"Would I Choose Me?" May 10, 2015

Acts 10:44-48 John 15: 9-17 The Holy Word of God speaks to us of Joy! Boundless, world changing joy, love and faith which we rarely see. A world where there are no cliques, no divisions, or hatreds, not simply tolerance but Joy. Marie Knox, Paul Aleer, Fred Clarry, Jean Joy all died. Marie Knox lived 101 years of life. 7'8” Tall Paul Aleer, Nurse at the Duk Clinic, affectionately referred to as The Wound King for his compassion and dexterity placing an IV needle in the scalp veins of dehydrated malnourished infants. Fred, Father to Lori, grandfather to Cassondra who is preparing to complete college and marriage. Jean Joy, Mother to Kendra and Don, Grandmother to Kathleen and Chad, Greatgrandmother to Celia, Izzy and Lilly. Nepal had a devastating earthquake where 7,000 people were killed and 5,000 are wounded; 12,000. Baltimore was torn apart by riots, a Nursing home was burned to the ground. LORD, it is difficult to preach about Joy! Joy is elusive. Joy is fragile and hard to come by. You have to work to create Joy. Joy is not natural. In Central New York, we know Happiness in celebration of having Mother's Day and there is No Snow but that is not the meaning of Joy and it is not lasting, because just two weeks ago we did have snow. I greatly enjoy the writing of Thomas Jefferson, there are few writings as passionate and powerful as the Declaration of Independence, but I think Jefferson got it wrong when he described Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness as being our goals. Because Happiness can be expressed by my dog, when I walk in the door at feeding time. Happiness can be mimicked by a newborn mirroring expressions. Happiness is a red balloon. Happiness is a story that touches our emotions. Happiness is being chosen as Homecoming Queen. Happiness is making the Touchdown. Joy is different. Happiness can just come upon us; where Joy must be nurtured and developed over time. It will come as a surprise to many, but I was never chosen to be Homecoming Queen, or Prom Queen, or Quarterback, or Pitcher, or Hockey Goalie consistently making the perfect save. Personally, I was a gawky kid. I dreaded when we would pick teams, because being tall and skinny, with poor eyesight, I was the last one anyone ever picked on any team. All of which begs the question: “Would I pick me?” Would I choose me? And the answer is probably not. We can be pretty hard on ourselves, judging and revisiting our wounds and weaknesses. Over time, coordination and balance caught up, and hormones and daily swim practice matched faith, knowledge of coping with change, spiced with compassion, to be able to demonstrate leadership. But the good news is that it is not up to the Team Captain or to the Coach, or even our critique of ourselves. God chose and chooses us, you and me. That is an incredibly powerful statement, if we allow ourselves to hear it. Almighty God, Creator and Judge of all time and history, God chose us. That is what Jesus is saying, as he washed the feet of each disciple and broke bread with them at the Last Supper knowing he would die. This is part of the nature of what Joy is. Joy takes dedicated hard work. Joy takes everything within you Joy comes from a life spent together, or a partnership that you know you are doing the very best, giving everything for the other. Joy is our reflection of our parents, to realize there was no handbook for parenting, Dr. Spock did not cover the hard stuff, night in night out, and from our applying ourselves, loving as we were loved we experience Joy. Language has nuance and inflection, which is why words are so important. Jesus said “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Which sounds like an If/Then clause... If you do not love one another then you are not following my commandment... But the original words are different, because the conjunction “that” actually means “in order that”. So what Jesus said is “This (everything we have done together, the Gospel, and communion and my sacrifice on the cross) this is my commandment, in order that you love one another as I have loved you.” Do you recognize the difference? Love and Joy and not conditional. Jesus loves us no matter what. God loves us no matter what. We need to love one another no matter. But if we do not, God does not stop choosing you, stop loving you. But everything about life, all of what Jesus did and taught and sacrificed for us, was not for his benefit but for ours that we would have the new tradition to follow of loving one another as Jesus loved us. That is Joy. In this passage from Acts, we have walked in at the end of a Movie. To try to catch up, after the Resurrection of Easter morning, beginning with the Day of Pentecost, Simon Peter becomes the leader of the Disciples. And Peter and all the disciples had been Jewish, there was not a Christian religion. One day in prayer upon the rooftop at Joppa, Peter is reflecting upon what is it that makes one Jewish, how is Judaism unique, and will all Jews become Christians, or what shall become of Jesus' teachings. Judaism had laws of purity, in food, in marriage, even in whom you could speak with and visit. In Skaneateles there are cliques, even before kindergarden you can tell who enjoy each other, and who seem to not know how to relate. There is a tension between preserving Tradition, making certain we do not lose what has been passed down to us as treasure, and the Holy Spirit calling us to wonder, to believe, to risk for Joy. In contrast to Judaism there was the Roman Empire with Caesar and the Roman Senate and the Roman Legion with its Centurions and Gladiators. Rome was about Power, Wealth, domination and fear. The Centurions, were armor clad warriors, with Breastplate and Helmet, Spear and Sword and Dagger. While in prayer upon the rooftop, Peter sees a great white sheet, like the heavens themselves being lowered down to serve as a table cloth for a great feast. But inside the sheet are all manner foods together, Kosher and Non-Kosher, Lobster and Snails, Hoofed, and winged and clawed creatures. Peter knows that what has set Judaism apart in the world has been following Kosher Laws, upholding Tradition. And three times, this Sheet is brought down, with a voice saying “Eat” and Peter protesting, as the Holy Spirit challenges “What God has created, you shall not call unclean!” Suddenly there were Roman soldiers at the door, taking Peter physically to the Centurion Cornelius. Peter preaches a brief sermon about the love of Jesus Christ, when suddenly the Romans receive the Holy Spirit. They had had no New Members' Classes, no Baptism, they had not learned the Apostles' Creed or Lord's Prayer, or Passing of the Peace, but they had faith. And Peter questioned aloud, these have been Baptized in the Holy Spirit, can we withhold baptism with Water? In our Presbytery, we have challenged and changed nearly everything about being Presbyterian. We got rid of Offices and staff and structure, everything that cost money, everything that raised animosity and conflict was removed. The two things that were left were meeting twice a year, and Vanderkamp. Six months ago, hearing that the Balloon mortgage payment on the Camp was coming due in June, I asked that a Special meeting be called to be completely open and transparent about what was owed and what was possible. Throughout this 6 months tensions and conflict has been rising, as those who have allegiance to the tradition of the Camp came to a life and death meeting with those wanting to sell the camp once and for all. Some had met at camp and fell in love there, it was an integral part of their family, for others it was an albatross we routinely fight over, that had run in the Red in addition to coming every 5 to 10 years to guarantee their mortgage. Just before the meeting it occurred to me that from everything that was presented what was really owed was $50,000, $15,000 of which the Presbytery leaders were prepared to forgive. So instead of the Camp clique continually asking for money, let's just pay off the $35,000 as well. But in the meeting, it was revealed that actually what was owed was $275,000. $150,000 guaranteed by our Presbytery and $125,000 by Utica. So we suggested, let's pay it all off. Doing so, we would save hundreds of thousands in interest charges, doing so would change the relationship from debtors to equals, doing so would empower the Camp leadership to do the ministry of camping rather than complaining and living in fear about their debt. Suddenly, the entire body came together in Joy, even at spending $150,000!