, it is likewise important for us to write down the
ways we imagine heaven touching down on earth. We must imagine because the scripture is
alive in this in between time. God is with us, and heaven is touching down.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
April 21st, 2013 Psalm 23:1-6
PSALM 23:1-6
Upon coming home my pastor friend in Boise said, “I was thinking about you,
wondering if you knew about Boston, and how your sermon you wrote a week ago
would fit. She added that she scrapped hers. I wondered how Earth Day would possibly
approach such tragedy. But then I opened up my sermon this morning and remembered
it was Psalm 23. We are greeting with a Psalm of comfort and which is also a Psalm of
the earth.
PSALM 23:1-6
1The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
3he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name's sake.
4Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff-
they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
my whole life long.
What is the feeling you get when that Psalm, Psalm 23 is read? Does it comfort
you like being wrapped in a warm woolen blanket? Does it soothe you like the sound of
a gentle steam? Does it feel like a protective hand upon your shoulder? What does it
feel like when Psalm 23 is read? When asked if there was a scripture that the Christian
laity turn to when they are in need of comfort sixteen percent said Psalm 23, and
another ten percent said the Psalms in general. There are a few reasons for this, their
cadence is poetry, they are repeated enough to be ritual, and I suspect the Psalms are
also comforting because they use images from nature.
Psalm 23 begins in the pasture. It begins with us as woolen sheep. The Lord is our
Shepherd, and makes us lie down in green pastures. This Psalm of comfort is not only a
Psalm of rote remembered words, but a Psalm of direction, of specific instruction to be
in nature. The Shepherd does not merely suggest we should lie down in green pastures.
It is an order to the sheep. The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures. When is the
last time you did this? When is the last time you laid down in the cushion of the grass
and looked up at the sky, or examined a single blade of grass? When is the last time you
sat in the middle of a field? Perhaps this Psalm reaches us because of the longing we
have to do just that, longing to stop, to lay down, and to be surrounded by nature.
Perhaps we remember doing these things as child? Perhaps this outside world was our
first experience of God, and perhaps we long to return to that place. Perhaps we long to
return to that creation place, that place which also began in nature, in a garden, at the
beginning of the world. The Lord is leading us there.
He leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul. When is the last time you
stood on the edge of a lake? Was it Anthony in winter, frozen over with ice and snow,
or summertime when gentle waves lapped the shore? When was the last time you were
lead beside still waters, because that is where the Lord is leading us. That is where the
promise to restore our soul lies. It lies beside still waters. When is the last time you felt
your soul restored?
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. When is the last time you went for
a walk? Did you go on the Leo Adler trail and notice the red winged black birds, or the
little purple flowers that cover the ground? Have you hiked along in the woods, or
down a path where over the years your feet have made a trail? The Lord is leading you
along the path for his name’s sake. That in the name of our Lord, you are asked to go
for a walk. That in walking, you proclaim the Lord’s name, and the Lord is leading you.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil for you are with me;
your rod and your staff - they comfort me. I find it like this. That the bigger the city, the
more fear I have walking around at night. But the farther out I am under the stars the
more I am at peace. Even hidden in a tent the noises and shadows can scare me, but
open it up so I can lie and watch the stars and night clouds, and moon go by, I know the
comfort of the Lord. When is the last time you looked up at the stars in this valley, for
you Lord are with me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Some commentaries
suspect this table could have been a woven mat spread on the ground. I imagine it was,
because there is a peace about having a picnic, and there is a conquering that goes on
when we feast in the open in defiance of our enemies. Out in the grass a blanket spread
with food and drink, time seems to stop, what was once against us fades away for the
moment, and everything tastes so much better outside. You prepare a table before me in
the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil. This ritual, for the coronation of king, was most
likely done with olive oil. When is the last time you nurtured yourself, and your skin,
with the decadence of oil? When is the last time you got a massage? When is the last
time your body was anointed with the earth’s bounty? This celebratory act is offered by
our Lord. You anoint my head with oil.
My cup overflows. We live in an earth of abundance, and earth that regenerates
and heals itself. When is the last time you drank straight from a stream or a glacial
lake? When is the last time you found a field of wildflowers, or spotted an illusive lady
slipper orchid. When is the last time you listened to the plethora of birds chirping in the
morning light, or went on a bird count to find the raptor population more than healthy?
When is the last time you watched the squirrels hop along and didn’t curse them for
being the prettier form of rodent? When is the last time you offered back to the earth its
bounty? When is the last time you planted a tree, or spread wildflower seeds, or spent
the time clearing away an invasive species? When is the last time your cup of nature
overflowed so that you gave back to the bounty? My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, and I shall dwell in the house of the
Lord my whole life long. This house of the Lord is not a normal house. It is a house of
green pastures, of still waters, of right paths, of dark valleys, of tundra and glaciers, of
desert and cacti, of giant sequoias and tiny alpine wildflowers, of lichen and moss, of
aster and grass, of ferns and mushrooms, of rose and lilies, of mint and mustard, of the
compound umbels of parsley and the smell of sweet peas, of big horn sheep and
protecting shepherds, of birds, of beasts, of bounty, of anointing olive oil massages, of
woven mat picnics with cups overflowing.
Psalm 23 begins in the pasture and throughout its entirety we never go inside. Isn’t
that telling? Perhaps where we are to find the comfort of God is outside, is in creation.
Perhaps that is where we are called to find our Lord. What is the feeling you get in
nature, is it perhaps like the feeling of hearing Psalm 23?
Upon coming home my pastor friend in Boise said, “I was thinking about you,
wondering if you knew about Boston, and how your sermon you wrote a week ago
would fit. She added that she scrapped hers. I wondered how Earth Day would possibly
approach such tragedy. But then I opened up my sermon this morning and remembered
it was Psalm 23. We are greeting with a Psalm of comfort and which is also a Psalm of
the earth.
PSALM 23:1-6
1The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
3he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name's sake.
4Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff-
they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
my whole life long.
What is the feeling you get when that Psalm, Psalm 23 is read? Does it comfort
you like being wrapped in a warm woolen blanket? Does it soothe you like the sound of
a gentle steam? Does it feel like a protective hand upon your shoulder? What does it
feel like when Psalm 23 is read? When asked if there was a scripture that the Christian
laity turn to when they are in need of comfort sixteen percent said Psalm 23, and
another ten percent said the Psalms in general. There are a few reasons for this, their
cadence is poetry, they are repeated enough to be ritual, and I suspect the Psalms are
also comforting because they use images from nature.
Psalm 23 begins in the pasture. It begins with us as woolen sheep. The Lord is our
Shepherd, and makes us lie down in green pastures. This Psalm of comfort is not only a
Psalm of rote remembered words, but a Psalm of direction, of specific instruction to be
in nature. The Shepherd does not merely suggest we should lie down in green pastures.
It is an order to the sheep. The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures. When is the
last time you did this? When is the last time you laid down in the cushion of the grass
and looked up at the sky, or examined a single blade of grass? When is the last time you
sat in the middle of a field? Perhaps this Psalm reaches us because of the longing we
have to do just that, longing to stop, to lay down, and to be surrounded by nature.
Perhaps we remember doing these things as child? Perhaps this outside world was our
first experience of God, and perhaps we long to return to that place. Perhaps we long to
return to that creation place, that place which also began in nature, in a garden, at the
beginning of the world. The Lord is leading us there.
He leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul. When is the last time you
stood on the edge of a lake? Was it Anthony in winter, frozen over with ice and snow,
or summertime when gentle waves lapped the shore? When was the last time you were
lead beside still waters, because that is where the Lord is leading us. That is where the
promise to restore our soul lies. It lies beside still waters. When is the last time you felt
your soul restored?
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. When is the last time you went for
a walk? Did you go on the Leo Adler trail and notice the red winged black birds, or the
little purple flowers that cover the ground? Have you hiked along in the woods, or
down a path where over the years your feet have made a trail? The Lord is leading you
along the path for his name’s sake. That in the name of our Lord, you are asked to go
for a walk. That in walking, you proclaim the Lord’s name, and the Lord is leading you.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil for you are with me;
your rod and your staff - they comfort me. I find it like this. That the bigger the city, the
more fear I have walking around at night. But the farther out I am under the stars the
more I am at peace. Even hidden in a tent the noises and shadows can scare me, but
open it up so I can lie and watch the stars and night clouds, and moon go by, I know the
comfort of the Lord. When is the last time you looked up at the stars in this valley, for
you Lord are with me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Some commentaries
suspect this table could have been a woven mat spread on the ground. I imagine it was,
because there is a peace about having a picnic, and there is a conquering that goes on
when we feast in the open in defiance of our enemies. Out in the grass a blanket spread
with food and drink, time seems to stop, what was once against us fades away for the
moment, and everything tastes so much better outside. You prepare a table before me in
the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil. This ritual, for the coronation of king, was most
likely done with olive oil. When is the last time you nurtured yourself, and your skin,
with the decadence of oil? When is the last time you got a massage? When is the last
time your body was anointed with the earth’s bounty? This celebratory act is offered by
our Lord. You anoint my head with oil.
My cup overflows. We live in an earth of abundance, and earth that regenerates
and heals itself. When is the last time you drank straight from a stream or a glacial
lake? When is the last time you found a field of wildflowers, or spotted an illusive lady
slipper orchid. When is the last time you listened to the plethora of birds chirping in the
morning light, or went on a bird count to find the raptor population more than healthy?
When is the last time you watched the squirrels hop along and didn’t curse them for
being the prettier form of rodent? When is the last time you offered back to the earth its
bounty? When is the last time you planted a tree, or spread wildflower seeds, or spent
the time clearing away an invasive species? When is the last time your cup of nature
overflowed so that you gave back to the bounty? My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, and I shall dwell in the house of the
Lord my whole life long. This house of the Lord is not a normal house. It is a house of
green pastures, of still waters, of right paths, of dark valleys, of tundra and glaciers, of
desert and cacti, of giant sequoias and tiny alpine wildflowers, of lichen and moss, of
aster and grass, of ferns and mushrooms, of rose and lilies, of mint and mustard, of the
compound umbels of parsley and the smell of sweet peas, of big horn sheep and
protecting shepherds, of birds, of beasts, of bounty, of anointing olive oil massages, of
woven mat picnics with cups overflowing.
Psalm 23 begins in the pasture and throughout its entirety we never go inside. Isn’t
that telling? Perhaps where we are to find the comfort of God is outside, is in creation.
Perhaps that is where we are called to find our Lord. What is the feeling you get in
nature, is it perhaps like the feeling of hearing Psalm 23?
Monday, April 15, 2013
April 14th, 2013 John:21:1-19
Click below to listen to this sermon: https://www.myrecordbox.com/s/recording/4576/c3b58cdb2ee0236439c65f7e20f953ab
John 21:1-19
1After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the
Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2Gathered there together
were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee,
the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3Simon Peter said to
them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They
went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did
not know that it was Jesus. 5Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish,
have you?" They answered him, "No." 6He said to them, "Cast the net to the
right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they
were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7That disciple
whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard
that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped
into the sea. 8But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full
of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
9When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish
on it, and bread. 10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have
just caught." 11So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full
of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many,
the net was not torn.
12Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the
disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the
Lord. 13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same
with the fish. 14This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the
disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
"Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes,
Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." 16A
second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said
to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my
sheep." 17He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love
me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love
me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love
you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.
It may seem a little boring, but each week we start out Lectionary
Bible Study with the same question. “Where did you see God this week?”
and I invite you to ponder your own answer. “Where did you see God this
week?”... “Where did you see God this week?” is one question with a billion
different answers; can you imagine the plethora or responses in this
sanctuary alone? Individuals in our Bible Study have seen God in double
rainbows, and in children learning, in the conversation of strangers
becoming acquaintances, and in spring bursting forth bloom by bloom.
There are so many answers to the question of, “Where did you see God this
week?” but most weeks it takes a lot of thought to answer, and don’t feel bad
if you couldn’t in the short moment I gave you just now. Sometimes it’s just
plain hard to answer and this is why I ask it. I ask it for the practice of
answering it, more than I ask it for the wonderful answers themselves. I, at
least, need the practice. When I was a camp counselor we would ask the kids
this question every evening, and there is a way in which, when you know the
question is coming at the end of the day, you start to look for God
throughout the day. It creates a rhythm of remembering to look for God, and
giving thanks when God is found. I miss living in that rhythm. Because once
a week is not enough for me to keep the rhythm. Instead once a week feels
like the reminder to keep the rhythm, a single beat on the drum of noticing
the Lord. I think this reminder to see the Lord is why Jesus appears to the
disciples one last time in the book of John.
Jesus had appeared twice in the Upper Room, and sent the disciples
out, and they finally went out, but beyond that, they knew not what to do.
And so, like we all do, the disciples went back to what they knew. Simon
Peter said to the other disciples, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We
will go with you." You would think, the disciples would go out looking for
Jesus after he appeared those times. You would think, I would leave
Lectionary Bible Study, looking for the God after asking the question, but I
go into the Pastor’s Study and begin to do those last few things I didn’t get
done that day, those phone calls, or e-mails, or lists, and then I pack up my
things for the night, and head back home. I have never gone into the Pastor’s
Study looking for Jesus, even though I have asked the question just an hour
before. Instead, I go back to what I know; I go back to fishing. What do you
go back to? What is your modus operandi? I have a feeling very few of us
intentionally go fishing for the Lord everyday, and therefore we catch
nothing.
The disciples went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught
nothing. And isn’t it like that, that its harder to see the Lord, when we’re not
looking for him. When we are not asking ourselves, “Where did I see God
today?” we are less likely to notice the places we did. Jesus stood on the
beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. This part stumps me.
It seems so strange that Mary Magdelene at the tomb did not recognize
Jesus, and supposes Jesus to be the gardener, that the disciples, in the Upper
Room, do not recognize Jesus until he showed them his wounds, and in other
Gospels they did not know it was him until he broke bread with them. Here
they did not know it was Jesus until they caught a bounty of fish and
remembered the bounty of feeding the 5,000. It stumps me that Jesus can be
right in front of us and we can miss Jesus entirely. Thankfully, Jesus shows
up in abundance to remind us, Jesus shows up in double rainbows, in chance
meetings, in spring coming bloom by bloom. The scripture reads, “Just after
daybreak,” or more literally, “But morning was coming to be,” and its like
that, that in middle of the darkness, the light begins to shine.
Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They
answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the
boat, and you will find some." On the port side was the Sea of Tiberius, on
the starboard was the land near Galilee. The disciples were fishing toward
the deeper side, they were fishing in the same way they always had, but it
was wrong direction, it was the wrong type of fish, they were not be
fishermen, but to be fishers of men. So Jesus points them in the right
direction, toward the shore.
They cast their net, and now they were not able to haul it in because
there were so many fish. When you step away from doing the things you’ve
always done, in the way you’ve always done them, there is a chance you will
glimpse the Lord, because the Lord comes in the opposite from ordinary, the
Lord comes in the extraordinary. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to
Peter, "It is the Lord!"
The Lord comes, and our response should be equally as unexpected,
equally as extraordinary. When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he
put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. I love this
part, it seems foolish, genuine, and wonderful all at once. I imagine Peter,
like Adam in Genesis, knowing he was naked before the Lord. I imagine him
putting on his clothes, but then diving into the water and getting them all
wet. I imagine Peter like the Prodigal Son running to his father, expect
swimming. I imagine Peter not wanting to wait for the boat, and swimming
as fast as he could, running when he got to the shallow shore. I imagine him
all wet and hugging the Lord. Because isn’t that what its like when you see
double rainbows? Excitedly staring and driving toward them, embracing the
moment in their midst, and peering dangerously through the rearview just to
get those last glimpses. When we see Jesus unexpectedly we humbly realize
our nakedness, we do our best to right ourselves, and then do everything we
can to get there, and then to hold on.
But the week goes by, and we go back to fishing again, and it is only
when we are asked, “Where did you see the Lord?” that we right ourselves
and remember, and give thanks. It makes sense that Jesus comes and offers
the disciples a communion of fish and bread, that they can right themselves,
and remember, and give thanks.
The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for
they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they
had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread.
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So
Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a
hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not
torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the
disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the
Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same
with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples
after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus appears in the fish and the bread, in the wine and the cup, and
yet we have communion only once a month, and I ask only once a week,
“Where did you see God?” We’ve got to be looking all the time, we’ve got
to get in that rhythm, we’ve got to hold the beat. I need more reminders. I
need you to remind me when I am fishing like I always have, remind me to
cast my net to the other side, to look for God around me, to respond by
jumping in the water with all my clothes on, and swimming as fast as I can,
to embrace my Lord.
Likewise, I will continue to remind you to cast your nets not in the
darkness but in the daybreak. I will remind you to look for your Lord in an
opposite way. I will remind you to in the bread and the cup, and together we
shall see our risen Lord. I will continue to ask you, “Where did you see God
this day?” and I will listen to your bounty of answers, and together we will
remember, and give thanks, that each month, each week, each day, each
hour, each moment, Jesus is there to be seen. He is Risen! He is Risen
Indeed! Alleluia, Amen,
John 21:1-19
1After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the
Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2Gathered there together
were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee,
the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3Simon Peter said to
them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They
went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did
not know that it was Jesus. 5Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish,
have you?" They answered him, "No." 6He said to them, "Cast the net to the
right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they
were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7That disciple
whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard
that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped
into the sea. 8But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full
of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
9When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish
on it, and bread. 10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have
just caught." 11So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full
of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many,
the net was not torn.
12Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the
disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the
Lord. 13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same
with the fish. 14This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the
disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
"Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes,
Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." 16A
second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said
to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my
sheep." 17He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love
me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love
me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love
you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.
It may seem a little boring, but each week we start out Lectionary
Bible Study with the same question. “Where did you see God this week?”
and I invite you to ponder your own answer. “Where did you see God this
week?”... “Where did you see God this week?” is one question with a billion
different answers; can you imagine the plethora or responses in this
sanctuary alone? Individuals in our Bible Study have seen God in double
rainbows, and in children learning, in the conversation of strangers
becoming acquaintances, and in spring bursting forth bloom by bloom.
There are so many answers to the question of, “Where did you see God this
week?” but most weeks it takes a lot of thought to answer, and don’t feel bad
if you couldn’t in the short moment I gave you just now. Sometimes it’s just
plain hard to answer and this is why I ask it. I ask it for the practice of
answering it, more than I ask it for the wonderful answers themselves. I, at
least, need the practice. When I was a camp counselor we would ask the kids
this question every evening, and there is a way in which, when you know the
question is coming at the end of the day, you start to look for God
throughout the day. It creates a rhythm of remembering to look for God, and
giving thanks when God is found. I miss living in that rhythm. Because once
a week is not enough for me to keep the rhythm. Instead once a week feels
like the reminder to keep the rhythm, a single beat on the drum of noticing
the Lord. I think this reminder to see the Lord is why Jesus appears to the
disciples one last time in the book of John.
Jesus had appeared twice in the Upper Room, and sent the disciples
out, and they finally went out, but beyond that, they knew not what to do.
And so, like we all do, the disciples went back to what they knew. Simon
Peter said to the other disciples, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We
will go with you." You would think, the disciples would go out looking for
Jesus after he appeared those times. You would think, I would leave
Lectionary Bible Study, looking for the God after asking the question, but I
go into the Pastor’s Study and begin to do those last few things I didn’t get
done that day, those phone calls, or e-mails, or lists, and then I pack up my
things for the night, and head back home. I have never gone into the Pastor’s
Study looking for Jesus, even though I have asked the question just an hour
before. Instead, I go back to what I know; I go back to fishing. What do you
go back to? What is your modus operandi? I have a feeling very few of us
intentionally go fishing for the Lord everyday, and therefore we catch
nothing.
The disciples went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught
nothing. And isn’t it like that, that its harder to see the Lord, when we’re not
looking for him. When we are not asking ourselves, “Where did I see God
today?” we are less likely to notice the places we did. Jesus stood on the
beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. This part stumps me.
It seems so strange that Mary Magdelene at the tomb did not recognize
Jesus, and supposes Jesus to be the gardener, that the disciples, in the Upper
Room, do not recognize Jesus until he showed them his wounds, and in other
Gospels they did not know it was him until he broke bread with them. Here
they did not know it was Jesus until they caught a bounty of fish and
remembered the bounty of feeding the 5,000. It stumps me that Jesus can be
right in front of us and we can miss Jesus entirely. Thankfully, Jesus shows
up in abundance to remind us, Jesus shows up in double rainbows, in chance
meetings, in spring coming bloom by bloom. The scripture reads, “Just after
daybreak,” or more literally, “But morning was coming to be,” and its like
that, that in middle of the darkness, the light begins to shine.
Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They
answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the
boat, and you will find some." On the port side was the Sea of Tiberius, on
the starboard was the land near Galilee. The disciples were fishing toward
the deeper side, they were fishing in the same way they always had, but it
was wrong direction, it was the wrong type of fish, they were not be
fishermen, but to be fishers of men. So Jesus points them in the right
direction, toward the shore.
They cast their net, and now they were not able to haul it in because
there were so many fish. When you step away from doing the things you’ve
always done, in the way you’ve always done them, there is a chance you will
glimpse the Lord, because the Lord comes in the opposite from ordinary, the
Lord comes in the extraordinary. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to
Peter, "It is the Lord!"
The Lord comes, and our response should be equally as unexpected,
equally as extraordinary. When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he
put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. I love this
part, it seems foolish, genuine, and wonderful all at once. I imagine Peter,
like Adam in Genesis, knowing he was naked before the Lord. I imagine him
putting on his clothes, but then diving into the water and getting them all
wet. I imagine Peter like the Prodigal Son running to his father, expect
swimming. I imagine Peter not wanting to wait for the boat, and swimming
as fast as he could, running when he got to the shallow shore. I imagine him
all wet and hugging the Lord. Because isn’t that what its like when you see
double rainbows? Excitedly staring and driving toward them, embracing the
moment in their midst, and peering dangerously through the rearview just to
get those last glimpses. When we see Jesus unexpectedly we humbly realize
our nakedness, we do our best to right ourselves, and then do everything we
can to get there, and then to hold on.
But the week goes by, and we go back to fishing again, and it is only
when we are asked, “Where did you see the Lord?” that we right ourselves
and remember, and give thanks. It makes sense that Jesus comes and offers
the disciples a communion of fish and bread, that they can right themselves,
and remember, and give thanks.
The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for
they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they
had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread.
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So
Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a
hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not
torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the
disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the
Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same
with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples
after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus appears in the fish and the bread, in the wine and the cup, and
yet we have communion only once a month, and I ask only once a week,
“Where did you see God?” We’ve got to be looking all the time, we’ve got
to get in that rhythm, we’ve got to hold the beat. I need more reminders. I
need you to remind me when I am fishing like I always have, remind me to
cast my net to the other side, to look for God around me, to respond by
jumping in the water with all my clothes on, and swimming as fast as I can,
to embrace my Lord.
Likewise, I will continue to remind you to cast your nets not in the
darkness but in the daybreak. I will remind you to look for your Lord in an
opposite way. I will remind you to in the bread and the cup, and together we
shall see our risen Lord. I will continue to ask you, “Where did you see God
this day?” and I will listen to your bounty of answers, and together we will
remember, and give thanks, that each month, each week, each day, each
hour, each moment, Jesus is there to be seen. He is Risen! He is Risen
Indeed! Alleluia, Amen,
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
April 7, 2013 JOHN 20:19-31 NRSV
JOHN 20:19-31 NRSV
When it was evening on that day, the
first day of the week, and the doors of the house
where the disciples had met were
locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them
and said, "Peace be with
you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then
the disciples rejoiced when they saw
the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As
the Father has sent me, so I send you."
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to
them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you
retain the sins of any, they are
retained."
But Thomas (who was called the
Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus
came. So the other disciples told
him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I
see the mark of the nails in his
hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in
his side, I will not believe."
A week later his disciples were
again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although
the doors were shut, Jesus came and
stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he
said to Thomas, "Put your
finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my
side. Do not doubt but
believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said
to
him, "Have you believed because
you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and
yet have come to believe."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the
presence of his disciples, which are not written in
this book. But these are written so
that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the
Son of God, and that through
believing you may have life in his name.
This scripture has often been
called, “Doubting Thomas,” but I don’t think it is about Thomas at all. I think
it has a lot more to do with the disciples, the people of Jerusalem, and our
own community today. What Thomas does, in his doubting, is point to the need
for community.
I would be pretty upset too if I was
Thomas. Talk about being left out. Jesus comes back and appears to the other
disciples, but not to Thomas. Jesus somehow chooses to come as Thomas is out of
the house. All Thomas’ friends have locked themselves up in a room, afraid of
the Jews who a week ago killed Jesus, afraid for their own lives, afraid of
being identified as the ones who were with Jesus, afraid of being his
disciples. I imagine Thomas as kind of the hero, sneaking out of camp, walking
beyond enemy lines, sneaking to get food and supplies to bring back, or rushing
give a message to someone else. I imagine Thomas, the hero, walking around
Jerusalem in fear for his life, risking so much just to be outside, and that is
when Jesus came, when Thomas was gone.
Thomas came back expecting to be
greeted with praise and thanks for his bravery, and instead they threw a party
while he was gone, and the one for whom Thomas risked everything, showed up
without him there. The disciples were so excited, they didn’t think how hurt
Thomas might feel to be so left out. They instead gave him a play by play of
the entire event.
‘The doors were locked, locked I
tell you, and all of sudden Jesus came and stood among us. I have no idea how
he got in the room. He said, “Peace be with you.” We were in such disbelief,
that he was with us again, that we all kind of stared. He had to show us the
marks on his hands and his sides before we were sure. When we finally realized
it was truly him, we rejoiced and were so ecstatic, some of us were on chairs,
others just hugging him, others just jumping up and down. You should have seen
it Thomas, we were are all so excited. You should have been here. Then Jesus
said again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send
you." Its funny he said that, because we had just sent you Thomas. You
just missed it. Its like you knew the instruction to be sent out before Jesus
even asked it. When he had said this, he breathed on us and said to us,
"Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." We
weren’t sure that meant but he was gone before we could ask, and seemed to
disappear, though the door was unlocked and open after he left.
I can imagine why Thomas is upset.
Talk about being left out. I think Thomas is hurt. I think Thomas is hurt
because he was the only one doing what he was supposed to, and he therefore did
not get the prize of seeing Jesus. As the other disciples holed up in a locked
room, Thomas was out in the world, out in the community, out with those who
sinned against Jesus, out bringing good news to the common places of the city.
Thomas was not locking up the gospel, but unlocking the good news by living it
in plain sight. Thomas was not hiding away from the dangers of the world, but
instead was bringing peace to a dangerous world. Thomas was sent out into the
community. Thomas was doing what he was supposed to be doing, and perhaps thats
why Jesus didn’t come while Thomas was there. At that point Thomas didn’t need
to see Jesus to be a Christian. Thomas already was.
But Thomas is like the rest of us,
we find it unfair that faith is given both to those who are acting Christlike
and to those who need the reminder. And so Thomas, in all his hurt, rejects the
gift he had already been given. No wonder, he bargains with his faith, in order
to see what everyone else had. No wonder when they excitedly brag, "We
have seen the Lord." Thomas says to them, "Unless I see the mark of
the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand
in his side, I will not believe." By feeling left out of the community,
Thomas needs a reminder that faith is indeed about community.
I can imagine him, for that whole
week, feeling so lost, left out, and alone. Thomas who had been the one sent
out, was now staying put, just in case Jesus showed up again. Thomas, whose
courage to go out in the community, Thomas who had not been championed, but
instead seemingly punished, was unwilling to be sent out again.
“A week later Jesus’ disciples were
again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut,
Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then
he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your
hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Jesus came back for
Thomas, because Thomas needed the reminder of what faith was about, and so did
the other disciples, because they were all still sitting there in that little
room with the doors locked.
Thomas answered Jesus, "My Lord
and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have
seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have come to
believe." I imagine Jesus thinking, ‘Oh, Thomas, you were blessed before,
when you were out spreading the good news without having seen me. I came to the
others to send them out, to remind them of their faith, faith which you already
had. Oh, Thomas, you were blessed before.’ And I imagine after that second time
the disciples going out int the world, just as the women before them, and
beginning to spread this good news we today know.
The final part of this scripture
tells us, “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which
are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to
believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing
you may have life in his name.” The gospel writer is saying to us, just what
the disciples said to Thomas. The gospel writer is bragging, “We have seen the
Lord,” and he is asking us to believe. How will we respond? I wonder, if we are
going to be like Thomas The Brave, or the Doubting Disciples? Are we going to
be out in the community bringing the good news, or are we sitting locked up in
a room waiting for Jesus to return?
Is the biggest event of our church week sitting fellowship
hall talking to those who are like us, or do we meet children from all walks of
life over breakfast in this basement? Do we find ourselves in church meetings
with the assurance of other Christians, or do we go out with backpacks to
students across this town after being elbow deep in peanut butter? Do we think
our mission work should stop at the county line, or are we prepared to be sent
out and learn from others abroad? Is the love we have learned and experienced
here returned to God in our songs in this sanctuary, or do we find ourselves
singing about God’s love deep and wide, near and far, here and there. There is
a place and time to gather together, but it cannot be all we do. We must also
be sent out, bringing peace, and forgiveness, and love. “Jesus did many other
signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But
these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah,
the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” Life
that is more than a group of disciples in a locked room, life that follows the
call to be sent out in his name. How will we respond?
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
March 31st 2013 Easter Sunday Luke 24:1-12 NRSV
Luke 24:1-12 NRSV
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn,
they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
but when they went in, they did not find the body.
While they were perplexed about this,
suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.
The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground,
but the men said to them,
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?
He is not here, but has risen.
Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
that the Son of Man must be
handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”
Then they remembered his words,
and returning from the tomb,
they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.
Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James,
and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.
But these words seemed to them an idle tale,
and they did not believe them.
But Peter got up and ran to the tomb;
stooping and looking in,
he saw the linen cloths by themselves;
then he went home,
amazed at what had happened.
***
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
These words are how we began this Easter service, but its not how the
Gospel began, and I am not sure it is where faith begins. Perhaps faith
begins at a much less certain place. Perhaps faith begins at an empty
tomb, with an idle tale, and with a disciple looking to see for himself.
Perhaps faith begins with uncertainty.
I
imagine the women, while it was still dark, journeying toward the tomb.
Having prepared spices to honor Jesus’ dead body. I imagine the tears
of the women, weeping and crying out, ‘He is fallen. He is fallen
indeed.’ I can imagine their shock and confusion upon seeing the stone
rolled away, like mourners bringing flowers to a grave only to find the
gave opened, perhaps wreckage from grave robbers. Looking inside the
tomb, the women did not find the body, and were perplexed. Even upon
seeing the empty tomb, the women did not automatically remember what
Jesus had told them about rising on the third day. It took divine
intervention to help their faith along.
Suddenly
two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified
and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do
you look for the living among the dead?” And isn’t it like this
sometimes. We are so overcome by our own grief, or mourning, or
circumstances, we are so strung out by the events of the past week, we
have lost the hope in Jesus, and we do not think to ask ourselves, “Have
I seen evidence of the risen Christ?” It makes sense that sometimes it
takes a dazzling spectacle to help us see.
The
two angels, in dazzling clothes, said, “He is not here, but has risen.
Remember how he told you,... that the Son of Man must be handed over to
sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” Then they
remembered his words. And isn’t it like that sometimes, that it
takes someone, or something, or angels, or Jesus himself, to help
reframe a story of death, to a story of life. That an empty tomb means
Christ is with us. Knowing these things the women returned to tell the
others, to bring the good news.
Returning
from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.
Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the
other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words
seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. And
isn’t it like that sometimes. Isn’t like that most of the time. That if
we were to really tell the story of our faith, it would sound like
nonsense. The risen Christ is not something you can prove, it may be
wrong, faith is a risk, and there is a vulnerability in sharing it. And
isn’t like that sometimes too, where we are the ones rejecting the
story. There are days like that, perhaps seasons, perhaps years, where
the tale seems too far fetched, or too risky to believe. The apostles
would have had to get their hopes up all over again that their friend
and teacher was back, that Jesus really would be king, that death was
over. It makes sense that they too did not initially believe. Its like
that sometimes.
Yet other times even nonsense and idle tales are worth the risk of faith. Peter
got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen
cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
And isn’t it like that sometimes. That in our willingness to look
beyond what is practical, what is probable, even what is possible, we
find evidence of the risen Christ and are amazed. “The tension of the
life of faith is to hold impossibility and possibility all in one hand.
”
Peter did not blindly believe what the women said, he had to see for
himself. And is’t like this, that faith has to be our own experience. No
two faith stories are the same. In the gospel of John, Mary returns
home and declares to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.” She does not
shout “He is risen,” and the disciples to not respond, “He is risen
indeed.” She says, “I have seen the Lord.” It is a personal experience
that she is inviting the disciples to find for themselves. Peter
responds to the invitation.
How
are you responding the Mary’s invitation? Where are you looking to
discover the risen Christ? Where have you encountered the resurrection?
In the Holy land, the last four stations of the cross are in the church
of the Holy splicer, the death, Golgatha, anointing, and burial. The
fourteenth station, the resurrection, is simple assumed, there is no
location for it. Every single visitor, every single pilgrim, has to go
out and look for the risen Christ on their own. It is not in the
building, it is not in the church, it cant be contained by any alter or
sanctuary,. The invitation is to leave the church and go and look for
the resurrected Christ. Have you seen it in the blue sky, in the
mountains, in the kindness of strangers or the care of friends? How are
you responding the Mary’s invitation? Where are you looking to discover
the risen Christ? Where have you encountered the resurrection? Is it
idle tale to you, or are willing to run to see for yourself? And if you
have seen are you willing to share the amazing news? Jesus Christ is
Risen. He is Risen Indeed. I have seen the Lord. Amen.
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