Bread of Heaven Sermon at United Church of Beloit 8/4/19

Isaiah 55 New International Version (NIV)

Invitation to the Thirsty

“Come, all you who are thirsty,

    come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

    come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

    without money and without cost.

² Why spend money on what is not bread,

    and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,

    and you will delight in the richest of fare.

³ Give ear and come to me;

    listen, that you may live.

I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

    my faithful love promised to David.

⁴ See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,

    a ruler and commander of the peoples.

⁵ Surely you will summon nations you know not,

    and nations you do not know will come running to you,

because of the Lord your God,

    the Holy One of Israel,

    for he has endowed you with splendor.”

⁶ Seek the Lord while he may be found;

    call on him while he is near.

⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways

    and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,

    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Isaiah 55,

Words of prophecy 700 years before Christ. Using images of ordinary things like bread, milk, to convey the presence of God! This was written to those in exile, they likely had nothing that was free at that time!

Wine and milk and bread available without cost!

To pay attention to God, to discern God’s presence even in people who were exiled-basically prisoners of war-- far from their homeland. That even in the midst of suffering God’s love is right there with them! Despite their homeland, their holy city of Jerusalem, and the Temple all being destroyed, God was present.

And to prophecy the coming Messiah, the savior! The gift of the messiah would bring them eternal life--the covenant of God’s promises thru out millennia. Specifically that a descendant of King David would bring them to freedom, for all eternity! Jesus, a direct descendant of King David was the fulfillment of this prophecy.

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake their ways  and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,

and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

God requires living faith, as indicated in repentance and change of behavior 

And God has unlimited  compassion . . . will abundantly pardon. 

This is a reminder to keep God foremost in thoughts and in our hearts. 

A reminder that unrighteousness is anything that turns us away from God. Turn TOWARD God, and God will have mercy, and freely pardon. 

As elsewhere in scripture...all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of GOd, but The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 

Which brings us to our Gospel lesson… 

Mark 14 New International Version (NIV)

²² While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

²³ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴ “This is my blood of the^[c] covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. ²⁵ “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

During our trip to our national meeting in Cleveland...one of the first nights, part of our merry band were gathering for supper, and one of the folks, not a pastor, a lay leader in her congregation, told about being a camp leader,  on the last night of camp serving communion. And how special and meaningful that was for her. Years later, she cherishes that memory! And my friend Pastor Dawn shared about the first time she served communion to her son, her grown son who has autism and rarely would come forward to receive, he takes it afterwards. But one day he walked forward, hands out. And how beautiful that moment was for her. And then i shared about my favorite service here, Maundy Thursday. The night before Good Friday, When we share the story of Jesus’ last supper, the beginning of the tradition of holy communion. And what is so precious to me, is that Pastor Steve and i get to serve each of you ourselves, that we come to each of you, saying the Body of Christ, the blood of Christ-for you, It’s so personal. 

Rachel Held Evans, in Searching for Sunday.

 "The sacraments ...reminded me that Christianity isn’t meant to simply be believed; it’s meant to be lived, shared, eaten, spoken, and enacted in the presence of other people. … I can’t be a Christian on my own. I need a community. I need the church."

The Table of Lord goes by many names, The Eucharist (from the word for Giving thanks!) the Lord’s supper. Holy Communion. All these are correct. All convey aspects of the depth of meaning of this sacrament. 

We call it Communion--from the root word that also gives us “Community”, being together. 

I especially love this meaning.. Because it is what we were created for. We discussed this before.. That God, created us to be together with God and each other. And Jesus who came to embody that perfect community and to show us how it’s done and to give us the gift of the holy spirit to make it happen; 

Also RHE: Church is a moment in time when the kingdom of God draws near, when a meal, a story, a song, an apology, and even a failure is made holy by the presence of Jesus among us and within us

Yes Jesus is present always, among us and within us. Brother Lawrence, a 17th century monk wrote of cherishing the presence of God even in the mundane tasks of kitchen duty! I confess, I almost never think of the presence of God while I’m cleaning the kitchen.. But if somehow i do, i know that Brother Lawrence is right. That God is there even in the very mundane. Recognizing that God is present in the most ordinary of moments, can help us to live out our faith more completely. 

In the Gospel lesson, note the sequence there… Jesus gives, teaches, they worship, then go out. 

In our pastors’ discussions, I have said that church isn’t just here in these 4 walls. The “real Church” if you will, is afterwards, at coffee hour, in the lunch after, in the taking of flowers or a treat to a shut in. helping serve meals on wheels, volunteering or giving to Caritas and other organizations. Helping provide school supplies to needy families!! A brief, Friendly chat with the clerk at Woodman's or Walmart….it’s sharing a bit of time and self, during the rest of the week. That’s the real church. It’s the relationships. Spending time together, having a bite together, serving others together. 

author Jean Vanier...Unity....Unity does not come from the acceptance of exterior structures or laws, dogmas or ways of worship. It surges up from a life that flows within us and through us all together. It is hearts and minds bonded together because they are bonded in communion with Jesus.

Did you ever notice in the gospels how often Jesus is depicted at a meal with others? And of course, it’s mostly not with the people you’d expect. Jesus said believe in me, but the way he showed to do that, is to spend time and often, a meal together! 

Henri Nouwen says that when we have a meal together with others, A spiritual bond grows, and we become food and drink for one another. In the most complete and perfect way, this happens when Jesus gives himself to us in the Eucharist -in Holy Communion.

We work and live and love with other people. We laugh and cry with others. We celebrate births and mourn losses, and a lot of the time we do it over a meal. Jesus knew how important it is to enjoy a meal together and turned His very last meal on Earth into one that His followers could have together to completely and perfectly remember Him.

Jesus gave us the gift of this meal...his Self to share together. Jesus gives, teaches, we worship, then go out. 

At the table, we

Remember Christ’s sacrifice, 

It joins us into one body..

We confess, 

We’re forgiven…

We give thanks

We go out -together- to serve.

The table is set for each of us. Let us come to it-together :)

Relationships, sermon at Lenten Prayer service March 13, 2019

March 13, 2019       Relationships        Pastor Carol P. Taylor

Ephesians 2 New International Version (NIV)

Made Alive in Christ

2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time,gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

In our Ash Wed service last week, Pastor Dave Ewing spoke about Reconciliation. Tonight i’m sharing about Relationship. We can not have true reconciliation with God or others without effective relationship.

These Beloit area Lenten services have been going on for decades. As with most things, there’s been an ebb and flow to the churches participating. Over the last few years, we’ve been able to expand the number of churches and pastors who speak so we have a broader spectrum of the community. It’s a nice way for us to see other churches, experience other styles of worship, and to hear different musicians and pastors. Thru our offerings we support two valuable local organizations. And then we get to have some nice conversation over refreshments!  

Lent being a time of 40 days which remembers Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness. In the early church, it was a time of repentance and preparation for new believers, who would be baptized into the Christian faith on Easter Sunday morning! And is a time for those of us who’ve been Christians for some time, to repent of wrongdoing and to search for ways God is calling to deeper faithfulness.

My scripture lesson for this evening is from the Epistle to the church in Ephesus.  I came across Ephesians 2:10 a few weeks ago in my devotional reading.. And it just spoke so deeply to me. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

Let’s look at the beginning of this chapter.. It’s a very Lenten chapter, isn’t it? The Bible over and over reminds us that humans are flawed and we fail in our relationship with God. We are dead in our sin….BUT GOD!! Rich in grace and mercy, LOVES us even tho we fail over and over…… And redeems us...thru faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. This is Grace.

Found a nice explanation of Grace in my study bible..

"Grace is God's unmerited love, favor, mercy, and action in our lives.

It's by this grace that we receive new life in Christ. God's Grace is pardon for the things we did wrong and power to grow day by day in the image of Christ . by Grace we are forgiven, healed, redeemed, restored, transformed, and Made Alive. by Grace we are saved!

We may sometimes think that we are not good enough to be saved- or we need to prove our worthiness... Ephesians 2 reminds us that God's merciful action in our lives does not happen because we deserve it or earn it we are saved by grace because God deeply loves us.

as recipients of this lavish gift let US in turn be bold in extending Grace to those around us." {CEB Women's Bible}

Grace is the story of Lent. We finite humans, created in the image of God but never managing to be anywhere near as good as God, that silly free will, after all, have the benefit of Grace.

We’re created in Christ Jesus (he was present In the Beginning, was part of the creation of all things AND is the body of the church in whom we live and move and have our being! (acts 17:28)

Ephesians 2:10 The Message (MSG) Paraphrase by Eugene Peterson

God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

We created for Good works! We’re created to live our faith. To love God and Love each other. (of course that is much more easily said than done!)

Someone said “You are a child of God, and so is that other jerk you are arguing with!”

Jesus set the example. Jesus, One with God, present In the beginning, came to earth, as a human, to live as we do. Came as a baby, completely vulnerable and dependent. As an adult, Knew the aches and pains of a long day’s work...as a carpenter, not an easy job by any means! Lived and worked and traveled with ordinary people and even those not accepted by their own society...purely out of Love, to Be ONE with us, and to show us how to be in that perfect relationships for which we’re created.

I believe with all my heart that people living as Jesus did, caring for one another, promoting compassion, and equality-- The Shalom of God for everyone--will prevail. And the WAY it is will be every single person knowing they are a child of God, created and beloved exactly the way they are, the way God wanted them.

One of the main reasons we do these Lenten services is to help two local Ministries, Caritas Food pantry/Diaper bank and Family Promise homeless ministry. I’ve worked closely with both as many of us here have!

This past fall, I had a wake up call about homelessness… we know there is a perception of addictions or just poor decision making being the reasons for homeless, but we’ve heard the statistics, that many homeless are veterans, which is a travesty, that medical expenses are a leading cause of homelessness. The expenses incurred by a devastating diagnosis or disabling accident can bankrupt a family in a heartbeat.

My wake up call came from a pastor I know, who is from KC, about a year ago took a call in Northern California. Andrew’s a great guy, for a KC Chiefs and Royals fan…

One day last fall, within a matter of minutes, his church, his home, and most of his town, burned to the ground. He lived in Paradise Calif.

He posted one day on Facebook, “Never judge the homeless or the refugee, you don’t know how quickly it could happen to you.”

Came across a story about one person living as Jesus did.. A man in Ohio named Keith Wasserman who works with homeless. He periodically becomes “homeless by choice’ as he puts it, to better understand the situation of the homeless in our society. Every few years, he spends several days at a time on the streets and in shelters, in various cities.  His story is fascinating. {good-works.net}

He wrote “I believe that since Christ incarnated himself into our world in order to be a bridge for {people} to have a relationship with their maker, we too then, must incarnate ourselves into the world of those whom we care about in order to understand how they think and how they feel in order to really love and help them.”

He is striving to understand and re-evaluate the experience and treatments of homelessness, to serve in ways that are safe, meaningful and truly helpful.

He has, in these various stays, found that he may be treated as an alcoholic or drug addict. Staff may assume he is lying. He has witnessed staff being verbally abusive to clients. He has been made to sign long lists of rules without being given time to read them. He has experienced an utter loss of privacy and loss of identity. He wrote that "living in these situations, and the constant hopelessness and Fear changes one’s personality and affects a person’s life choices. Prolonged fear can turn you into someone you don’t like and don’t want to be with. Could it be fear that prompts some people to lie in order to survive?"

"I am aware more than ever before how these experiences have helped me to more fully understand that those who experience homelessness are people; human beings made in the image of God; people who in many ways are not much different from myself. Over the years, I have learned that for any of us to understand and help people who are suffering, we must learn how to leave the comfort of our own security and reach out, perhaps incurring some personal risk and pain. As a Christian, I now more fully understand what Christ Jesus has done for me. I am grateful and I want to continue to turn my gratitude into a godly activism."

Eph 2 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Now i am not saying that we all need to go live in a shelter for a while. But we can determine to prayerfully serve better, with more compassion than judgement, and to spend time with our neighbors in need in a grace-filled way. You know, sometimes the best talk you can have with someone is not to talk.. But to listen. To say only, “thank you for telling me. I care for you. We’re praying for you.”  This is living in grace.

Grace is God's unmerited love, favor, mercy, and action in our lives.

Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. (John 15)

 

Shall we pray! Holy Lord God, this Lenten season, draw us ever closer to you, so that we recognize your powerful Grace. Let us take action to more completely live out the relationships chosen for us, to share that unmerited love, favor, mercy, and action with our all of our neighbors, especially those in need. Thru the Name and Spirit of our Lord Jesus we pray, Amen.

Craving Living Water

This is a Bible lesson I shared at a  Women's Fellowship event at my church. 

This is a story that is familiar, and over the years, there has been a lot of teaching on this story that is highly critical of the woman. And many of the women of the bible. But modern scholars, have learned more about what every day life was like in Jesus' time and studies by those more open to the viewpoint of women and the other so called outsiders with whom Jesus interacted, has brought new insights.

Text...from CEB-Common English Bible. 

Jesus leaves Judea
Jesus in Samaria

Chapter 4

1 Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was making more disciples and baptizing more than John (2 although Jesus’ disciples were baptizing, not Jesus himself). 3 Therefore, he left Judea and went back to Galilee.

4 Jesus had to go through Samaria. 5 He came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, which was near the land Jacob had given to his son Joseph.6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from his journey, so he sat down at the well. It was about noon.

7 A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water to drink.” 8 His disciples had gone into the city to buy him some food.

9 The Samaritan woman asked, “Why do you, a Jewish man, ask for something to drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (Jews and Samaritans didn’t associate with each other.)

10 Jesus responded, “If you recognized God’s gift and who is saying to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would be asking him and he would give you living water.”

11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you don’t have a bucket and the well is deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave this well to us, and he drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,14 but whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will never be thirsty and will never need to come here to draw water!”

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, get your husband, and come back here.”

17 The woman replied, “I don’t have a husband.”

“You are right to say, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus answered.18 “You’ve had five husbands, and the man you are with now isn’t your husband. You’ve spoken the truth.”

19 The woman said, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you and your people say that it is necessary to worship in Jerusalem.”

21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you and your people will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You and your people worship what you don’t know; we worship what we know because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—and is here!—when true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth. The Father looks for those who worship him this way.24 God is spirit, and it is necessary to worship God in spirit and truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one who is called the Christ. When he comes, he will teach everything to us.”

26 Jesus said to her, “I Am—the one who speaks with you.”

Going 'through” Samaria was unusual. There was long time feuding betw. Jews and Samaritans, going back centuries. Jews believed that Samaritans didn't properly follow the laws about ritual cleanliness or worship.

Also in this time in the Middle East, men and women who were not related did not speak to one another, or even make eye contact. So Jesus speaking to this woman broke a couple of long-standing, iron-clad traditions.

Scholars often point out the woman arguing with Jesus. I'm not reading it exactly that way, I think the conversation taken as a whole shows her to be bright and curious—wanting to learn! When she asked him, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, that may be a challenge. But could it be that she genuinely wants to know how he can say this? What does he really mean? She also refers to “Our ancestor Jacob” which is a comment on what the Jews and Samaritans have in common! I find that fascinating... he and then she break the customs that keep them apart, but once their discussion begins, they can find a common connection.

Jesus' reply..

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

He has no restrictions on it. Everyone...Jew or Samaritan, who drinks here will thirst again, but if they drink my Living Water, they will never thirst. ..”

Everyone!

Her response, Give me this water! She may be speaking literally... water that sustains me so I don't have to carry water from the well! Or maybe she's understanding at this point the spiritual depths Jesus speaks of.

Either way, he tells her, get your husband and come back.

She answers I have no husband...again she's open and honest with him!

and he says, you've told the truth!' and says he knows she's had 5 husbands and she's not married to the man she's with now.

This is the point that has caused a lot of scholars to refer to this woman as basically a fallen woman. Modern scholarship however, says otherwise.

In these times, women could not initiate a divorce, unless there was flagrant adultery. And women were at a huge economic disadvantage if they were not married. She may have been in a situation called Levirite marriage, where if the oldest son in a family dies childless, the widow is obliged to marry the next brother to try to carry on the family inheritance. She could have been married into a family with a bad gene pool and/or accident prone behavior! (She apparently was not to blame, it seems He might have mentioned that!) There was also some acceptance of a couple living together in a committed relationship, if the woman had no dowry to bring to a marriage.

This part is also very likely more of a symbol to John's readers, about the nation of Samaria itself. They were, in the Jewish view, worshiping more than one god, and not in a covenant relationship with God. So the 5 husbands are the many gods, and the one who is not your husband is the broken covenant.

Maybe this is a woman with a long string of bad luck or a symbol of a nation that needs to come back to relationship with the One true God. Either way, she is a symbol of the loneliness and heartbreak that we all feel at one time or another!

Jesus reveals that he knows her well. And her response? “Sir I can see you are a prophet!” and she asks him a theology question! Here again I see her as bright and curious and wanting to learn! {if you want to change the subject, do you discuss theology? No, “it's how about this weather?” Or something else safe!”

This whole story is the longest single conversation that Jesus has with anyone in the gospels, and it's with someone who is on the surface, a complete outsider. Yet he perceives her craving for something different, a new way. She craved Living water!

Jesus' answer speaks to the difference between their 2 customs of worship, yet brings it around to 'all must worship in spirit and in truth”

21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Again, he puts no restrictions on it... aside from “True worship”. -the time is coming and has now come, refers to the prophecies that he himself is fulfilling.

25 The woman said, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one who is called the Christ. When he comes, he will teach everything to us.”

26 Jesus said to her, “I Am—the one who speaks with you.”

This is the first time, in fact the only time until his 'trial' that Jesus says he is Messiah. He asks the disciples who do people say I am, and when others say something to that effect, he tells them not tell anyone else. (which they promptly ignore)

But he says it plainly to her... to this outsider!!

27 Just then, Jesus’ disciples arrived and were shocked that he was talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 The woman put down her water jar and went into the city. She said to the people, 29 “Come and see a man who has told me everything I’ve done! Could this man be the Christ?” 30 They left the city and were on their way to see Jesus.

….

39 Many Samaritans in that city believed in Jesus because of the woman’s word when she testified, “He told me everything I’ve ever done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of his word, 42 and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this one is truly the savior of the world.”

Again, the 'normal' customs of the day that divide people were broken. And because of this woman's -this woman who shouldn't have looked at or spoke to Jesus;-because of her curiosity and belief, many came to believe in Jesus..as Messiah.

God can use anyone and everyone.....to mend the divisions between us.

She left her water jar, just as Peter and his brother left their fishing nets, Matthew left his tax collection booth. She brought people -outside the Jewish traditions to faith in Jesus! The Salvation and love and grace of God through Jesus is indeed for everyone! Because we all crave connections and the Living water can bring us to a complete relationship with God and each other.

Let us pray:

God of All, thank you for your Word which enlightens us and brings us together with you and each other. Guide us to live in this knowledge, to stay in your word, indeed help us to crave YOUR living water! Guide us to focus on connection rather than division, & guide us to share Your love and carry that message into our community. We pray in the name of Jesus the Messiah, Amen.

A Blessing for Every Occasion

Sermon at United Church of Beloit Nov. 5, 2017 

A Blessing for Every Occasion 

Psalm 118:19-29

19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.

22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.

25 Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.

29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Our Psalm this morning is one of several that was composed specifically to be sung in worship services-for the beginning of the Passover worship service.

118:19  the gates of righteousness.  The entrance to the sanctuary, leading to the presence of God, where the psalmist will offer thanks. The gates are righteous because the One who dwells behind them is righteous, and those who enter must be righteous as well (Ps. 15  and  24). must put God first and obey the commandments...

118:22  The stone that the builders rejected.  The metaphor would likely refer originally to a king, who represented his people.

the cornerstone.  The low and insignificant, despite having been rejected, is exalted to the chief place. A Cornerstone, the first stone or concrete block laid in the foundation of a new building, must be laid perfectly straight, because all the rest of the building is aligned with that very first stone. A stone rejected by the builders, was not square, or would not align straight and true. Yet, the song says the rejected stone became the the cornerstone!

This hymn must have been on Jesus' mind during his Last Supper with the disciples. In the gospels Jesus quoted vv. 22, 23 about Himself. He said HE was the stone the builders rejected who would become the Cornerstone. He would of course become the cornerstone, the foundation of the church!

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! We hear and even say that a lot. And it means today this very day is the day the lord has made, so we are grateful!!

but it means much more as well! It means that Jesus. The One who was rejected is the cornerstone, the very foundation of our faith and worship. And how can we be anything but grateful!?

118:26  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the  Lord. Later, this cry is lifted up by the crowds as they welcome the true King, Christ Jesus, into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday. (Matt. 21:9). In a way still beyond their understanding, Jesus was about to defeat sin and death on the cross.

Because of God’s victory, His people will turn the day of despair into a day of worship before the Lord. We now know that victory came through Jesus on the Cross,

You see how this psalm ties to the stories of Jesus?

Shortly in our Communion service, We commemorate the Passover meal , that last supper that Jesus had with his disciples.

Now let's look at our New Testament Lesson.

Philippians chapter 4

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Keep God first. Rejoice, find something to be grateful for. Remembering to count our blessings is powerful. An attitude of gratitude for blessings large and small makes life better all the way around! Do you know people who grump and complain about every little thing? They're never happy. Then think about someone you know who is grateful for what they have and always tries to look on the bright side! Who would you rather spend a lot of time with?

How can we develop or improve our attitude of gratitude? ...

In the Jewish tradition, at the time of Jesus and since, people say quick short prayers upon awakening and throughout the day to help them remember to always put God first. The prayers begin with “Blessed are you Oh Lord Our God, King of the Universe..” if you saw the play or movie Fiddler on the Roof, there is a line, “Rabbi, is there a blessing for a sewing machine?” to which the Rabbi replies, “There's a blessing for everything!”

to be clear, one isn't praying God bless you, God. To bless God is to praise God! Remember Psalm 103 which begins “Bless the Lord O My Soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” it means to praise the Lord. By the way, a pastor friend says that if you forget to say grace before a meal, you can just say that verse!... (pat stomach) “all that is within me bless his holy name..”

“to bless” in Hebrew translates to both praise, and to kneel, as if kneeling in worship, or to receive a blessing. To kneel, is an act that shows that you are humbling yourself. Lowering yourself before God or the person bestowing the blessing.

So to say Blessed is the Lord God, is to humble ourselves to praise God, to honor and revere, the lord and creator of all. And in so doing, we are putting God first, which helps us to remember how truly blessed we are!

At that Last Supper, After Jesus and the disciples settled together around the Passover table, the first words Jesus spoke were: “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:15). 

He looked forward with joy and anticipation to have this special celebratory meal with his favorite people...

do you look forward to a holiday dinner with your favorite people? If you're the main cook and cleaner, then Joy may not be the very first word that comes to mind! {Story about Sherry remembering me teaching her how to shuck sweet corn! My thought was “all these people to feed”}

But years later, that moment was a cherished memory for our oldest niece! So do try to find some joy even in all the work during the upcoming holidays. You never know what might end up being a blessing for someone else.

Philippians 4

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable―if anything is excellent or praiseworthy―think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me―put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

We may find ourselves down, struggling with emotions for a variety of reasons. But we can choose to change our focus, to mentally set aside the sadness, anger, or whatever. I have a friend who has a magnet on her frig that says “Today I am in charge of how I feel, and I am choosing happiness” she isn't just ignoring situations in her life, or in the world, but she is a person of prayer. She prays over things, and then doing whatever she can about situations, she moves forward. And chooses to be happy. Because she knows she is alive, she has children and grands and that is a lot to be grateful for.

I think of this text being a type of "mental floss". When we are mired in thoughts or things we've heard or read that bring us down or make us angry, we can help turn ourselves around, and 'floss' our thoughts with whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. These are qualities of God. When we view something lovely, we are taking in a quality of God. Ponder excellence or perfection, you are pondering a quality of God. If and when we think about things that have these qualities, it helps us to get the negativity out of our minds. That's  why i call it "mental floss" -we can floss away the debris left by the negativity.  That's what my friend does.

Jesus chose to be filled with Joy at that last Supper...he had eagerly looked forward to it. Even tho in a matter of hours he would be arrested, beaten, and go through the worst form of capital punishment that humans could devise, and in so doing, he would take on the sin of humanity...all of OUR sin, and therefore, upon that cross, endure complete and utter separation from God. Yet He chose to enjoy time with those closest to him. He praised God, how can we do anything less?

Please pray with me, Blessed are you Lord God, maker of heaven and earth! Thank you for your Word which helps us learn how to choose gratitude, and to honor and revere you, Thru your blessed son, Jesus we pray, amen.

qualities of God

Philippians Chapter 4

8  Finally, brothers (and sisters)*, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  9  What you have learned and  received and heard and seen  in me―practice these things, and  the God of peace will be with you.

This is part of the text I am going to preach on Sunday. i wrote previously about this text being our "mental floss". When we are mired in thoughts or things we've heard or read that bring us down or make us angry, we can help turn oursleves around, and 'floss' our thoughts with whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and praiseworthy. These are the qualities of God. When we view something lovely, we are taking in a quality of God. Ponder excellence or perfection, you are pondering a quality of God. If and when we think about things that have these qualities, it helps us to get the negativity out of our minds. That's why i call it "mental floss" -we floss away the debris left by the negativity. 

*The Greek word in the original text meant both, it is not gender-specific.

Hearing is Believing

Deuteronomy 6

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one . 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

INTRO

Found out this week a name for a favorite type of humor... Paraprosdokians are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected and is frequently humorous.

• In the morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas, I don't know. ―Groucho Marx
• Where there's a will, I want to be in it.
• Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
• If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
• Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
• In filling out an application, where it says, "In case of emergency, notify... I answered " a doctor."
• I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure.

Deuteronomy chapter 6, is the beginning of the Shema, the great prayer said every day morning and evening by the Jewish people! Why is it called the Shema? That is the Hebrew word at the very beginning, translated Hear!

As we've discussed before, the ancient language of Hebrew had many fewer words than English does. So one word may have several meanings, that are related, that give depth to our understanding of the scriptures. The first word, shema, we usually translate “hear.” But the word shema has a much wider, deeper meaning than “to perceive sound.” It encompasses a whole spectrum of ideas that includes listening, taking heed, and responding with action to what one has heard.

So this prayer says, Hear, listen, understand! The Lord our God, the Lord is ONE God, the Only God! (don't listen to those people around you who are praying to gods of harvest and rain and the sun god that got covered up the other day by the moon god!) The Lord our God is THE ONLY God, love the lord with all your heart and soul and might! In other words love God with all your being! And tell others, especially your family! Morning and evening, and when you are walking down the road to your work or to get water or to go worship. Put God first, and help others to do so as well.

This is the core of the life of faith. Maybe we should pray this every day!? And of course Jesus quoted this when asked what is the greatest commandment! When properly understood, we find the greatest commandment is actually a call to commit ourselves to the one true God.

And that when we do, an action should result from what is in our minds. If you “remember” someone, you will act on their behalf. If you “hear” someone, you will obey their words. If you “know” someone, you will have a close relationship with them.

When in the Psalms, we find “Hear my prayer” the psalmist is not asking God to merely hear the words. The plea is for God to hear and comprehend the meaning behind the words, the reason we pray! And to answer, to give a response to the prayer. (of course, God's answer is often not what we expect!)

Jesus used this word Shema when he taught. He often taught using parables, stories that he shared. These stories were often something that may or may not have happened, but it was a story that his listeners could relate to. When he talked about the Samaritan helping a Jew beaten up on the Jericho road, everyone know that road was steep, winding, and treacherous! They could picture it! When he told about a lost sheep, his listeners, living in an agricultural society, knew that sheep do stray, and are quickly in danger!

But his stories, the parables were often challenging, because his stories changed up the ideas that folks usually had. A shepherd likely would not leave 99 sheep to go after 1, because then the whole flock was vulnerable. Jews and Samaritans hated each other, so the likelihood of the only help available coming from a Samaritan was a surprise twist! So even though Jesus used contemporary, familiar images in his stories, his listeners were still often stumped by exactly what he meant in the telling.

So our Gospel lesson is from Matthew. Jesus is explaining why he used parables that were so tricky to understand.

READ GOSPEL LESSON

Matthew 13 The Purpose of the Parables

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15 For this people's heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The New testament was written in Greek, and the Greek words in this passage for Hear and hearing, mean to hear the wisdom. To hear wisdom, we have to pay attention, don't we! We can't just let the words, let the sound waves bounce off our eardrums and go away! We need to pay attention, and to be receptive! To allow the words -the thoughts and ideas- to come inside. When we are receptive, we can learn, we begin to learn a new idea, or learn something about a neighbor that we didn't know, and then begin or deepen a relationship.

And relationships are what it's all about! Author Barbara Brown Taylor who was the keynote speaker at our National Annual Meeting in June, said there that God is interested in the business of making Christians one-not alike!” Put another way, God is less interested in our having the right view than he is in our having the right relationships.”

As I said, this Gospel was written in Greek...but Jesus spoke to the Jewish people in their own language. For a long time, it was thought that this was Aramaic, a from of Hebrew, but recent scholarship, from study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other recent archaeological findings, many scholars now say Jesus spoke Hebrew. He probably also spoke Greek, which was the language of the whole middle eastern area, after Alexander the Great conquered everything. The Greek language & culture then spread. But for the Jewish people living in the region, while they spoke Greek, also, they spoke Hebrew. So when Jesus said “hear”-he said Shema! Our wonderful word that means to hear, to listen, to understand, and to obey!

Author Anne Lamott: “Once during a children's service at my church, St. Andrew Prez, my pastor had the four children close their eyes and be still and listen, as a way to God. After a while, she asked them to keep their eyes closed and to tell us what they heard. They shared that they heard a police siren, and birds, and the shuffling sounds of the grown ups. But this one boy, a four year old named Tom, said, solemnly, “I hear the sound of water at the edge of all things.”

(Anne continues) I thought, Who is writing your stuff, kiddo? And, being a writer, May I use that?

My pastor and I still talk about this moment, ten years later, shake our heads, and laugh. Laughter saves us. ...What the children hear will save us. They accidentally blurt out the truth, the scariness and beauty of these times, the sirens and the birdsong, and that they need us to stay close by. Listen.”

There's a difference between hearing and listening, isn't there? if you have raised kids, you probably had a time or two when you said something, giving some instructions, like pick up your toys or get ready for bed...and the child did not do as you asked. And you may have said, “Did you hear me!”? Your words were likely heard, but not listened to. They may have been understood, but not obeyed. So you see the difference between hearing and listening? Hearing is just the words, the sound waves hitting our eardrums. Listening is paying attention. Understanding is to comprehend what's being said, the meaning perhaps behind the words! To understand scripture means-ideally- to know what it meant then, but even more importantly, for us to know how God's word relates to our lives today. And when we do understand, when we get it, then we live it. We obey. We truly become followers of Jesus. We trust God's love because we have the knowledge that Jesus shared.

We live our faith in many ways. We pray for one another! We pray for organizations who feed, clothe and shelter our neighbors in need. And we help out those organizations, don't we! But we live our faith in other ways too.

In yesterday's Upper Room was this: The 88-year-old woman had come to the soup kitchen for her supper. She seemed to be the life of the party at her table, encouraging everyone around her. Apparently hard of hearing, she talked loudly, which allowed many people to hear the “Bless you!” that she said to those who stopped by to greet her.

Prior to the meal, many of the people who entered the dining area looked downcast and seemed ashamed to be there. However, the Spirit of God, working through this positive and joyful woman, seemed to change the atmosphere of the whole room. In no time, the laughter and relaxed fellowship at her table had spread to all the other tables.

Serving the Lord with gladness is contagious and brings joy to the heart. It helps us to understand that no matter our circumstances, we can be agents of God’s blessings.

Bringing joy into a room with your own upbeat self is living your faith. And it spreads like ripples on a pond!

Hear, oh people of God, hear, Listen, Understand, obey! Love God and Love your neighbor. That's all we have to do! Is it always easy? no. Is it worth it? YES always!!