MLK Day 2013: The Joy of Celebrating

Some things haven't changed

As a teenager in Baton Rouge, LA -- in the mid 1960‘s -- our family was a little out of the church-going habit for awhile.  A friend kept trying to get me to go to her church.  She could talk very enthusiastically about Jesus and salvation and things like that.  My parents weren’t all that big on us going to church. But one day, I got into some serious trouble at home when I tried out a word that my friend used freely -- an “n” word referring to people who, at that time, were not welcome by the people who lived in our all-white neighborhood to go to our all-white school.  Indeed, another friend justified her family's objection to integrated schools because they "knew" that it was a scientific fact that "Negroes are not fully human."

At about the same time, a white Southern Baptist pastor -- a kind and courageous man I would meet a few years later in Dallas TX -- was being ostracized by Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge because his congregation did not want to have as their pastor someone who was involved in the Civil Rights movement.  This pastor wouldn’t be quiet about liberty and justice for all from the pulpit.*

These are business as usual stories. Nothing unusual here. In the 60’s it was dangerous to your job to speak up for racial equality, and it was normal for churches and church people to say that God and the Bible blessed segregation and endorsed white supremacy.  None of this is news.

It is also not news that, in most white communities and white congregations, MLK day is "celebrated" by a few congregations. They have some idea that King was a good man, and that celebrating him somehow relates to faith, so it's is a good idea. I guess they have not been personally inspired by King's message and courageous actions and his inspiring legacy. They have not been justice-deprived or bound by laws and traditions that benefit other people and ask them to wait for their turn.  How can they celebrate King well when they have no idea what there truly is to celebrate?

Yesterday, business as usual came to a blessed end for me.  In the 60th year of my life -- and in the 20th year of my ordination -- I finally got to spend Martin Luther King Sunday yesterday in a congregation truly celebrating the words and work of Dr. King.  A group of people -- black and white -- began our worship service with a spoken prelude of King's prophetic words.  The choir processed in with all of us singing "Lift Every Voice" and it was magnificent.  A young black woman, dressed in colorful cloth, read her chosen excerpt from King's "Letter From a Birmingham Jail" as part of the children's time, and the little children were silently attentive. In word and song and prayer, we celebrated King, we celebrated Jesus' gift of bread and cup, and we celebrated The Beloved Community.

In the congregation were blacks who marched with King.  Absent yesterday from the congregation were those who had traveled to Washington D.C. to celebrate the second-term inauguration of Barack Obama.

In the congregation were parents who, back in the day, struggled to explain to their children why they couldn't take them to City Park in New Orleans because they wouldn't be allowed to ride the little train.  Yesterday, they could celebrate because, today, their grandchildren are just some of the kids on the train.

In the worshipping community yesterday were gay couples who had given up on church until they found this one. Here, they can be out and proud in our congregation. They can serve here and not be afraid that the sermon will sneak a bite of them.  Now, in some states, they can be legally married. 

And there was me -- their very-blessed interim pastor -- whose American Baptist seminary hadn't minded receiving tuition money from women earning their M.Div. degree there.  However, when she and the other recently-graduated women received only rejection letters from ABC churches, the seminary said that there was nothing they could do about so many congregations who just weren't ready to call female pastors.  

And so there we were. Together.  Celebrating because we had a lot to celebrate.  It's not quite the Promised Land -- not yet.  But it was a really fine and generous glimpse.  Thanks be to God!

[ * Bruce Lowe continued to advocate for equality for all.  That Dallas church where we met, Royal Lane Baptist Church recently honored 97 year old Bruce and his spouse, Anna Marie, for their dedication to creating a place at the table for everyone.]

Sunday Sermon: Hope Shall Bloom

Hope Shall Bloom

Luke 3:7-18; Zephaniah 3:14-20

For Central St. Matthew UCC, New Orleans, LA

I confess: I had a hard time with this one.

I had a sermon -- it was about the hoops we jump through instead of living out hope -- but then, 20 little children were killed in their school, along with six of their teachers and administrators on Friday, so Thursday’s sermon idea is not going to preach today.

I don’t claim to know, but I wonder how news of a mass shooting in a school affects this congregation.

Many of you are teachers, retired teachers, administrators, associated with children and youth in learning situations. 

And then, there’s Katrina, a devastation that happened about the time that those 20 precious children at Sandy Hook were born. Are you thinking:  We know the names and ages of each of these children and we know that there were 20 of them.  It is unknown how many people lost their lives in Katrina, so who knows how many were children?  Dozens? Hundreds?

You all know all too well the despair of a tragedy unfolding that cannot be contained or stopped no matter how loud the screams. 

You know that those who initially get hit -- who make the news the first day -- the first week -- they are just the first ones affected -- the circle of pain and sorrow spreads out from there, in ever-widening circles.  

You know that when someone says that things will never be the same after this, that is true.  

You know the despair and grief that is PARTICULAR to tragedies that could have been prevented, if only ... someone ... had ... done what could have been done.

So, as your pastor at this time, I wonder how you are doing?  Not only how are you doing with this week’s news, but how are you doing seven years since tragedy came to New Orleans.

It’s OK to admit that it’s not all OK.  It’s OK to say that it’s not fixed -- that restoration is not complete -- whether of buildings or people or relationships.

You might imagine the road ahead for the parents of the children who were killed. A child’s death is a heavy heavy stress on the parents’ marriage.  What about the grief of siblings and classmates?

At what point will this CT community be most tempted to give up?  When will it be most difficult for them to know “God with us” and to make sense of how a loving God can co-exist with life-robbing evil and hearts breaking?  You all might have some idea of how this will go.

You may also have an idea of where hope is when things looks scariest.

Fred Rogers:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world."

You know all about the helpers.  You are the helpers.  You host and feed the helpers.  Helpers show us hope, blooming.  

“What then should WE do?” today . . . 

It’s an old story It’s the story that prepares the way for “God With Us.”  In a certain desert, when John the Baptist finally got his curiosity-seeking “congregation” to see a picture of how messed up their world is, and how messed up they are -- when they finally saw the futility of their usual approaches and strategies -- when they were ready to repent -- change their minds -- change their direction -- finally take some kind of ACTION, it all came down to one question:

“What then should we do?” now . . . 

The answer (a lot like Mr. Rogers):

“Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” ¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” ¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

“What then should we do?” 

Simply put (you know this! You do this!): Do acts of justice and compassion and kindness. We don’t ask “What would Jesus do?” because, from this side of the manger, we know what Jesus DID.  And where the Jesus way becomes our way, hope shall bloom. 

Each of us has something we can do in response to this tragedy. For someone, it might be sending a card to that school or to our UCC church in Newtown. For someone else, it might be writing letters to Congress.  Someone else might make a new or renewed commitment to a local school or to neighborhood children. 

Whatever else we do, we simply must -- finally -- address the big picture.  “We must be concerned not merely about who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers.”  That was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King -- in 1963 -- after the killing of four innocent young girls in a church bombing.  Almost 50 years ago, a prophet of our time called it, named it, showed us where hope COULD bloom:  “We must be concerned not merely about who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers.”

It will go on.  An average of 8 children and teenagers are killed by gunfire in the U.S. every day.  Who will they be today?  Who will they be tomorrow?

It’s time to get serious about all the conditions

that make the U.S. the leading nation -- by far -- in gun violence.

If we can’t agree on how to control access to guns,

can we find common ground in providing better access to mental health care?

Twenty little children didn’t come home on Friday to play outside, to watch cartoons on Saturday, to go to Sunday School today.  Six adult teachers and administrators lost their lives.  

See what we have become. Hear the cries of mothers everywhere, grieving for children we have lost and for children we don’t want to lose to a world gone mad.  

Their cries remind us that God loved THIS VERY WORLD so much to send his own child into this world.  The mother who placed him in the manger also saw him die on the cross.

Christmas Eve is not the end of the story, but neither does the story end with “the massacre of the innocents.”  We are Easter people.  “In the end neither Herod, or Pilate, or even the Devil himself was able to stop God’s plan. We are not helpless before the powers of this world. No matter what power evil and sadness has in the world – and -- [know this] -- it’s a temporary and dying power – it cannot stop God’s goodness, and love, and forgiveness, and redemption ... [God’s realm -- our home -- is where hope blooms, where joy is born, where love grows, where peace is waged] whatever sorrows or loneliness or memories or illness befall us, during this season or any season. Whatever your circumstance at Christmas, Christ was born for you.”  

Amen.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

• Grateful for the concluding words I was looking for, the last two paragraphs were adapted from and quoted from Pastor Joelle Coville-Hanson, a UCC pastor and one of my RevGalBlogPals from Ridgeway Iowa.  
• This sermon was also strongly influenced by sermons by Amy Peden Haynie (about what we can do) and Rev Dr Mom (the MLK quote), also two of my RevGal sisters.
• I got to host, and be nourished by, two RevGal 11th Hour Preacher Parties that kept us going this weekend, one on Friday and one on Saturday.  Thanks to all of you!

Putting the Christ in Christmas, if you please

Adapted slightly from my church newsletter article archives of December 2010, wherein I offered the following modest proposal:  

QUIT talking about putting the Christ back into Christmas! (please????)

Yes, that's coming from this pastor, duly ordained as a minister of the gospel, Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and -- before you ask -- I do love Christmas.  I love the Christmas carols, the wonderful smells, the delicious food, the colorful lights, the family gatherings, the decorated church and homes, the Advent wreath, the Bible story, and I love celebrating the birthday of Jesus.  So, it's not that I have one thing against Christ or Christmas!  I'm asking you to quit fighting a "war on Christmas" and see the season in a new way:

• Be logical:  Christmas (the word) always has Christ (the first syllable) in it.  You can't take the Christ out of Christmas, even if you try!
• Be historically informed:  If it irritates or offends you to see Christmas spelled as Xmas, please know that X is not our letter X.  X is really χ, the Greek letter "chi" (pronounced KIE, rhymes with "pie") which is the first letter of the Greek word "Christos" meaning "anointed".  χ began to be used as a shorthand way to write Christ's name in 16th century Europe by monks and scholars who knew the Greek origins of using χ.  Xmas does keep the Christ in Christmas and is not a sign of disrespect.  Remember that no one ever called Jesus Christ by his English name anyway!
• Be polite:  When a server or a salesperson or a checkout helper says "Happy Holidays" it is not our cue to teach them a lesson by replying, with force, "Merry Christmas!" I heard a great quote recently:  "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit and wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad."  As Christians, what we proclaim is not Christmas; what we proclaim is Jesus Christ. They'll know we are Christians by our love, not because we put them in their place.  If you do have people you must teach, then:
• Be accurate:  The season we Christians celebrate before December 24/25 is not Christmas, but Advent.  If we are going to teach Christian Christmas tradition, then we would teach that Christian Christmas ("Merry Christmas!") begins on Dec. 25, or when the Christ candle is lit on Christmas Eve.  Or . . . go ahead and be merry, not accurate!
• Be open:  People celebrate a variety of holidays during this season.  Some people celebrate more than one.  We like to go ahead and celebrate Christmas (early!), so why not be open to the many celebrations (plural) of the season:  Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, the day the boss gave you a half day off for the Christmas party, your Christmas vacation days from work.  Expand!  Jesus did.  "Happy holidays" spreads the joy!
• Be doers of the word and not hearers (or talkers) only (see James 1:22 & Matthew 7:24-27):  Let's keep Christmas holy in the things we do.  Attend worship regularly.  Make celebrations more about love than things.  Spend more time than money on loved ones.  Make a gift to the mitten tree at church. Dust off your Bible and bring it to church.  Come back to Sunday School again.  Put the Christ back into everyday life, not just back into Christmas.
• Lighten up!  Share the spirit of the season, which is full of fantastic things that Jesus himself did not ordain specifically.  Enjoy the holidays, as many holly-jolly-holidays as you are offered or can take for yourself. 

I look forward to Christmas Eve at our church (or yours!) as we celebrate Christmas together!

What I Know With 10 Days to Go

Ruby, resting up for the big adventure!

September 30 is my last Sunday serving as Interim Senior Pastor of my current congregation.  For the first time in 19 years of clergy life, I am leaving a ministry setting without knowing where the next ministry setting will be, or if there will be a "next ministry setting" at all.

"What are you going to do?" I get asked this a lot.  "Where will you go?"  I don't have many answers to "What's next?"

I do know that I am moving.  My house is for sale.  I have given away lots of stuff.  I still have too much stuff. This I do know!

I do know that this interim ministry is ending as it needs to  and when it had to.  The work was hard and good. And hard.  A lot.  The congregation worked very hard, and is still working.  Hindsight is helping us all to see how far we have come. We are finding some hope in that.

I do know that on October 1, I will pack up the cat and some stuff in my smallish car and drive to Baton Rouge and be there for awhile, or longer.  It has been 25 years since I've lived in my native Texas or in my adopted Louisiana. That adds up to 25 years in Ohio and Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia, Dayton, Bradford County (PA), and the Lehigh Valley (PA).  The kids were 2, 8, and 9 when we moved. We were married back then, too.  One seminary education, seven congregations, and a few serious "life-quakes" later, it's just me and a cat named Ruby taking on this new adventure.

I do know that there is a chance I will be in a ministry setting somewhere in the area.  I am in "that dance" right now with a couple of places.  I will be fine if one of them works out.  Even excited.  I'm not burned out. Just done.  Here.

I am counting on having other options, one of which could be a return to my first career as a medical technologist.  Another wild card dream job or two are also swirling around in the mix.

That's all I know about what happens on, and after, October 1.

Ten days -- and two Sundays -- to GO.  I'm going. Yep. I really am.

Friday Five: 'Tis a Gift to Be Simple

Photo by my niece, Laura Nichols, the day I let her use my camera!

Today's RevGalBlogPals Friday Five is courtesy of kathrynzj who is coming off of a week of vacation and is interested in streamlining her life. She invites us to respond to this question:

What are 5 things you do or things you have bought that have made your life simpler or easier?

That's EASY!

1)  Kindle Touch -- Let me count the ways!

• Easier to hold than a traditional book and easier on the eyes.
• Less space to keep books. 
• Lots of free and very very inexpensive books to have and others to borrow.
• Can carry around a Bible (or more) and even simple liturgies for home Communions or hospital crises.
• For sermons, it's the best -- simple & sleek!  (Ditto about funerals and weddings)  I like the leather case that my sister gave me. 

2) Google Drive (formerly Google Docs) -- I am trying to get all of my documents into two backup places and this is one of them. (The other is an external hard drive that I back up once a week.)  In Google Drive, I get 5 GB for free and I haven't used all of that.  After that, it will be $2.50 a month, which I think will still be worth the peace of mind.

3) Zen Habits blog -- Inspiration for gentleness and simplicity. Simplify and Savor Life or 72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life would be good places to find ideas for today's topic.

4) Be More With Less blog -- More good ideas and challenges for simplifying and downsizing. I think it would be great to try 50 Days with 100 Things.

5) Gluten Free (and now almost) Grain Free Eating: At first glance, this might sound more complicated and more trouble than it's worth. Aside from the health benefits (for me -- your mileage may vary), there are simplicity benefits. Think about it:  there are whole sections of the grocery store that I no longer need to mess with.  Searching a menu is easier.  I am "limited" to making choices of among things that are less processed and have fewer ingredients, which itself is probably healthier.   The Joy of Limitations may not appeal to everyone, but my INFP personality finds my life a whole lot simpler when I live within certain limitations.

BONUS: Something I wish I could manage better:  Right now I am trying to manage getting ready to move.  I am ready to downsize and I know what I want/need to get rid of. The challenge:  how to get rid of what I am ready to let go of.  Sell? (How?) Donate? (To whom?) I wish I could do it better and (please) a whole lot faster.

Friday Five: What To Take Edition

RevGal Sally writes this for today's Friday Five:  "We are packing to move, boxes are everywhere, stuff has been taken to charity shops, more needs to go to the tip. Once again I am asking myself where all this stuff has come from, once again I'm thinking that I should really reduce and simplify.

So bearing in mind you are allowed the Bible, a bed + linen, a functioning kitchen, and a comfy chair, clothes within reason ( no dragging last centuries wardrobe in case), and probably essential today a lap-top OR computer  choose one from each of the following as your luxuries:

1. A book
2. A piece of music (albums/ sets allowed)
3. Piece of electronic/ tech equipment
4. luxury item of clothing
5. One item of your choice- it can be as normal or as weird as you like"


* * * * * * * * 
Well, guess what?!  I, too, am donating and selling things in anticipation of a possible (probable?) move, and I am also asking myself where this stuff came from, and -- yes -- attempting to simplify.  You'd think simplifying would be simple, but no.  


So, from Sally's list, here's are the luxuries I would choose:


1. BOOK:  The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron


2. PIECE OF MUSIC:  Loreena McKennitt Book of Secrets


3. PIECE OF ELECTRONIC/TECH EQUIPMENT:  My Kindle Touch (which would open up #1 & #2)


4. LUXURY ITEM OF CLOTHING: Plaid Flannel Robe (hey, that, plus the rest it implies is luxury to me!)


5.  ITEM OF CHOICE:  Absolutely, it would be CANDLES!

Friday Five: Dream, Girls!

Jan at Yearning for God has been studying Carl Jung and dreams with a group of friends. She invites us to play today's RevGalBlogPals Friday Five by asking some dreamy questions:


Everyone dreams: Do you remember your dreams? How often?
Yes, I almost always remember my dreams. I dream in color and sound and am aware of feelings in the dreams.

Did you or do you have a recurring dream? Share it, if you'd like.
Over my lifetime, I've had four memorable recurring dreams, sequentially through my life, it seems.  My earliest dream memory was a vivid abandonment recurring dream. The second was an ominous prophetic recurring dream. The third was a FairyTale-esque recurring dream. This one pretty much stopped at the time of the end of a 23 year marriage, 15 years ago.  However, I did have one of these fairly recently.

Have you ever had recurring themes or images in dreams? Examples?
This involves my most recent of the four recurring dreams.  I have been having these since the time that there was not to be another actual pregnancy or baby in real life, and I have it even now.  One variation involves discovering I am pregnant -- in my dream I can feel the baby movement in me -- and being totally amazed and delighted by this.  Another variation involves a baby -- always an infant girl.  She is mine -- biologically, or at least to take care of  -- and sometimes, in the dream, that is challenging, but most often it is peaceful and happy. 

Do you day dream? About what?
Yes. Most often I daydream about what miracles might be possible.

What are your dreams/hopes/goals for the future?
More pleasure, more play, more health and energy, more creativity and enjoying the gifts in each day.  I hear that sounding pretty vague with a tinge of Pollyanna.  But, at the end (I hope and pray it's the end) of a way-too-long period of drama and angst and trying too hard at things that bore little or no fruit  -- and blaming myself far too much -- I'm ready for more JOY!  

Friday Five: Rambling Randomness

Today's RevGalBlogPal Friday Five is from revkjarla who offers us this Friday Five in honor of spontaneous thinking!
So...


1.  What religion/faith besides yours captures your curiousity and why? 
Neo-paganism, I think, because it's earthy, celebrative, and diverse. 

2.  What is the first or most memorable pop song you ever learned as a kid? 
Oh gee, I grew up in the early 60's so my life played out to all the Beatles songs. But the first one I remember was a real oldie from the 50's:  "Que Sera, Sera" by Doris Day.


3.  If God were a color.....(finish this sentence creatively) ... there would have been an "only begotten" gay child!  

4.  If you were going to make a sandwich right now for lunch, and you magically had all the items you need for it, what would that sandwich be?  
A gluten free wrap with Chipotle-esque ingredients: grilled meat, black beans, seasoned rice, multiple salsas, avocado, cheese and sour cream. I'll have some Sangria with that!


5.  How are you doing?  Really, how are you? 
Considering everything -- and by "everything" I mean multitudes of unbloggable church-related stuff -- I'm doing very well, thank you very much.  In the midst of feeling confused and sad and impotent, I also am very excited about a future that has not been revealed.  And I have a massage appointment today!


Bonus:  What are you enjoying/loving right now? 

I'm going with a "general" right now instead of a "right this very minute" right now:
Sunny days, pictures and videos of my grandson, good food and a little wine with good friends on a regular basis, and getting back to sewing some stuff.

Friday Five: The Ups, The Downs, and The Cutely

For todays' RevGalBlogPal Friday Five, Sally prompts us to quickly answer these five questions:

What has encouraged you?
Relating to congregational life: A group of people are now having honest and open and reasonably respectful conversations about difficult things.

What has challenged you?
Relating to that same congregational life: The conversations, while honest and open and respectful, are steeped in "logical" misinformation and inability to see around the next corner. Helping to facilitate these conversations and feed them digestible information is challenging. Perhaps most challenging is that it feels important (even essential) to celebrate progress, but that is not in the local culture DNA, where they seem to be stuck in lament and criticism mode.

What has inspired you?
The people who "GET" me!  And they let me know that they get me. And they play along.  That literally has breathed life into me this week.

What has made you smile?
The above video from Amy's blog:  I have smiled every time I watch Daniel, the wonderful grandchild, saying "Happy Birthday, Papa" for his dad's birthday this week.  He also said "Bye Bye YaYa" to me on the phone the other day just as cutely.  Yes, "cutely" is a word, and he's the poster kid!  My own (now grown) kids still show up with the "cutely" on a regular basis.  They are each good for a smile!

What has brought a lump to your throat or a tear to your eye in a good way?
Last week's Confirmation Sunday, definitely.  God's still speaking voice and still-calling Spirit blesses and surprises our best, and worst, attempts at being the church.

Sunday Sermon: See the Light

See the Light of God Revealed
John 20:19-31; 1 John 1:1-2:2
April 15, 2012

Our gospel today gives us a picture of a church.
It’s a church which had no fancy organ, or even an old upright piano.
No choir. No pastor, even.
In fact, it’s a picture of a most miserable little gathering – how could they even take upon itself the name, “church.” We see the disciples of Jesus, gathered after his resurrection. Here, is the church at its worst — “scarred, disheartened, and defensive.”[Tom Long]
How can these fearful followers even be expected to keep on FOLLOWING a Jesus who had disappeared – not just dead but dead and gone – gone from their sight.

If only they could see him . . .

Seeing is believing -- right?

We just celebrated “He is risen!” last Sunday.  Just like those disciples -- we have been told that Jesus is alive!  Mary Magdalene went and told us, just as she “went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord.  She also told them what he had said to her.”  The disciples that Upper Room mourned that Jesus was dead and gone; we celebrate that he is risen indeed!

How can they believe in a risen Christ they haven’t seen?  
How can we?

And then there’s Thomas -- we know him as “Doubting Thomas” – we might more accurately call him “Honest Thomas” – he told the truth about his desire to see Jesus – and he told the truth about what it would take for him to believe – nothing less than seeing the nail scars in Jesus’ hands and touching them himself.  

If only Thomas could see Jesus for himself . . .

Thomas wasn’t the only disciple who needed proof – ALL of the disciples were stuck in disbelief until they could see Jesus for themselves.   Thomas was the only one who admitted his need for proof – Thomas was the only one saying what is obvious to us – seeing is believing.

Friday Five: Odds & Ends

RevGal Sally invites us to play this week's Friday Five:

I have had a ridiculously busy week so apologies for the fact that this is rushed and even a bit late, but here goes, even in the busyness of the week what has

1. Inspired you
2. Challenged you
3. Made you smile
4. Made you cross/ made you want to weep
5.Kept you going?


Sally, thanks! I've been busy, too, but not too busy today to play along.

1. What has inspired me:  I was inspired by the Confirmation classes on Monday night. The younger class is not into it, even yet, but they keep coming and trying to figure it out. The second year class has formed a group, is interested in church life and is responsive to their pastors. They are so full of potential and energy and they, at least at the moment, want to spend some of that on/at church.

2. What has challenged me:  A conversation with a beloved young relative who is choosing a non-traditional path and part of that is being unashamedly "not Christian" although exceedingly Christ-like.  I am challenged to be a whole lot more clear on the desired outcome of my own life and ministry. I'm also challenged about my role in "church as usual" even though that's not what I want either.

3.  What has made me smile:  One goofy thing: This cat thing in the picture above. It sits on the middle of my mom's dining room table. During the day, its hand waves up and down because of that solar cell.  Waving hello . . . or good-bye . . . ? ? ?

4:  What made me want to weep:  The struggles of another beloved young relative.

5:  What kept me going:  VACATION!  I arrived in Baton Rouge Tuesday about noon and have been hanging out with that branch of my family until I go to New Orleans tomorrow to get on the big boat for BE 5!  The anticipation of ten days of vacation & continuing ed, a little Cajun Country time, sun, laughter . . . that's what's been keeping me going for awhile now.

A-HA!

Welcome 2012!  A New Year brings a new resolve to write the blog more regularly.  After spending the last few days trying to decide when and how to jump back into the blog pond, here comes inspiration from this brand new Friday Five, thanks to kathrynzj at RevGalBlogPals.

The question:  What are five (more or less) of your "A-ha" moments.  Where have you had a moment of clarity?

Some of the many "A-HA!" moments that have brought light and hope to my world:

• Don't take anything personally.  Receiving someone seriously (respectfully, attentively) is more helpful.  Whether it's a cut-to-the-heart criticism or a glowing compliment, it says much more about the one who delivers it than the one to whom it is delivered.  This "a-ha" was courtesy of Don Miguel Ruiz' book The Four Agreements.  Each is simple (not necessarily easy) and "a-ha"-inducing: 

Be Impeccable With Your Words

Don't Take Anything Personally

Don't Make Assumptions

Always Do Your Best

• I am still standing.  The title of one of my favorite Elton John songs, "I'm Still Standing" could be the title of the "a-ha" moment I had during one particularly dark moment as I was living through the aftermath of the end of my 23-year marriage. I couldn't see even as far as the next moment. No way could I figure out what I would do or how I could make it financially, emotionally, physically, professionally -- you name it. It all seemed hopeless and empty.  And then I took an honest, more objective, inventory of what was really there.  I had food in the house; I had a house to live in; I had children who loved me and who hadn't rejected me; I could count on some friends to be friends; I had a job (two jobs actually!) and income capability . . . the list probably went on, but it didn't need to.  It wasn't even about "counting your blessings" but rather seeing all that is there rather than what isn't there.

•  I'm just not that into . . . Christianity.  The "a-ha" was finding out that neither was Jesus.  Jesus was a Jewish rabbi and carpenter who predated Christianity.  Jesus showed us what God is like, not what religion should be about.  Jesus embodied life and love, not law and rules.  Jesus welcomed and included and invited and turned things upside-down, all the while pissing off the powers-that-be and the religious apologists and traditionalists.  A-ha!  Maybe it's OK to be a Jesus-called, Christ-devoted pastor serving the institutional church and appreciating church history, and still not be (too much) into the religion of Christianity. 

• I'm more suited for interim ministry than settled pastorates.  It turns out that it is possible to be successful by certain standards, and still be unfaithful to the real me.  So, now I am through measuring "ministry success" by particular accomplishments or by how well-received I am in congregations I serve. I have been very blessed in each setting in different ways.  But in interim ministry, I am more ME, more authentic and free, and I have more fun and get to play games.  A-ha!  Maybe those I serve will be more free, too!

• I'm older than I thought I was!  I know very well that I'm 58 years old, but when I got an invitation to the denomination's retirement planning seminar -- two years ago! -- and realized that invitation wasn't extended at all prematurely, it was a real, and not-altogether-unpleasant, "a-ha" moment. You mean I get to be this age and still feel this good and enjoy life this much?!  WOW!

Living Messages

Sermon for Oct. 16, 2011
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Exodus 33:12-23
Matthew 22:15-22

On one end of our story today, we see Moses – begging for a glimpse of God.  And on the other end of the story we have the early church in Thessalonica – waiting – expectantly – for Jesus to return as promised.

Just a glimpse – pleaded Moses.

Soon and very soon – we are going to see Jesus – have said GENERATIONS of Jesus followers.

Like Moses, if we are going to step out in faith, if we are going to take this trip with God, we want to KNOW that God goes with us.  Moses even says, “Hey God, if you aren’t really going to go with us, just let us stay here.”  And EVEN WITH God’s reassurance that God will go with us, and give us peace – Moses wants more – something more concrete.  Moses wants to see God in all of God’s glory.

Now, we know the rest of the story – what God will and will not do to reveal God’s Self to Moses.  God will let Moses get a glimpse of God’s backside, but that’s all.  That’s hardly God’s glory revealed completely.

And we also know that – as of October 16, 2011 at (whatever time) – what the Thessalonians expected in the return of Jesus – and what we have expected in the second coming of Jesus has not happened – at least as far as we know.  Yet, the desire to SEE JESUS – that longing that preoccupied the Thessalonians and others in the early church – that longing continues to this day – some TWO THOUSAND YEARS later.

Because – as Moses well knew – the journey with God is a long journey for us instant-gratification humans.  And – as the Thessalonians well knew – the way of Jesus is not always easy or smooth.

You probably know more about the story of Moses than you might about the Thessalonians and Paul – so let me give you the background.  One Bible trivia fact about the Bible book of 1 Thessalonians is that it was likely written before any other book of the New Testament.  Thessalonica was the largest city and capital of the province of Macedonia.  Paul visited there on his second missionary journey.  Paul went to the Jewish synagogue and preached there for three Sabbaths.  By that time, many had come to believe the gospel – including Jews, pagans, and some leading women of the city.

That sounds great, but it’s also a problem for the powers that be.  For you see, it wasn’t long before that, that a certain Jewish rabbi named Jesus had done something very similar.  Jesus had captivated the attention of many people of HIS day.  Jesus painted a picture of what the Kingdom of God is like – and Jesus himself was a picture of what God’s will on earth looks like when a human being lives as God intended.  People who are attracted to God’s realm are the strangers who are welcomed, the hungry who are fed, the naked who are clothed, the women who immediately gain full personhood, the outcast who is invited into the core group, the children who are embraced and looked up to.  The good news of God’s realm IS good news for the least, the lost, the lonely and the love-starved.  And so Jesus is handed a coin – and confronted by the political leaders AND the religious leaders. To answer the question, "Should we pay taxes or not," Jesus spoke in the language that is very well understood by citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven – “Give to Caesar what it Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.”

The powers that be in Thessalonica saw people beginning to look at life differently – getting fired up over a new way – coming together to make a difference in the world that was the opposite of government ways of doing.  Love instead of demands.  Caring for the least instead of lining the pockets of the influential.  An economy that begins with the poor instead of the rich.  And the sure and certain knowledge that, while it is true that the image stamped on the government-minted coin is that of Caesar – the image indelibly stamped on human beings from the beginning of time is the image of God. 


[Some of the above paragraph from Nora Tubbs Tisdale, "What Makes a True Patriot" Day One, Oct. 9, 2008, quoting Dr. Albert Curry Winn]

The rest of the story is that the good news of Jesus Christ had been so powerfully preached and so openly received that the people had become – as the Bible says – “living messages” – the gospel no longer confined to a place or to words preached, but now proclaimed in the very lives of these new converts.  Paul was asked to leave – threatened really – and in order to preserve the good work that had begun in the community of believers, Paul left by night.

So their first pastor Paul – now gone – writes to them of his joy that they accepted his message.  Paul knows of their suffering. You can imagine the persecution they must have suffered when they began to live boldly as God’s agents of transformation and reconciliation – the trouble they must have faced as they were labeled as living messages of good news to women, to the poor, to the outcast.

You can just feel the peer pressure when they dared to oppose the Caesars of war and torture.

You can relate to what they endured when they confronted sexism and racism and homophobia and divisions of every kind.

You can just about feel how hard it was for them to leave behind making enemies and to stop being intolerant and to stop practicing economics that leave so many behind.

They were new creations.

The eyes of their hearts had been opened.

They now KNEW that they were stamped with the image of God – and they COULDN’T HELP being living, breathing messages of God’s liberation – convincing communicators of God’s love for ALL humankind (no exceptions).

They had soaked up their TRUE identities in Christ – and Paul thanks God – and thanks them – for their faith in God and their loving work – AND – for their firm hope in Jesus Christ.

Thessalonica might seem to have very little in common with [name our specific area] – our corner of the world – except for this:

There are still people – all kinds of people – who really do want to know if God is real. They would love to get a glimpse.  Some of these are religious people looking for a second coming of Jesus.  Some of these are people who look for spiritual ecstasy in drugs or sex or shopping or hoarding things &/or money.  Some of these are young people who long ago gave up looking to church to be a place for THEM to encounter God who speaks their language.  Some who want to know God are people who think they don’t have a place in church because of their gender, age, race, color, gender identity, sexual orientation or because they were born in New Jersey or Texas or some other flat land place.  And SOME people who have given up on the living God are people who still come to church – hoping, and praying, that God will appear – for real – in all of God’s glory.

This was as true in Thessalonica as it is today around here.

It is still as true now as it was then that the good news is good news for those who are perishing and foolishness for those who think they already have found a better way – which is often Caesar’s way or the way of another idol.  So, it will happen that the good news of Jesus Christ announcing the arrival of God’s realm will be met with everything from disbelief to outright anger and opposition.

It is also true – as true now as it was then – that a pastor – whether his name is Paul or her name is Sharon [or other pastor] – is only the pastor – only (on a good day) a messenger – ONE messenger of God’s claim on our lives, ONE messenger of the good news of the grace and forgiveness and call to discipleship that can be found by following Jesus Christ. A pastor is ONE messenger of God’s eternal desire for all people to live as one with justice and peace and freedom for all. A pastor is ONE messenger of the power that the Holy Spirit pours out upon a community FAITHFUL to gather – WILLING to be changed – the power there is where two or more are gathered with God’s agenda and priorities uppermost.

I understand the gratitude of Pastor Paul of Thessalonica because Pastor Sharon of the [X] United Church of Christ is ONLY the pastor – not the church – WE are the church.  When the pastor leaves the building – the church does not cease – the good news does not stop being told – and when a pastor enters the building – that lets no one off the hook – FOR YOU, my friends – YOU – every day and in every way – YOU are the witness to what God is doing here at this church – what God is doing in the world – the love that God pours out on ALL the PEOPLE.  I hope you know that the faithful witness of good news is YOURS to share.  The gospel is a treasure that YOU bear to the world.  Not just me [and Pastor X] – but YOU – are called to be convincing communicators – living messages – of God’s permanent-ink image imprinted on each person from the beginning.

Preach the good news always – if necessary – use words. 

[quote often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, its origin is unknown]

Amen.