"Grace Beyond our Conceiving" July 29, 2018

2nd Samuel 9: 1-3 John 6: 1-21 Several years ago there was a book about Simple Acts of Kindness. A week ago, we had the burial of a good friend up in Alexandria Bay. Although the family had been intentional that they wanted me to ride with them, at the appointed hour I was standing out in the Church Parking Lot, all alone. Realizing I kind of needed to be there for the burial to take place, I hopped into my Mini Cooper and drove the 2 ½ hours to Alex Bay. But when I typed into the GPS “Cemetery”, the technology claimed there was none. I phoned the Funeral Director, who laughed when he realized they forgot to pick me up; then directed that the Cemetery was actually on one of the Thousand Islands in Canada, and not only did I need $3 for the Bridge but they would not accept EZPass! I stopped into a Motor Court and described who I was and my problem to the 15 year old Desk Clerk, asking if she could give me a Cash Advance on my VISA Card. Instead, she opened her own purse gaving me 6 -$1 bills. A simple act of kindness. When I returned home, I sent her $12 in repayment. This morning’s Scriptures are about more than a Simple Act of Kindness, Beyond our Conceiving, this is “Amazing Grace”, which is so much greater than our imagination, so great as to transform our lives and relationships! You will recall that the First King of Israel was a Warrior named Saul, and Saul had a son named Jonathan. The Shepherd boy David who had killed the Philistine Goliath came to live in the palace as best friends with Jonathan. But Saul turned away from God, thinking only of his own power. Saul then tried to kill David who escaped, and the Nation entered into conflict as those who followed Saul fought against those who followed David. In the end, Saul and Jonathan were killed at a place called Jezreel, and David became King. The last many weeks we have read of King David taking Jerusalem as his Capital, building a Palace there, wanting to build a House for God, bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. This morning, David the King demonstrates an act of Faith, a measure of Grace far beyond our concept of Kindness. As the King of Jerusalem, this act of grace demonstrates the grace of God for us. Realize that American heritage of succession is unique, for throughout history, when Kings arise, they not only kill their predecessor, they shame and destroy all those related to their opponent who might in a future day become a threat. BEHOLD, David was Living as King and asks if anyone remembers if Saul’s son Jonathan had children? Ziba the Servant describes that Jonathan did have a son named Mephibosheth and where he was hiding. Years before, when the child was five years of age, word came that Saul and Jonathan were trapped and killed. In a rush to escape, the child’s Nurse bundled up the child, and tripped and fell, the nurse’s own body crushing the legs of the child. So now the child was a triple threat, he was the surviving descendant of a competitor; he was abandoned in hiding; and his legs were crushed. Imagine living 15 years in hiding, always in fear for your life, always in shame, staying out of the light… One day, you hear the trumpet blasts of an advancing guard of soldiers. On the horizon you see pennants, horses of the King, as they advance closer and closer. You have to get away, you have to hide, or be put to death. Suddenly there is a pounding on the door. You are dragged out from under your bed; dragged where you do not want to be found, brought to the King’s Palace. Brought inside, to the Court of the King, and made to prostrate yourself before the throne of the very One who took the place of your Father. The only words you can manage are to ask what the King desires with a Dead Dog? He has had everything taken away, living for years in shame and hiding. When suddenly, King David decrees that from this day onward, the property of your grandfather shall be returned to you, you shall have a place at the King’s own table, in fact, the King will not sit down to eat until you are at the Table. What an act of grace, that for the remainder of his life, at every meal there would be the call of your name MEPHIBOSHETH, and the scraping of your feet, as everyone waited to welcome you at the Table of bounty! He spreads a Table before me, my cup run over. A meal of Grace, beyond everyone’s imagination to conceive… On the Northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, rises a mountain, the face of which forms a natural concave shell. Somehow, I always imagined Jesus standing at the top of the Mountain preaching down to the people; but instead, I have now come to believe that the 5000 had gathered on this hillside, and Jesus was on the shore. So the story about such a great crowd coming to listen that he had to get into a boat and push off from shore to preach, may well also be about this same event! And while the Disciples cannot imagine the costs of how to feed all these people, reminiscent of Moses and the tribes in the Wilderness (according to the text) Jesus fed 5000 men, plus their wives and children. He has them sit in small groups, to share together, all together being the Body of Christ. From 2 fish and 5 loaves, not only does he feed 5000, but afterward there are 12 Baskets full of leftovers! The issue is not about how, or the cost, those are rational concerns. No, the issue in meal like communion is what the Grace represents. There is limitless bounty for everyone to share! The disciples got into a boat, as Jesus continues to heal and dismiss the crowds. The Disciples had been right there, they were Jesus’ inner circle, but they still could not conceive: what was going on. Growing up, my family had boats, and the name of every boat began with a “W”, There was a ski-boat called Whitecap, a Flying Scot called the Windsong, a Lazer called the Whisper, a kayak called The Worry, and an ugly old rowboat called the Wart. When I got a day-sailer, my family named it the Whimper, because I liked to risk the opposite gunnel under water as you leaned out. Imagine, you are on a large lake, the Sea of Galilee, at dusk when a gale force wind comes up. What is the last thing you could imagine happening, something so impossible as to be beyond conceiving? Jesus came walking to them on the water! Rather than worrying about how or where, pay attention to the subtleties of the text. Just before they saw Jesus walking on Water, they had been rowing for 3 or 4 miles when what happened? A Wind came up on the face of the water! Just as at Genesis, and the future day of Pentecost, the Wind always indicates a Miracle, the presence of the Holy Spirit! And on what day did this miraculous meal, and the walking on water take place? On the Day of Passover, celebration of God’s presence in Grace over the people of faith!

July 15, 2018 "Never A Quiet Moment"

2nd Samuel 7: 1-14 Mark 6: 30-34 & 53-56 My parents owned a summer house in Northern Michigan, on a lake identical to Skaneateles. While many have questioned that anything in the world is like Skaneateles, there is no mystery in this, as my parents grew up in Syracuse and Fulton, spending time at Skaneateles, so when they went looking to build a house they went searching for something like this. Beginning the day we first saw the property, Mom kept a Journal of what happened each day, each year. We often chided her that every day during the summer included water skiing and sailing, picking strawberries and playing games long into the night. But as time went by, and there developed confusion what happened which year those Journals became known as The GOSPEL ACCORDING TO VIRGINIA. This morning Virginia’s Gospel, seems a lot like The Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which over a three year period without saying May 31st, describe Jesus met Nathaniel who questioned if anything good could come out of Nazareth, July 1st met Fishermen on shore of the Lake, Simon and his brother Andrew, James and his brother John whose father was Zebedee; July 2nd Jesus healed a Leper, July 3rd he told a Parable about a man with two sons, July 4th a Parable about planting Seeds, On the 5th he touched 7 Lepers! July 12th Jesus healed a 12 year old and also a Woman with Bleeding for 12 years, July 13th Jesus sent out his Disciples in pairs as Apostles. Once my brothers and I grew up, the House at the Lake became a site for “BASHES”. These were annual occasions for “Home-Comings”, as we brought friends and eventually girl friends to become wives, and our own children, and late into the night Family stories would be told of the time this happened and that, as well as updating, what transpired in life’s journeys. After 30 years of these, my parents described hoping that in the future we might each return to the House separately with others, because as much fun as the Family parties were, they did not have the chance to spend time with any of us, because all of us were there. Now that the parents have been gone several years, and the Lake House sold, what Nathan described to King David seems especially appropriate, that while we thought our Family were building a Family House, installing Garbage Disposals, putting in the Dock and Boats, planting trees and flowers; what God did over those decades was to build a House of our Family. Throughout the Centuries there have been countless works of art, depicting nearly every story of the Bible. The old old Bibles had Lithograph line drawings of The Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve being Ejected and the Angel with Sword in hand; Elijah and the Contest on Mount Carmel; Warner Sallman created a familiar image of the Long-haired White robed Jesus in a lighted Garden, knocking at the knobless door to our Hearts. In another Church, a former Pastor had caused a controversy because one family had donated an 8 foot tall framed picture of the bust of a Blond-haired Blue Eyed Jesus that they wanted to be hung on the wall behind the Pulpit, and the former pastor moved it to the Library, which made the family quiet upset. When I came, I found the picture oversized for the small Library, so had it rehung in the Gathering Space as you came in and out of worship, which seemed a minor thing, but the right place and made everyone happy. But in all the Artwork, I never have seen a portrayal of the Return of the Apostles. Imagine on the shores of the Lake, an immense tree covered in hues of green leaves dancing in the breeze, and beneath the tree, eight of the apostles laying in the grass and sitting down in pairs, while the others are returning, with Jesus seated at the center rooted against the tree. Each are exhausted from their journeys, but aglow with their experience. These were fishermen who had spent their entire lives, for generations living and working on the same lake, who suddenly had seen the world! They had preached and told parables exactly as Jesus had taught, they had exhorted demons and diseases, they had witnessed miracles; and the world opened in faith! Just to the right of the canvas storm clouds are brewing, the sea beginning to churn, down low in the foreground are the fishing sailboats that brought the disciples and Jesus, across from the other-side. As you look, the Apostles each are animated in their talking, all at the same time, all trying to tell their own stories for him to hear. Instead of looking at them, Jesus is looking off to the other side. On the other-side of the Canvas, there are crowds of thousands coming, carrying those who are lame on stretchers, leading those who are blind, walking beside those hurt, seeking Jesus. If it were up to me, I think I would title the painting “Distractions” because the apostles are each distracted by their lives, the crowds are distracted by their needs, the storm clouds coming distract people with fear, Some are distracted by how to feed thousands on the hillside, AND JESUS is watching, attentive to each. We are so distracted by our own lives, by all we try to accomplish. I would go so far as to say “We each try to accomplish, to workout, our own salvation without need for God”. I am told that a new cultural tradition has begun in China, that whenever asked the Greeting question “How are you?” The polite response is to say “I am very busy.” Being Busy has become the measure of happiness and success. Whether every minute of every day, you are doing something, trying to accomplish something, rather than getting away to a quiet place by yourself. There is a wonderful old fable, that reminds us the foundational truth: How God formed every element of Creation not out of nothingness, but out of the waste and void. At each stage, God called life into being. God named what was to be and declared “AND IT WAS SO” and it was so! After all the developments, God created Man and Woman, and God was most pleased with these, because they were the most like God of all God’s creations, but also because God had breathed God’s own Spirit into them, and most of all because being in relationship to God made God happy. But the humans stopped listening, they became pre-occupied with everything in their lives, all that they wanted to do and to control as legacy to their accomplishments. Because they were not listening, it seemed that God stopped talking, stopped Creating, stopped Calling life into being. Then one Day, God vowed to speak One Last Word. All Creation became attentive, because if God was only going to say one word for all the rest of time, what word would that Be? And God spoke the name “Jesus”. And the Word became Flesh and dwelt among us. To some it was a word of folly, an outdated idea that seemed without meaning; but to others the name Jesus embodied boundless: Compassion, Empathy, Love, Grace, Mercy, Communion and Truth.

"Coping With Interference" July 8, 2018

2nd Samuel 6: 1-19 Mark 6: 12-29 Decades ago a couple were married, and the Groom’s great grandmother gave a gift. The great grandmother was known to be eccentric and her presents quite bizarre, so without opening, they placed the unopened box in the spare bedroom, later moved to the hall closet, then to the attic. One day their son found it, and asked if he could open the present and have what was inside? Thinking better of it, his father said “Okay.” Inside, was an empty wooden box, which allowed the Father to breathe a sigh of relief. The son kept the box on his desk for change, pens and treasures. Over the next several years the box became quite worn. The boy grew up, fell in love and planning to marry, his partner was going through their accumulated stuff for what to purge and save, and unfortunately the scratched old box was in a box for the transfer station. But as the cardboard box was lifted, the little box fell out, and when he picked it up, it rattled as if something was inside. Secured inside, was a Pewter coin wrapped inside a letter. The Letter gave thanks for the generosity of a couple, who had provided a place of warmth and shelter from the storm, along with food for the stranger and his men. The author described that they were involved in a great battle for the future, and while this fledgling people did not have much to offer by way of payment, this was the first dollar struck by the Continental Congress. And the letter was signed G. Washington. So be careful what you try to put in a box and how you treasure it. In both of this morning’s readings, the Kings determined that possessing articles of faith was something they wanted, but they were not ready for what came with it. During the 40 years in the Wilderness, God gave, to Moses to give, to Israel, the 10 Commandments, and the Priests placed these along with a jar of Manna in the Ark of the Covenant. Those of us who remember The Indiana Jones’ Film recall that The Lost Ark was a large box with two cherubim on the top, all encrusted with gold, as a throne for God. As Israel crossed the Jordan with Joshua, and throughout the years of the Judges: Gideon, Samson, Deborah, the Ark of the Covenant led them into battle, with prayers and singing and sacrifice; and Israel was victorious. But in a particular battle with the Philistines, Israel possessed the Ark and neglected to pray and sacrifice to the Lord, and the Philistines were able to rise up against Israel. This was the point at which, the people lost faith in Samuel and God, demanding a King instead. The Ark was captured by the Philistines as a trophy of war, but any who came near the Ark sickened and died. After the deaths of Samuel and King Saul, when David was in Jerusalem, he remembered the Ark and decided it would be nice to have. David and his army went to take possession of the Ark, and the Philistines were only to happy to be rid of it. Except, like the Philistines, King David did not know to treat faith with respect, or how to demonstrate giving honor to God. They placed the Ark on a Cart which Ahio drove, and Uzzah walked behind, which seemed a practical means of transporting a heavy box encrusted with gold. However when they hit a pothole, the ark began to slide off the cart, and Uzzah reached out to catch the thing. As Uzzah touched the Ark, Uzzah died, and David determined to leave the dangerous power outside the City. Like the Raiders of the Lost Ark film, all that the David, and in the film the Nazis, could understand was that the box was full of limitless power, rather than being a foundation for the Holy Spirit. Growing into faith and relationship with God, David recognized that the Ark was not a treasure to be treated as cargo on a wagon, but as extension of the living God, to be carried on the shoulders of the Priests, literally with two long poles. Different from before, the King stripped in humility, wearing only a linen ephod. The priests blew the shofar, praying and singing, and every Six steps, every twelve to fifteen feet, they sacrificed both an Ox and a fatling calf. And the King threw himself into dancing. This was not a ritual procession, this was not a parade as the Army, or somber dirge, this was A Man of Faith and his followers demonstrating unbridled joy. His wife, Michal did not understand, expressing her embarrassment and shame at her husband’s public display of dancing, as wives are sometimes want to do! Do you recall when John and Martha were married here in 2005, the wedding was a marvelous occasion, but that evening two things happened. The African music began to play and the crowd began shouting and dancing. At 11pm I became nervous of the reaction of the neighbors and asked that we try to keep it down, but was told “Pastor, how do we control the volume of our joy?” Also, the children of those attending the wedding were City Kids unfamiliar with having backyard lawns, toys and equipment that could safely be left outside. So they began going from yard to yard, shooting Basketball, playing Catch and Football with whatever they found. The next morning, I sent letters to all the neighbors thanking them for their hospitality and hoping there had been no problem. The response was how wonderful for children to play with children of color in their backyard! King Herod was no King David! He had the DNA pedigree, of being descended of David, but Herod had traded faith in God for faith in the Empire, wealth, power and popularity. Herod lusted after his brother Phillip’s wife, so having limitless power, Herod had his brother killed and took Herodias as his wife. We tend to read of John the Baptist in December at the start of Advent, crying “Prepare the Way of the Lord” and in January with the Baptism of Jesus. But John was a prophet, who spoke Truth to Power, Comforting the Afflicted, and Afflicting the Comfortable! John publicly condemned Herod and Herodias’ marriage as being based in murder and coveting. Herodias was outraged, but Herod recognized the wisdom and insights of John, so threw him into a dungeon, but kept John alive as a possession of faith. Then came King Herod’s Birthday, and his niece, daughter of his wife and brother, danced for his banquet. Her dancing was not like the dancing of David. Herod was so enflamed with lust for his own step-daughter, King Herod offered her half of Israel! But, remember this was not a holy feast. This was not Feeding the 5000, or celebration of Communion. This was a Bacchanalia celebration, of the power of King Herod Under the Roman Empire. So the final course of the night was not a sweet delicacy, not an extravagance of fruit, a dessert of Jello, Chocolate or pastry, but the grotesque severed head of John the Baptist displayed on a Silver Platter. We make a great deal of beginnings, Weddings, Baptisms, Confirmations, where the vows we take, are declarations for us to live into. It is one thing to be able to say that we renounce evil and embrace the grace of God; to claim Jesus Christ is my Lord & Savior. It is another, to live life with all the temptations and struggles to win, that surround us, but to choose to trust God and rely only on God’s grace.

"A Different Alternative" July 01, 2018

2nd Samuel 5:1-8 Mark 6: 1-13 We come for Worship, Baptism, Communion, and our task is not Political Editorial, not to convince you of opinion, AND not simply for the Business of the Church. “The Word Of God” is too important, our need to be comforted, challenged in faith too great, for us to be divided. As The Church in this place and time, as The Body of Christ, our purpose is A DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVE, to preach the Word of God, so as to go out to share with the world that The Kingdom of God is at Hand! Over recent years leaders humanity has become divisive and divided. 2nd Samuel describes the Ancient Nation of Israel in Divisive times. After the time of Moses and Judges, the Tribes banded together demanding a King, and they chose Saul. But Saul was not a good King, Saul believed only in himself not God, so the Prophet Samuel anointed the Shepherd boy David ALSO. Civil War erupted between those who supported Saul and those who supported David, as Nation & people were broken. Afterwards, King Saul and his son Jonathan lay dead, but the divisions and brokenness would not heal just because Saul was gone. David needed to create a new Nation, a new People, with a new Capital. Different from their first experience, which the Bible describes as Saul was Elected Over the People, this passage began, “And the people came to David, saying we are bone of bone”, in grassroots support. David realized that if he chose a city of Saul’s Kingdom, it would send a message; if he chose a City aligned with his lineage, it would be equally divisive; he needed a DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVE. Smack dab in the very Center of the territory of Israel was an ancient Canaanite City called “Jebus”, their people the Jebusites! Jebus did not belong to David’s followers, and did not belong to Saul’s, it was no man’s land for Israel. Except that Jebus had an amazing fortification, ancient stone walls had been built the stones 6-8 feet across, laid out in concentric circles surrounding the city like a bulls eye. The Walls were 50 feet high, and built atop a Plateau on Mount Moriah, the Guards of the Jebusites could see advancing armies days away. When this happened, the Jebusites cemented rocks into the gates, making an impenetrable series of walls. If it should happen that invaders broke through one barrier, they were then trapped between that and the next, where archers could shoot down on them from both sides, wall upon wall, over and over, before ever reaching the city. So if you are David and you want to capture this City, there are no Doors and no windows, the Walls are 6 feet thick stone 50 feet high, and if you could even breach one, there was another and another… How do you gain entrance? Eighteen months ago Wesley John’s Grandfather who is of the Order of Free Masons, found the means for me to go to Israel as your Pastor. While I am not big on Tourist sites, you feel greatly moved by standing on the Mountain where they believe Elijah had his contest with the 500 Priests of Baal; and to see a Fishermen’s Sail Boat from the Sea of Galilee that had been Carbon Dated to the time of Jesus, Peter, James, John and to pray beneath 2000 year old Olive Trees in what is supposed to be The Garden at Gethsemane, as well as, at the Stone tablet where they believe the body of Jesus was taken down from the Cross. But for me, what was most inspiring was a DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVE from tourist shops and restaurants. The Jebusites, had found a Stream from the top of the mountain, outside the walls, which drained into a cave. So we put on swimsuits, the water at first just ankle deep, got deeper and deeper until chest deep and came up inside the city in a pool, that supplied the city’s fresh water. From the time of the Jebusites, throughout the history of Jerusalem, and the Greek and Roman occupations, including the time of Jesus of Nazareth, the water passing through limestone had created an effervescence, which was to have had healing powers. Later this was named “The Pool of Siloam”. The reference to the Blind and the Lame, is that the Blind and the Lame, seeking salvation would have been the only ones present at the Pool when David came up inside and captured the City! That works for King David uniting a Nation thousands of years ago by military capture of a Canaanite Neutral turf, but what do we do when friends and neighbors, coworkers and family only argue, refuse to believe anything other than themselves? Jesus came to his home Village. While many interpret this, as being a wonderful homecoming, I believe there is something different going on here. Jesus is not described as Joseph the Carpenter’s son! He is described as “Son of Mary”, clearly the old rumors about her conceiving Jesus before she married had followed Jesus all his life. Many knew him as a stone and wood carver, a rough contractor, whose hands were worn and rough, blistered and cut. How could hands like that, ever heal a 12 year old child, a leper, or a woman who had had constant bleeding for years or touch the tongue of a man unable to speak? They doubted him. Scoffed “Where did he ever get this stuff?” The text describes Jesus could not accomplish any great miracles there, only healing a few people. In cultures based on US vs THEM, shame, guilt and ridicule become common, the attitude is that if I give you any encouragement, that is taking power away from me. There is vital importance when Ministers, Elders and Deacons are installed that we ask the congregation for a Vow to trust the leadership of this person. In Baptism, that we vow to pray for this family and individual. Without that support, none of us can do anything. Personally, I read this section of Mark as a wonderful joke from Jesus… When no one believed in Jesus, he chose a DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVE, he sent out his disciples two by two granting them power and authority to preach and teach and cast out demons, to heal diseases, and to make a difference. BUT recall who the Disciples were, Most of these were fishermen, not like those of us who have a new Fly Reel, or Boston Whaler, but those who spent their entire lives, night and day fishing. Fish oil saturated in their clothes and skin, they reek of old fish! And Judas paired with Matthew a Tax Collector, wouldn’t those two be especially welcome when showing up on your doorstep! But, they each knew, Jesus believed in them! They believed, that HE believed, they could do miracles! Scholars often identify the Gospel of Mark as having a “Messianic Secret” as a literary device that Jesus/ the world have to discover who/what is the Son of God. I believe, that more than a literary device, this Messianic Secret is a theological point. Until people believe in The Messiah, they miss the secret: The Kingdom of God and power of God’s love is available to us all, here and now. God believes in You! Frederick Buechner once wrote of his encounter with a Christian Healer named Agnes Sanford. She described the image of Jesus standing in Worship services in Churches throughout the world, BUT she said in her vision he had both of his hands tied behind his back, because the ministers and those in the churches, did not expect anything to happen and did not ask him to. And the most amazing thing, is that when people hear that story, whether Ministers of Church members, we each nod our head in our own identification.