"Leaping Beyond Values" February 28-29, 2016

Isaiah 55 Luke 13:1-9 How hard it is for us to be vulnerable and let God be God! We like to believe we are so invincible death can't touch this. When we are threatened, we go to nice neat resolution of cause and effect to master problems, rather than living with being fragile, living in the raw places. After falling from the roof, I have learned a different vulnerability. I have had to change my life, doing physical therapy and daily exercise, where I never exercised before, taking medications as prescribed where I never took more than an aspirin. ALL based on a secondary Value system: that if you follow instructions, if you do what you are told, we can get better. I traded my invincibility for following orders, with an expected outcome of gaining Control again. But this morning, I invite you to consider believing in something beyond known values/assumed outcomes, by believe something more than what we control. Leap Year was created because Annual Calendars did not balance with the Sun, Moon and Stars, so once every four years an extra day, a 366th was added. Except that by the 2000th year, our Calendar had caught up, and there was no need for a Leap Day. The reason we persist is out of habit and tradition. Personally, I have come to believe in Leap Day as opportunity to Leap Beyond what we know, to Leap Beyond the Values we hold. One day, one day for which there needs to be no reason, in which we make leaps of faith, one day where we do not have to try to be God, where we can trust God to be! Last Sunday morning during our worship, we were shocked to attention as an Amber Alert sounded. We later knew that at that precise time a man who had been given child custody by the Courts, had been so jealous of his wife's love, he had killed their baby and threw her away in Onondaga Lake. There have been so many deaths, and try as we may, there are no answers. We seek blame. We blame the Father. We blame the Courts. We blame the Mental Health system. The Chief of Police named there were those who even blamed the innocent wife. With no one else to blame, we blame God. Later, we learned blizzard tornados that same day, killed thousands, destroying homes and businesses and lives in what were called natural disasters. We call these “Acts of God” and like the people in the Bible we come to Jesus and the Prophets, asking, begging: Does God Not Care? Where is God? I was blessed to attend Seminary in NYC in the early 1980s, and often listened to the preaching of William Sloan Coffin at Riverside Church. In particular, I recall the Sunday, after Coffin's own son died. There had been a terrible storm, Alex had lost control, driven off the road and drowned in Boston Harbor. Coffin thanked people for their comforting visits, prayers, words and casseroles. He thanked those who sat with he and his wife, offering no words but tears, sitting together in loss. But then the preacher began to Rage, to rage at well-meaning folk, who had sought to control what they could not answer, by saying “It was God's Will.” He asked: Was it the will of God that Alex did not replace his windshield wiper? Was it the will of God that we should be suffering? Was there something we or Alex said or did to cause God to smite him and us so? Was it the will of God that he was driving too fast trying to get to safety? No, this was a tragic accident. We do not know the Will of God. My consolation, my true consolation in faith is confidence that the instant the car left the road and sank beneath the chaos, the heart of God was the first that broke. That is the same statement of rage Jesus makes in the Gospel of Luke. Pontius Pilate was a Roman Fear-monger, a Military Officer persecuting people, whose role in life was to instill fear. Pilate invaded the sanctity of worship, of believers offering sacrifices in atonement to God for their sins, and he not only murdered them, he made demonstration of corrupting their blood with the blood atoning for their sins. Jesus responded to the people blaming God: Does this monster doing this make those who died any worse sinners than any of us? A natural disaster happened, a water tower fell and crushed 18 people, does your not being killed and that they were, make those people worse sinners than any of us? No, we all are sinners, we all are going to die, perhaps by accident, perhaps by murder or war, perhaps by mortality itself. But you posses what all these named who died, were never given: opportunity to find resolution, to forgive the sins between them. What Jesus said elsewhere applies here “Whatever you bind on earth is bound to heaven. Whatever you loose, whatever you forgive, is forgiven forever.” So whether the circumstances of this last week, whatever it is that challenges you to be caught unaware... rather than blaming God, leap instead to what you can do to forgive. Jesus does not answer the Question. No, Jesus/God invites us into a place of vulnerability. It is not a bad thing to feel fragile, to count your blessings and your breaths, not bad especially if that fragility, that vulnerability causes you to turn, to question, to re-evaluate life, to Repent. In Answer Jesus then tells this parable about a fig tree. The landowner comes wanting figs, and the fig tree has no fruit and commands “Cut it down, why should it waste life not providing my wants?” That is our regular response today... The Government is not doing what I want, vote them out. The banks serve their investors, not the community, not the depositors, so close them down. Our kids have not succeeded as we did at their age, so cut them off with “tough love.” My brother insulted me, he has never apologized for anything in life, but until he apologizes I cannot forgive him. But Jesus' farming parables are never about farming, this is a faith parable. The gardener asks: Give me 3 years, 3 years to break down and build up, to fertilize, then judge.” In the Bible, whenever a Parable names: there was a Gardener, this is God or God incarnate, 3 years of gardening... Jesus ministry... challenging judgement with request for a gift of life, we are talking about Grace. In the early years of our marriage, I found I enjoyed refinishing furniture. If our children were traumatized by anything, it was my compulsion to visit Antique stores and Yard sales. We dragged home more pieces, stripped and repaired them. But recently, I've come to realize that the things I had valued were no longer sought. Why would you want oak desks, if you work from a laptop? Who would want a China cabinet, if you eat carryout? Why have bookshelves with a Kindle? Values have shifted. The Nation of Israel had been the greatest, most prosperous and powerful Monarchy on the face of the earth, when suddenly they were beaten, carried off in bondage as slaves, prisoners of war. The people questioned “Is this the Will of God?” “Is there a God who Cares?” After 40 years or suffering, the Prophet Isaiah turned their questions on their head. “Why do you spend your money on what you do not need?” ReConsider that you have Needs and what you need. Repent! Isaiah challenged, why covet and purchase stuff that does not nourish and does not satisfy? Most of us hear the word “Repent” and respond with guilt as if faith were about personal morality. Repentance, at its root meaning is about how we think, our processing, the value we place on relationships and events and behavior. Repentance is not about “I am sorry” or asking for forgiveness. Repentance is a reconfiguration of your whole reality. Repentance requires seeing God, seeing ourselves, our perceptions of meaning, differently. We like nice neat cause and effect, simple answers to complex questions, but there is nothing wrong and a great deal of importance, to living with the questions. Jesus did not answer questions about Pilate, the murdered, or victims of circumstance, instead he responded to their questions with questions and a parable leaving them in the midst of their torn open places. When we face our fears, when we are in places of raw emotion, instead of seeking ready easy answers, we need to stop, look around, question what we have valued and what is beyond value, and where we would leap for that which could truly satisfy? There is no way to make life safe or make God tame, to be insulated from loss or fear, not if we are going to live life. But the leaping determines what we value beyond life and where we go.

"A Community of Caring" February 21, 2016

Genesis 15 Luke 13: 31-35 In the Lenten Wednesday evening Soup Supper discussion of Christian Faith issues in Harry Potter, we asked people to consider: What is Your Call to Ministry? IS it the Great Commission to Go forth into all the world, Baptizing and Spreading the Gospel? Is it the Great Law to Love the Lord with Heart, Mind, Soul, Strength and Neighbor as self? Is it about Redeeming the Broken and Repairing the Breach? Is it preaching like Paul, being an Apostle or being the Messiah? Is it about polishing the raw into professional? Is it building up and protecting Security Is it protection from Loss? A neighboring Church had closed for 50 years and when it re-opened that generation instilled in the next, your responsibility is to keep this church from closing. While in a time many in our culture have been leaving the Church, We have married, baptized, grown; while we have rebuilt the infrastructure and facilities, instruments and programs and endowments; while we have gone out into the world to provide health care to the poor and malnourished in war... It occurs to me that what we have been about is building Connections, developing a Community of Caring. This is what has allowed us along the way to overcome obstacles, to persevere through conflict, because the Building program, or The Pipe Organ, or whatever was not important, ALL that was important were our Connections, our valuing one another as Worthy. Because in every endeavor, we could envision when the Organ was installed, when we had musicians to play, when the Building was built and debts repaid... When those who had been Refugees had grandchildren in this Church... We could always believe in a future beyond time and space... What we could not believe in was loss of connection to people we value as worthy. Someone pointed me to a TED Talk by Brene' Brown, who is a Researcher/Story Teller out of Texas. Brene' Brown describes that basic to being Human is our need for Connection, because connections whether with Grandparents, Parents, Teachers reinforce our sense of Worth, Worthiness, Belonging. Who have been those people in your life who gave you a sense of worth and reinforced you with love? What she found as a researcher is that in opposition to Self-Worth and Worthiness, is Shame; because Shame links to isolation and being devalued, and made to feel unworthy or less than human. All of us have a fear of Shame: “I am not good enough, not skinny enough, not smart enough, not successful enough.” And the less we talk about our Shame, the higher our level of Shame. Beneath both Worthiness and Shame is Vulnerability. In order for us to make Connections, we have to reveal who we are, we have to let others see us. To be vulnerable, you have to risk applying for the job, asking someone out, initiating a relationship, firing someone, talking honestly to our kids, parents, spouse. We live 24/7 in a World of Vulnerability. Often when we think of vulnerability it is negative, related to our being the most in Debt, most Obese, Medicated and Addicted adult generation in American History. But vulnerability can also lead to Joy, Love and Fulfillment that can only be found by beingVulnerable. The distinction Brown identified is that those who have a strong sense of Love and Belonging, are surrounded by a Community of being Worthy of Love and Belonging. She described that people in a Community reinforcing the Worth of Being Loved and Belonging, had three things in common: Courage, Compassion, Connection. Courage comes from the Latin “Cor” which refers to the Heart, These were people who told their story with heartfelt conviction. As Courageous people (remember that does not mean brave or heroic, but Heartfelt) they embraced others with Compassion and Forgiveness, having already loved themselves, because you cannot love someone else or forgive them, until you can love yourself. Third, as people who live their story, and have compassion for others as well as themselves, they were able to use their connections to believe in a circumstance beyond the here and now, to imagine possibilities. This, is the point of entry for me into Abram's story in Genesis 15. He has left home and family, following God for years. He has just won a great battle against three other kings, but Success is worthless if you have not successor to inherit. Abram wants proof that God is not only going to use him for God's purposes, but that Abram is going to get what he wants out of this, he is impatient for a child, which at 90 seems unlikely. And God tells Abram, Nothing is IMPOSSIBLE with God, you will have a child, no one else will succeed you but your own. But also, God gives Abram a dream vision, believe in a time and place beyond the here and now, where your descendants will be. The subtlety of this vision is it reinforces whose role and responsibility in this future....God will be there, God will provide, your descendants will be there, though they will have been slaves, and you will sacrifice and pray to God. 400 years from now, your descendants will come into this place, to inherit this land as their land. That would be like speaking to Miles Standish and the Pilgrim Puritans in 1620 about America of today, or promising this community in 2016 that there would be a community of faith beyond the Space age in the year 2426! There will be hundreds of years of hardship, and slavery to foreign empires, but your successors, your children will inherit this land. Imagine what you can do if you do not need to worry, if you never again had to doubt if there would be a future? Jesus knows and believes in a different place and time and purpose, a community of Worth, Believing in the power of Love and Belonging. So when Herod and the Pharisees threaten him, he has no fear. We tend to stumble because we receive a diagnosis of a Cancer, we fall from a ladder, we are divorced, and we fear each coming day... What if we believed not only we are going to survive the current struggle, we will have a new resolve for life? In these few verses, the verb “To Want” is named three different times, expressing different desires. The Pharisees describe Herod WANTS to kill you. Jesus WANTED to gather Jerusalem under his wings. Finally, Jerusalem is described as a city who WANTED Not to be gathered. Are our Wants prompted by Murderous Revenge, like Herod? Do our WANTS and desires come from a place of vulnerability, wishing we could protect, and facing the cost of being rejected? Or Are our Wants to be rejected, wanting to be anything but what is familiar, what is controlled, what is welcoming? I spent summers as a child in Upstate New York, and one of my roles as the youngest grandchild, was to gather eggs from the hen house, this was little larger than an Outhouse, without any light, and opposite the door were rows and rows of nests. The first few times you tried to reach under the hen for the eggs, she would peck at you, and in the dark, surrounded by the screams of the hens, this was horribly frightening. But quickly, you learned to feed the hens outside the chicken house, and while they were busy eating, you could gather from their nest. I am told that long before they hatch, every chick begins chirping and pecking, and that even before hatching, the hen knows the sound and rhythm of her chicks. But like Jesus's wants for a Jerusalem that wanted him not, our pastor growing up had a son who had everything. He was named after his father, he was handsome, sent to the best colleges, had an incredible car. But Jamie got into drugs, and as much as his parents wanted him to come home, he wanted not to, to isolate himself. I recall his father, much like Jesus before Jerusalem, like the father of the Prodigal and Elder sons, our Pastor WANTING nothing more than for his child to come home.

"Pre and Post Love" February 14, 2016

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Luke 4: 1-13 There is something eloquently simple, that we begin the first Sunday in Lent on Valentine's Day! More than a commercial event when we are to buy chocolates and cards and take one another out on a date, Valentine's is the reminder that if you have not done so “We are supposed to love!” with the kind of love described in I Corinthians 13: Patience, Kindness, Compassion, Lacking Jealousy, Boasting... Valentines was my Mom's Birthday, and she had married into the family when there were already three children under 7, so she celebrated this as her day to name and witness that being part of our lives made her who she was. There is a confusion, between Relational love and Romantic love which is filled with immediacy, pre-occupation with this other person, dominating all our thoughts and actions. When, our passages this morning from both Testaments, serve as a kind of PreNuptial Agreement throughout our lives. This is Not to be confused with a Pre-Nup, as this has come to be known in our culture, legally planning that when the relationship fails, as we assume, who gets what, so that the Other takes nothing more than they were entitled to before the relationship began. Instead, this Pre-Nuptial Agreement takes place BEFORE we have experienced anything of life, and also AFTER we have settled and received the blessings of life, Before and After Love. The Gospel of John assumes that all of Jesus' life and ministry was facing Temptation, so John jumps from the Baptism and Call by John to A Wedding at Cana. The Gospel of Mark narrates two sentences: The Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness where he was for 40 days. The Tempter tempted him; the Creatures kept him company; the Angels waited upon him. But Luke and Matthew provide a more full account. I love the Greek of Luke which begins Jesus still Wet with the Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. As if Baptism were another experience of Birth, Jesus is Still Wet with having been born, having not yet experienced anything of human life. To appreciate these Before and After Tests of Love, we need to remember another Biblical passage, a Scripture basic to everything in faith. “In the Beginning, Adam and Eve were told to Trust God.” Adam and Eve were told they could enjoy anything in life, except the fruit of one tree at the Center of the Garden. That story has been twisted and interpreted to mean Knowledge is Evil; Science is Evil; Eve was more easily seduced than Adam; and that humanity was created corrupt and fallen; NONE of which is what this Scripture says. The basic point was that in the beginning, before humanity knew or experienced anything else, we were created to Love and Trust God. Love and Trust are inextricably woven, such that while it would seem you cannot have one without the other; even though humanity destroyed Trust, still God Loves. So here, before Jesus is invited to heal or teach or act as our sacrifice, Jesus is given the same Test of Trust and Love the First Adam had faced in the Garden. When faced with Hunger, Power and Prestige, what will this Second Adam, who is both both God and Human do? We could insert any three temptations, so long as they are real temptations. I like chocolate and flowers and paintings and sculpture and design, but these are not life and death questions of our trust in God. For Jesus, the devil offered Food when he was hungry, Power over all the Nations of the Earth, Invincibility that you could test God and Live; all three of which are very real temptations for differing people; all of which are proof that being able to quote the Bible does not make you spiritual or loving because even the Devil can do so. What occurs to me, is that for the couple in the Garden they had alternatives to eat, and for Jesus while the Bible says he was Hungry it does not state that he was starving to death at that moment. While Religion and Faith have far too often been used by the Rulers of the Earth as Power and Religion & Power have been joined since Constantine; Trust is God undercuts that power, as throughout history nations have risen and fallen in power, but trust in God has carried on. What Jesus demonstrates here that will be repeated again and again and again, is that he is Not Invincible, Jesus is not Superman for whom bullets bounce off and he cannot die; Jesus can die, Jesus can and will suffer, and rather than focusing upon invincibility, Jesus love and vulnerability, his humanity and compassion and empathy are what unite him with God and those who love him. If anything, the Temptations of Jesus by the Devil were Temptation to believe and act as if there were No God, as if you alone are God. While these are explanations to Jesus' Temptation Test, our temptations will be different. SO why does the Gospel state that he was without food for 40 days and he was hungry? I think that that 40 Days inspired in Jesus reliance on what really matters, a comparable to measure life and death, what he knew he had to trust. He was hungry, but could he last another hour, or another day? He was hungry, but would being worshipped by people around the world make him any less hungry? Would having absolute power over other people, the ability to make them happy or to afflict suffering make him any less hungry? Then all of these are distractions from what matters. As Mark described, he was Tempted by the Tempter; he was a Creature among the Creatures of Creation; he was ministered to by Angels. I know people who have given up using their Cell phones for Lent. Those who have given up Chocolate. Those who have fasted for the 40 days. All of which compared with people of other nations who have no choice, those who do not know if another meal is coming, seems quite silly. We each have our pacifiers: Reading Murder Mysteries. Sex. Shopping for Shoes. Pulling up the covers in Bed. An episode of Gray's Anatomy or Downton Abbey. A glass of Wine, a pill. Ice Cream. Dare I say, even an SU Game. There is nothing wrong with any of these, but for many of us they are a distraction we reach for – when we are too sad, or too tired, too angry, too anxious or too afraid to be able to live in the Wilderness. Choosing to give up a Temptation is hard. It requires a conscious choice and commitment. But after you have reached for your pacifier and found it No longer there, you begin a predictable conversation with yourself. Did you want something? I want something to eat or drink! Does it matter which? Not really. Are you hungry? I am famished! Is there anything wrong with hunger? No Can you stand being hungry another 20 minutes or an hour? I guess so What else? Are You lonely? Terribly lonely. What is wrong with being lonely? I don't like it! Are you completely isolated? Who are you with? Myself Anyone else? I guess I cannot get away from God. Then this is a pretty good time to talk to God, or if you can risk it talking to yourself. The Wilderness is the reality where we live. There are times when the world is too much with us, when the pressures of life too much and we need to seek a place apart. It is permitted and good to have care for our loved one for an afternoon so we can carry on with life. It is appropriate to have a retreat where we can look ourselves in the mirror. The difference being whether what we seek is an escape from reality, a pacifier to make us ignore what is really going on, or whether we seek a time and place apart to be present with God. And when you have been in life for a time. When you have settled in a place and have the fruits of your labors. Then there is a POST LOVE Test. Not that Love is over, not that Trust is ever DONE. But that when we are not just starting out, when we are doing what we normally do, we stop and recognize your place in life, in this wilderness of Creation and all the good and bad that has come of it. Intentionally, come to the Church. I am delighted this morning was so cold people who are always here had to question, do I need to be? Faith is not a Cerebral exercise, not a Philosophy. The rituals of Baptism and Marriage and Confirmation, and Confession and Memorial are Vitally important to our humanity and our trust with God. So come, and create a basket of your blessings which you make as an offering to God. Wherein begins the most marvelous part of all, Celebrate with the the Levites (that would be all of us in the Church) and the Sojourners (Strangers like you once were) because your ancestor was once a wandering Aramean who after suffering was set free and searched for identity and trust and love.

"Tikkun Olam" , Ash Wednesday, Feb 10, 2016

Isaiah 58 Luke 10: 25-42 Our Call to worship this evening, “To not be hypocrites seeking attention, but instead act in faith” and Isaiah 58 which challenges the faithful that following rituals will not grant you faith, provide a difficult starting point. Simply because you were Baptized, or you presented your children for Baptism, or you were Confirmed and you sit quietly in the pew during worship will not give you faith or Eternal life. Isaiah 58 Verse 12 however names a Goal of the Ancient faith, all but lost to us. You shall be called Tikkun Olam! You shall be a Repairer of the Breach, you shall be a Restorer of the Streets to live in. When I was very young, I recall adults asking “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My oldest brother wanted to be a Farmer or Teacher, and became a Dean of Agriculture. The Second, from the age of three had Top hat and Cane and knew by heart the song from Pinocchio “Hi Diddly Dee, An Actors' Life For Me”. Our youngest brother's life literally was saved after running away from home, by a Guidance Counselor suggesting he take classes at the Vocational School in cooking, and now he is Executive Chef for three Restaurants in Park City. I knew I wanted to be like my parents, who had gone to Seminary and were leaders in the Church, but I also wanted to be different. They had come into brand new Suburban communities where nothing existed, and as Evangelists, they led the creation of Churches from nothingness. Where my own Calling has been as Tikkun Olam, to Repair the Breaches, to fix the infrastructure where needed, but you are not creating out of whole cloth, nor are you Changing for the sake of Change, making the church as you desire. Instead there is repair and reformation work in discerning what is foundational, what is the aura of the Angel of this Church, and what no longer works, what can we finally help people to let go of. Personally, I have been frustrated by the debates and Presidential campaigns, not because of the issues, Candidates or parties, but the explicit message that America today is broken, America has been beaten and robbed and thrown into the ditch on the side of the road. I too am angered and frustrated by those who have chosen to inflict pain and murder against their families, their community, our world. Our lives today are far from perfect, but rather than emphasizing the negative, we have witnessed people trying to make a difference in others' lives, feeding the hungry in our own community; providing more than shelter creating a home and family for those who can no longer live alone; making Health Care in a War Zone and providing healing to Malnourished children in a far off place of extreme poverty. As your pastor, I have witnessed countless couples trying to care for the special needs and problems of family and friends when planning for their own weddings. I have witnessed people volunteering their time and their interests, to make music for the glory of God, to offer healing and touch people where words and actions sometimes are not enough. Isaiah describes you will be Tikkun Olam not simply by obeying the feasts, or rituals, but when you remove the yoke of slavery, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, when you feed the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted. It is easy, and culturally acceptable to throw one another in the ditch, to throw America and our leaders in the ditch as bankrupt and left for dead. To be Tikkun Olam, to try to redeem and repair circumstance, to stand up for what you believe, is more than hard, it is counter-cultural and requires that you think through every assumption. Luke describes a Lawyer tried to put Jesus to the test, by asking “What must I do to inherit Eternal Life?” Being well educated in debate, Jesus turns the question around saying: “You are a Lawyer, what does the Law say?” And I find it interesting, the Lawyer quotes Jesus' answer of which is the most important of the Laws: “To love the Lord Your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and to love your neighbor.” But checking assumptions, the Lawyer then asks, “And who is my neighbor?” To which Jesus tells what has become the well known parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable has become so well known as to have lost its impact. The crowd at the time might have gotten caught up in the story, that a Megachurch pastor and a Presidential Candidate each walked by crossing over to the other side, expecting the third person to be a common man, a Judean or Galilean. In past years, I have described one of my favorite stories that on a Presbyterian Seminary campus, there was a scene planted. That on the day in which the Seniors were to take their Ordination Exams, the written exams like Boards, which determine the distinction between graduating with a Masters in Divinity degree and being eligible to be Ordained as a pastor, being told that the preaching exam would be on the Luke 10 passage, an actor walked across the quadrangle in a business suit, when suddenly he fell to the ground clutching his arm as if in a heart attack. The real exam being how many of the 100 Senior Seminary students would stop on their way to their exam, and not a single one did, several even stepped over his body. A decade ago, on the Upper west side of Manhattan, there was a true life story of a man who had a seizure and fell from the Subway platform onto the tracks below. On the platform was a construction worker named Wesley Autrey with his two daughters aged 4 and 6. Instantly, Mr. Autrey jumped down onto the Subway tracks with the collapsed man, when suddenly they saw the on-coming lights of the subway train. There was no time to get them both out safely, so Autrey positioned the man between the tracks, with his own body on top sheltering the man. Their bulk was large enough that grease rubbed off the undercarriage of the train onto Autrey's knit hat and coat. But when the train stopped at the platform, both were unharmed, and a voice cried out from under the train saying “There are two little girls up on the platform. Tell them Daddy is safe.” That is the story the crowd expected to hear, a moral story of a common man entering into the breach, coming to the rescue where others would not, but this is a parable told by Jesus. The third pedestrian in Jesus' parable was a Samaritan, who racially, ethnically was considered dirty, and feared as an enemy. Enough time has passed that Martin Luther King Jr is revered for his faith and convictions, though at the time much of America would not have agreed. We have come to a time where the film Selma wins awards for depiction of people standing up for their right to vote; where Martin's Letters from A Birmingham Jail describe advocacy for children; and he is remembered as a Nobel Peace Prize winner. But the night he was assassinated Martin had been in Memphis, TN. He was there trying to settle a labor strike of Garbage workers. The Garbage workers were not paid to have a lunch or dinner break, so had routinely taken to eating around the Garbage trucks. No one wanted to see this, so an ordinance had been passed that the Garbage workers had to be inside their trucks when eating. One day it had begun to rain, and the Cab of the truck was not large enough for four, so two of the men had crawled into the compactor bed to get out of the rain, when the mechanism malfunctioned and these men were killed. In the ensuing strike, the Garbage Workers wore signs that said simply “I AM A MAN.” Trying to understand where compassion and empathy, and a willingness to enter the breach come from, an EMT named Jack Casey told the story that he had had an abusive childhood with an alcoholic father, where he thought he would never want to help anyone, or care about anyone. Then one day, he was in Surgery, and the Trauma Nurse held his hand saying “Do not be afraid, I will hold your hand, and I will be right here.” When he awoke, sure enough she was still holding his hand. Casey described that there had been occasions as an EMT where his own life was at risk saving others, and what he had repeated to the people he was with was “Do not be afraid, I will hold your hand, and I will be right here.” But the part I am especially intrigued by this evening, is that over the years, you have heard me state repeatedly that context is important. What the Evangelist telling the story is trying to state differently than anyone else has ever stated is their placement of one story against another. Here, we always pay attention to the Parable of the Good Samaritan coming in response to the Lawyer putting Jesus to the test. But also in this same Chapter, Luke describes, “Now as they were on their way, Martha received Jesus into their house, and Mary sat at his feet.” So what do you imagine Mary heard?

"Looking Beneath the Surface" February 7, 2016

Exodus 34: 29-35 Luke 9:28-43 My practice for 32 years has been to come to Church early, before the Village awakes. Where normally in February everything is twice Fifty shades of Gray, soot and ash to steel, with overcast skies and ice, this morning was different. On this Day of Transfiguration, the lake was not frozen, the sky was clear, and everything, everything from horizon to horizon was a blending of hot pink and ice blue. Coming to Church this morning, having not preached the last three Sundays, this morning felt Holy. I have missed this with you, this time in this place, when and where we meet God. Worship for me, is not and has never been reading a canned liturgical script or acting out a performance. Worship is a conversation, between God and this community in this place and time, between the Word of God in both Testaments and the current events and circumstances upon our hearts. So every time we read a passage it is new and fresh and applicable to our lives. I would confess, that there have been experiences of faith that have changed my hair color, those which aged me and tested my fortitude. There have been relationships I wish I had not had to be a part of; and those while I felt incompetent, I was thankful to be used as an instrument of God. What I find especially striking about the passages of Scripture this morning is that Encounters with God change people, when you witness the Holy, it becomes a part of who you are and how you face life. After speaking face to face with God, the face of Moses glowed! On the mountaintop, speaking with Moses and Elijah, Jesus was changed his raiment whiter than white. The point of the HOLY in these words is not that hair suddenly was pink or blue, or faces gleamed, or what we do about it. Moses came to recognize the Holiness was such a distraction to people he veiled his face from them until the mundane crept in and time passed. And there have been circumstances for each of us, where we have attempted to hide our faith, to hide and cover up that we believe; just as other parts of the community of faith have at times tried to build booths and sell indulgences. But the primary distinctions between Magic and Mystery, are that magic requires the Priest saying the right words, making the right gestures at the right time, magic puts the magician in control of hiding what is really going on from the world. Mystery, Faith, is unique to every individual, the holiness becomes reflected in you. There are circumstances where we cry and laugh through funerals, just as that we cry and laugh through weddings, there is no one way that is right for all. And rather than hiding truth, the one revealing what is taking place is God, but not in the philosophical abstract but in our lives. We tend to correlate like events, Moses on Mt Sinai is a reverent moment, like Washington and Jefferson at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, or Lincoln at Gettysburg. But as historically vital as those events, there is more beneath the surface here. This is HOLY. I am convinced that whenever the Bible names an event as Holy, the Scripture is pointing to something even more beneath the surface. The point of Moses face being changed, is not that we would be distracted by his appearance, but that we should look beneath the surface of the images. The glow of holiness is like finding Where's Waldo, a pointer, that there is more to be witnessed beneath the image. I do not know if that is what is beneath the surface of some in our culture dying our hair? Honestly, I think, like the television commercial of two women going to their High School Reunion with Purple Streaks, it is just for fun; but may also for individuals emphasize “Pay attention to me, there is more / different / beneath the surface.” Convalescing the last few weeks, I came across a statistic that staggered me. In every War there have been more who have died afterward, as a result of having witnessed the trauma of war, than were killed by bullets or shrapnel. Part of Post Traumatic Stress is fear that no one else could understand, no one knows their secrets, and secrets kill. Believing this statistic could be an exaggeration, I spoke with a friend who was a Viet Nam Veteran, asking whether more had died after coming home than died on the battlefield. He welled up in tears, saying “My Platoon going to Viet Nam had 50 soldiers. 20 died in combat. Since returning home 29 have died because they could not reconcile what they had experienced with their lives and they could not talk with anyone about it. I am the only one left from 50 men.” Streaks of color in our hair, streaks of tears down someone's face, we need to pay attention that there is more beneath the surface with one another. This passage from Exodus comes from a time of radical cultural change. As long as generations could remember, the Hebrews had been slaves of the Pharaoh of Egypt. Pharaoh not only was King of Egypt and the surrounding Nations, he owned the men and women. He had the power of life and death, breeding and selling the people for Pharaoh's pleasure and profit. Pharaoh had even declared himself to be immortal with the power of God. So when the True God through Moses parted the seas for the people to walk to freedom on dry ground, when God closed in the waters and drown the Egyptians, their weapons of war and technology, the response of the people was “We were slaves of Pharaoh, now we are slaves of Moses' God.” But Moses went up the mountain to speak with God, to receive the Law. We have become weighed down by laws and loopholes, by a system of fines and punishments many of us do not fully understand. We have taken the 10 Commandments out of context, as demanding we go to Church every Sunday, and what we must do in order to be Good or to avoid Evil. Here, the glowing holiness of Moses' face points that beneath the surface, the LAW has a different meaning and importance. Without requirement, God had chosen to save this people: God chose to be their God. The LAW guaranteed people access to God, guaranteed relationship with God as their protector and companion for all time and generations. The 10 Commandments are not presented as IF you do this, then God will be generous; or IF you avoid this God will not punish you. Instead, the 10 Commandments are God's declaration and invitation to us: God will be God for all time and generations. We cannot make God go away, we cannot escape God's kingdom. God provides us the Invitation to choose to be in relationship. Being loved by God, do you wish to respond? What does God expect? God is a Jealous God, so we cannot divide our loyalties. We cannot make idols or create our own Gods. We cannot make God do what we desire, or abuse the name of God. We as Creatures need to stop and reflect periodically throughout life, on the existence of God, the love of God, and on our own lives. All of the remaining laws, describe how we are to live with one another, to honor and trust, to avoid killing and jealousy and lying. I recall growing up, my brothers and I fought constantly, enough that one year for their birthdays our parents asked simply that for one day we not fight with one another. That is the meaning behind Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife or ass or servant. There is however something new and different in the Gospel. When in Luke, Jesus went up the Mountain top with Peter and James and John, it comes at the exact center of the Gospel. Jesus has been proclaimed, born, baptized, tested, he has called his disciples and taught them, healed people and preached the Good News. He could have continued and made a lasting impression on the world as a Great Rabbi, a Success whose words are remembered. But he was transformed and transfigured. On top of the mountain he spoke with Moses and Elijah. Preachers have regularly described Moses = The Law, Elijah = The Prophets, and just as Jesus had described the Greatest of the Laws is the foundation for all the Law and the Prophets, this encounter is the transition between everything that has been in faith in Judaism and Christianity, versus what is to come through his death and resurrection. But even more more, by speaking face to face with God at the receiving of the Law... Moses' Face began to glow with holiness. His face continued to reflect that holiness as time passed. According to the Books of Kings, Elijah did not glow, Elijah did not speak face to face with God, but in the end, when everyone knew he was to go to be with God and Elisha accompanied him until the end, suddenly a flaming glowing chariot and horses gathered him up to heaven. Bothe Moses and Elijah glow with the reflection of God, manifest what is Holy as their being in response to God. But on the mountain top, when Peter and James and John witness Jesus with Moses and Elijah, it is not that Jesus is reflecting their glory, or that Jesus is responding to yet a fourth unseen person in God.... but that Jesus is God, God's Holiness is showing through Jesus. Up until this moment on this mountain, the Incarnation of God in Christ had meant he was as Innocent as a Newborn, he was loved by God and through that incarnation Jesus healed and preached and called. Suddenly the Gospel has changed, everything from this point forward will lead to the Cross, because in his death and resurrection, Death itself is killed, fear is destroyed and we can live eternally with God. When Jesus came down the mountain with Peter and James and John they found the rest of the disciples struggling because they were unable to heal a boy possessed with demons, taking the child aside, he rebuked the demons and healed the boy, and went on toward the Cross, because through the Transfiguration, the Holy points to there being more beneath the surface than healing an individual, or casting out a demon... The HOLY of faith and life all points toward the struggle of the Cross, the struggles of our fear of Death versus our love of God.