Tripp was sick and this Sunday he was slated to preach. On Friday I agreed to preach on Sunday. So no manuscript. However, I have posted the notes I preached from on my blog.
There was a good discussion during the discussion time after the sermon. One person said it was the craziest sermon I had preached. I believe that was meant to say that it was a good sermon.
Monday, February 26
Sunday, February 25
Reconciler Weekly Update
"To bow the head in sackcloth and in ashes, or rend the soul, such grief is not Lent's goal; but to be led to where God's glory flashes, his beauty to come near. Make clear, make clear, make clear where truth and light appear." -- Quittez, Pasteurs; The Episcopal Hymnal 1982
Lent may be a penitential season, but for me it's not about beating ourselves up or wallowing in a sense of our baseness. Rather, Lent is a time to recognize our brokenness and strive for greater wholeness. There's a lot of hope in Lent.
It's key that we know the aspects of ourselves that are unkind and uncharitable, that can hurt others. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 1 John 8 says: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Being able to recognize our shadow sides is key to both spiritual and psychological health. When we tell the truth to ourselves and another about our brokenness and/or wrong-doing, and accept responsibility for it, we begin to heal and move forward. That's hopeful.
Pastor Monte Johnson says that in Lent we allow ourselves to be un-done, in order to be re-done. In his Ash Wednesday homily, Monte said that in Lent we symbolically enter the desert and take a journey. Our trek parallels that of the Israelites, who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and Jesus's 40 days in the desert, where he fasted and was tempted by Satan.
In Lent we allow ourselves to be un-done, in order to be re-done.
We start by acknowledging our sinfulness and mortality on Ash Wednesday: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." We ask God to transform us; we seek a changed mind (metanoia). Over the next 40 days we venture to the desert -- a place of unknowns, a place of some peril -- to cleanse ourself and be transformed. Recognizing our shadow diminishes its power over us. As the days lengthen, we journey toward the light of Easter, when we celebrate Jesus's liberation of humanity from sin and death, through the cross and resurrection.
Like all liturgical seasons, Lent has its own unique character and purpose. Like the earth in winter, our souls need time to lie fallow, so new seeds will take root and grow. My hope is that we will experience Lent not as a time of doom and gloom but as an opportunity for genuine growth. There is a quiet excitement that comes along with waiting for spring, and seeing those first flowers unfurl.
I wish you a blessed, reflective, and hopeful Lent.
Laura+
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church includes this information under its entry on Lent:
"...In the Western Church the penitential character of Lent is reflected in various features in the liturgy, such as the use of purple vestments and the omission of the Alleluia...Lent is generally observed as a time of penance by abstaining from festivities, by almsgiving, and by devoting more than the usual time to religious exercises. Of recent years in the Western Church more emphasis has been placed on these aspects than on physical fasting..."
Larry notes: "If you would like to read up on the various spiritual disciplines, a good place to begin is Richard Fosters' book, The Celebration of Discipline. One of the pastors or someone in the congregation might be willing to lend a copy if you need to borrow one. Ask around."
Tripp has written a sheet with additional information about Lent that includes helpful information on fasting, and has posted in on the myspace site -- soon to be posted on the Reconciler blog.
Holy Week and Easter:
We are having joint worship services Holy Week and Easter Day with the Immanuel and St Elias Lutheran congregations. On Easter Sunday, we will not be having our regular evening service at 6:00 p.m., but will have a joint service with Immanuel at 10:30 a.m.
For Holy week, there will be a Maundy Thursday service at 7:30 p.m., a Good Friday service at 7:30 p.m., and an Easter Vigil service on Holy Saturday at 7:30 p.m. There will also be a festive reception following the Vigil. These are wonderful services, each with their own unique character and flavor. We hope you will join us for as many of them as you can.
If you are interested in taking part in lay leadership roles in any of the above services please talk with Laura, Larry or Tripp. Monte Johnson is asking for volunteers from all three congregations to read Scripture, help with artistic displays in the sanctuary and Founder's Hall (where part of the Vigil will take place and the post-Vigil reception will be held), and to help set up Founder's Hall for the Vigil and after the Vigil (for Easter Sunday). Also, if you would be interested in singing in the Immanuel Choir -- and are willing to attend at least two rehearsals, Wednedays at 7:30 at Immanuel -- let one of the pastors know. Thanks.
Bible Study:
Our Bible Study on Praying the Psalms resumes on February 28th. We will be looking at chapters 6 and 7. We meet in the chapel at 7:30 p.m. There is a prayer service with Immanuel at 7 p.m. that some of us have been attending and all are welcome to join.
Retreat:
Tripp has been in conversation with Prior Peter Funk at the Monastery of the Holy Cross in the Bridgeport area of Chicago. We are looking into the possibility of a one-day retreat -- probably a Saturday -- at the monastery. Let us know if you're interested. This is a great opportunity to worship and spend a quiet day within a community of Benedictine monks.
The Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell
for The Pastoral Team
The Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler
Lent may be a penitential season, but for me it's not about beating ourselves up or wallowing in a sense of our baseness. Rather, Lent is a time to recognize our brokenness and strive for greater wholeness. There's a lot of hope in Lent.
It's key that we know the aspects of ourselves that are unkind and uncharitable, that can hurt others. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 1 John 8 says: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Being able to recognize our shadow sides is key to both spiritual and psychological health. When we tell the truth to ourselves and another about our brokenness and/or wrong-doing, and accept responsibility for it, we begin to heal and move forward. That's hopeful.
Pastor Monte Johnson says that in Lent we allow ourselves to be un-done, in order to be re-done. In his Ash Wednesday homily, Monte said that in Lent we symbolically enter the desert and take a journey. Our trek parallels that of the Israelites, who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, and Jesus's 40 days in the desert, where he fasted and was tempted by Satan.
In Lent we allow ourselves to be un-done, in order to be re-done.
We start by acknowledging our sinfulness and mortality on Ash Wednesday: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." We ask God to transform us; we seek a changed mind (metanoia). Over the next 40 days we venture to the desert -- a place of unknowns, a place of some peril -- to cleanse ourself and be transformed. Recognizing our shadow diminishes its power over us. As the days lengthen, we journey toward the light of Easter, when we celebrate Jesus's liberation of humanity from sin and death, through the cross and resurrection.
Like all liturgical seasons, Lent has its own unique character and purpose. Like the earth in winter, our souls need time to lie fallow, so new seeds will take root and grow. My hope is that we will experience Lent not as a time of doom and gloom but as an opportunity for genuine growth. There is a quiet excitement that comes along with waiting for spring, and seeing those first flowers unfurl.
I wish you a blessed, reflective, and hopeful Lent.
Laura+
Announcements
Yet More about LentThe Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church includes this information under its entry on Lent:
"...In the Western Church the penitential character of Lent is reflected in various features in the liturgy, such as the use of purple vestments and the omission of the Alleluia...Lent is generally observed as a time of penance by abstaining from festivities, by almsgiving, and by devoting more than the usual time to religious exercises. Of recent years in the Western Church more emphasis has been placed on these aspects than on physical fasting..."
Larry notes: "If you would like to read up on the various spiritual disciplines, a good place to begin is Richard Fosters' book, The Celebration of Discipline. One of the pastors or someone in the congregation might be willing to lend a copy if you need to borrow one. Ask around."
Tripp has written a sheet with additional information about Lent that includes helpful information on fasting, and has posted in on the myspace site -- soon to be posted on the Reconciler blog.
Holy Week and Easter:
We are having joint worship services Holy Week and Easter Day with the Immanuel and St Elias Lutheran congregations. On Easter Sunday, we will not be having our regular evening service at 6:00 p.m., but will have a joint service with Immanuel at 10:30 a.m.
For Holy week, there will be a Maundy Thursday service at 7:30 p.m., a Good Friday service at 7:30 p.m., and an Easter Vigil service on Holy Saturday at 7:30 p.m. There will also be a festive reception following the Vigil. These are wonderful services, each with their own unique character and flavor. We hope you will join us for as many of them as you can.
If you are interested in taking part in lay leadership roles in any of the above services please talk with Laura, Larry or Tripp. Monte Johnson is asking for volunteers from all three congregations to read Scripture, help with artistic displays in the sanctuary and Founder's Hall (where part of the Vigil will take place and the post-Vigil reception will be held), and to help set up Founder's Hall for the Vigil and after the Vigil (for Easter Sunday). Also, if you would be interested in singing in the Immanuel Choir -- and are willing to attend at least two rehearsals, Wednedays at 7:30 at Immanuel -- let one of the pastors know. Thanks.
Bible Study:
Our Bible Study on Praying the Psalms resumes on February 28th. We will be looking at chapters 6 and 7. We meet in the chapel at 7:30 p.m. There is a prayer service with Immanuel at 7 p.m. that some of us have been attending and all are welcome to join.
Retreat:
Tripp has been in conversation with Prior Peter Funk at the Monastery of the Holy Cross in the Bridgeport area of Chicago. We are looking into the possibility of a one-day retreat -- probably a Saturday -- at the monastery. Let us know if you're interested. This is a great opportunity to worship and spend a quiet day within a community of Benedictine monks.
The Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell
for The Pastoral Team
The Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler
Monday, February 19
Sermon: Transfiguration Sunday
Transfiguration Sunday, Year C
February 18, 2007
Readings: Exodus 34:29-35, Psalm 99, 1 Corinthians 12: 27-13:13
Gospel: Luke 9: 28-36
The Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell
Preached at St. Simon’s Episcopal Church, and Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler
+++
Some events define and transform our lives. Milestones. Mountaintop moments. Peak experiences.
Like graduation. All that hard work has finally paid off. We’ve reached the summit and it’s time to celebrate. But…it’s really just the beginning…that’s why it’s called commencement, right? Now it’s on to the next school or that first job. Being a newbie again. Learning the ropes, navigating relationships, working hard.
Another peak experience :falling in love. It can feel like “I and my beloved are one; our love will be everlasting. Together we can move mountains.” The inner glow we feel is visible; the whole world seems suffused in its light. But after the wedding, there’s the reality of relating to someone who’s going to change and stay the same in ways that may frustrate as well as delight you. You may not always feel “in love” with that person. You will share sorrows and struggles as well as joys.
The birth of a child – one of the great high points in life. The amazingly wonderful gift of new life. And then there’s the reality of caring for a completely dependent newborn who cries and has a mind of her own when it comes to sleeping. Who will demand a great deal from you – as well as bring you real joy -- for the rest of your time together.
We should hold on to those peak experiences of joy and certainty and wonder. But also remember that they’re not – and they’re not supposed to be – the whole deal.
Peak experiences give us strength to get back down the mountain and into the valley. We can remember the breathtaking view from the top, that amazing light…and let it bathe us on those dark or dull days when we’re hard at work in the valley.
Treasure those peak experiences. Journal them. Photograph them. Blog them. Talk about them. Make scrapbooks for them. Most of all, remember them.
But life is not all about peak experiences and milestones. It’s also about being faithful and disciplined. It’s about shoveling snow, going to work, listening to your spouse, changing diapers, and saying prayers, even when you don’t feel like it. You do it for love of God, self, and neighbor. Because it’s the right thing to do. Not just for the peak experiences, although they’re lovely. (small pause)
Some peak experiences take place in our spiritual lives…Have you ever heard or seen something hard to describe….but you know it was holy? When your heart was full of the realest love…the deepest joy…the peace that passes all understanding? Ever hear a still small voice within? Ever come across something in the Bible or another book, that gave you just the wisdom you needed? Did a loved one, or even a stranger, reach out to you at just the right time? Ever see a light or hear a voice you couldn’t explain? Something out of this world? There are moments we can feel with dazzling certainty that God cares for us and is at work in our lives.
And…we want to stay there, up on that mountain. As Peter says to Jesus in today’s gospel: “Lord, It is*good* for us to be here.” “Let’s stay here…can’t we?” But there’s always a time when we have to come back down.
Jesus had some pretty amazing peak experiences. Like the Transfiguration, described in today’s gospel from Luke. Jesus goes up on a mountain to pray, taking Peter and James and John with him. And there they encounter the Living God. While he is praying, Jesus’s face changes and his clothes turn a dazzling white. Moses and Elijah appear and begin to talk with Jesus. Then a great cloud overshadows the disciples, and God speaks through the cloud, telling them Jesus is his beloved Son…and they should listen to Him.
The transfiguration pre-figures Easter. It foreshadows cross and resurrection. Up there on the mountain, Moses and Elijah talk to Jesus about his “departure” which Jesus is about to accomplish in Jerusalem. ” They don’t talk about crucifixion or resurrection, they use the word “exodus” which is Greek for “departure.” It seems Jesus is going to lead a second Exodus. Like Moses, he’s going to set the captives free. Through the cross, Jesus will set you and me free from the shackles of sin and death.
The Transfiguration also clarifies Jesus’s identity. Moses and Elijah are up there on the mountain to show that Jesus is in line with the Law and Prophets. Moses was the great law-giver, Elijah the great prophet. Yet God says about Jesus: “*This* is my beloved son. Listen to Him.” Jesus is in line with Moses and Elijah, but greater than they. And like Moses and Elijah, Jesus will be rejected.
Like Moses, Jesus has to come down from the mountain after encountering God, and do some serious work. Moses had to give the Law to his people – who were busy building idols and being lawless. He had to lead them kicking and screaming all the way to righteousness. Jesus has to come down and give people…himself. Keep giving them the gospel. Give even…his life.
Jesus didn’t become the Messiah just for the glory and peak experiences. He knew there was a cross waiting somewhere. But Jesus accepted it all, glory and cross. He accepted the discipline that went along with his identity as the Christ. And that discipline was staggering. For some of us, discipline looks like “green beans now so we can have chocolate after.” For Jesus, discipline looked like cross now, resurrection later.
Yet he still chose not to stay up on the mountaintop – he headed down the path that would eventually lead to Jerusalem and the cross.
You and I didn’t become Christians just for the mountaintop moments, did we? And so we shouldn’t approach our spiritual lives that way. Along with our identity as Christians comes a certain discipline. We pray, share communion, love our neighbors, and follow Jesus because….he asked us to. Not for the peak experiences, although they’re lovely.
After this Sunday of the Transfiguration, we leave the season of Epiphany, the season of light. The light has been steadily growing from the Star of Bethlehem and the Magi’s visit through Jesus’s baptism and the wedding feast at Cana. It’s gotten brighter as Jesus has performed many miracles and attracted many followers. Now the light overwhelms us at the Transfiguration. Soon it will be time for us to head off the mountaintop and into the valley that is Lent.
Lent has a darker, more sober focus than Epiphany. It’s a penitential time. The spiritual life is not all peak experiences. It’s also about discipline and routine. In Lent, many Christians choose a discipline to help them feel closer to God. Like extra prayers or Bible study. Some fast. Some choose to examine their own hearts, alone or in the company of a confessor.
As my colleague Tripp reminds me, these spiritual disciplines aren’t necessarily going to give us brilliant flashes of illumination and instant closeness with God. Every time we pray we’re not going to get…the transfiguration. Sorry. We do them because they are part of our identity as Christians. But spiritual disciplines can transform our lives over time. They can gradually empty us of preoccupations with our little “self” and help us join more and more with the Great Self, God.
What gives us the strength to be faithful to our identity as Christians? What gave Jesus the strength to be faithful to his identity as Messiah? Discipline, yes, but underneath that discipline is love. The kind Paul talks about in today’s reading from 1 Corinthians: Love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love that doesn’t insist on its own way.
Christ’s primary motivation was love. And so it needs to be with us. Otherwise we can become bitter and resentful, trudging along cheerlessly through our duties. Our responsibilities – and spiritual disciplines -- are best undertaken in a spirit of love. And love is closely linked to discipline.
If we truly love God, ourselves, and our neighbors, we live disciplined lives, not lives of carefree irresponsibility. If we really love our children, we discipline them in healthy ways so they will grow up to be disciplined adults. Love and discipline allow us to grow up, work hard, go through the milestones of our lives. They get us to those mountaintop moments. And help us accept when it’s time to come down.
Can we, as disciples of Christ, have the kind of love Christ had? And out of that disciplined love, do the work God has given us to do, down here in the valley?
Paul calls us to spiritual maturity as disciples of Christ. He asks us to put aside our childish ways. Now we see through a glass dimly. We can’t always feel the joy and certainty of God’s presence. But we can be loving and disciplined, listen to Jesus, pray, and follow his example. And perhaps sometime we too shall meet God face to face and know with a dazzling certainty what we need to know.
Today is the Transfiguration. A mountaintop moment. It would be nice to camp here. But On Wednesday, Lent begins and we descend into the valley. There will be some work and discipline involved, but if undertaken with love, we will find joy in it. We’ll go up to the mountain with Jesus at Palm Sunday, and then again at Easter. Are you ready for the journey? It’s bound to be a roller coaster ride of the very best kind, with some amazing vistas. Shall we?
Amen.
+++
February 18, 2007
Readings: Exodus 34:29-35, Psalm 99, 1 Corinthians 12: 27-13:13
Gospel: Luke 9: 28-36
The Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell
Preached at St. Simon’s Episcopal Church, and Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler
+++
Some events define and transform our lives. Milestones. Mountaintop moments. Peak experiences.
Like graduation. All that hard work has finally paid off. We’ve reached the summit and it’s time to celebrate. But…it’s really just the beginning…that’s why it’s called commencement, right? Now it’s on to the next school or that first job. Being a newbie again. Learning the ropes, navigating relationships, working hard.
Another peak experience :falling in love. It can feel like “I and my beloved are one; our love will be everlasting. Together we can move mountains.” The inner glow we feel is visible; the whole world seems suffused in its light. But after the wedding, there’s the reality of relating to someone who’s going to change and stay the same in ways that may frustrate as well as delight you. You may not always feel “in love” with that person. You will share sorrows and struggles as well as joys.
The birth of a child – one of the great high points in life. The amazingly wonderful gift of new life. And then there’s the reality of caring for a completely dependent newborn who cries and has a mind of her own when it comes to sleeping. Who will demand a great deal from you – as well as bring you real joy -- for the rest of your time together.
We should hold on to those peak experiences of joy and certainty and wonder. But also remember that they’re not – and they’re not supposed to be – the whole deal.
Peak experiences give us strength to get back down the mountain and into the valley. We can remember the breathtaking view from the top, that amazing light…and let it bathe us on those dark or dull days when we’re hard at work in the valley.
Treasure those peak experiences. Journal them. Photograph them. Blog them. Talk about them. Make scrapbooks for them. Most of all, remember them.
But life is not all about peak experiences and milestones. It’s also about being faithful and disciplined. It’s about shoveling snow, going to work, listening to your spouse, changing diapers, and saying prayers, even when you don’t feel like it. You do it for love of God, self, and neighbor. Because it’s the right thing to do. Not just for the peak experiences, although they’re lovely. (small pause)
Some peak experiences take place in our spiritual lives…Have you ever heard or seen something hard to describe….but you know it was holy? When your heart was full of the realest love…the deepest joy…the peace that passes all understanding? Ever hear a still small voice within? Ever come across something in the Bible or another book, that gave you just the wisdom you needed? Did a loved one, or even a stranger, reach out to you at just the right time? Ever see a light or hear a voice you couldn’t explain? Something out of this world? There are moments we can feel with dazzling certainty that God cares for us and is at work in our lives.
And…we want to stay there, up on that mountain. As Peter says to Jesus in today’s gospel: “Lord, It is*good* for us to be here.” “Let’s stay here…can’t we?” But there’s always a time when we have to come back down.
Jesus had some pretty amazing peak experiences. Like the Transfiguration, described in today’s gospel from Luke. Jesus goes up on a mountain to pray, taking Peter and James and John with him. And there they encounter the Living God. While he is praying, Jesus’s face changes and his clothes turn a dazzling white. Moses and Elijah appear and begin to talk with Jesus. Then a great cloud overshadows the disciples, and God speaks through the cloud, telling them Jesus is his beloved Son…and they should listen to Him.
The transfiguration pre-figures Easter. It foreshadows cross and resurrection. Up there on the mountain, Moses and Elijah talk to Jesus about his “departure” which Jesus is about to accomplish in Jerusalem. ” They don’t talk about crucifixion or resurrection, they use the word “exodus” which is Greek for “departure.” It seems Jesus is going to lead a second Exodus. Like Moses, he’s going to set the captives free. Through the cross, Jesus will set you and me free from the shackles of sin and death.
The Transfiguration also clarifies Jesus’s identity. Moses and Elijah are up there on the mountain to show that Jesus is in line with the Law and Prophets. Moses was the great law-giver, Elijah the great prophet. Yet God says about Jesus: “*This* is my beloved son. Listen to Him.” Jesus is in line with Moses and Elijah, but greater than they. And like Moses and Elijah, Jesus will be rejected.
Like Moses, Jesus has to come down from the mountain after encountering God, and do some serious work. Moses had to give the Law to his people – who were busy building idols and being lawless. He had to lead them kicking and screaming all the way to righteousness. Jesus has to come down and give people…himself. Keep giving them the gospel. Give even…his life.
Jesus didn’t become the Messiah just for the glory and peak experiences. He knew there was a cross waiting somewhere. But Jesus accepted it all, glory and cross. He accepted the discipline that went along with his identity as the Christ. And that discipline was staggering. For some of us, discipline looks like “green beans now so we can have chocolate after.” For Jesus, discipline looked like cross now, resurrection later.
Yet he still chose not to stay up on the mountaintop – he headed down the path that would eventually lead to Jerusalem and the cross.
You and I didn’t become Christians just for the mountaintop moments, did we? And so we shouldn’t approach our spiritual lives that way. Along with our identity as Christians comes a certain discipline. We pray, share communion, love our neighbors, and follow Jesus because….he asked us to. Not for the peak experiences, although they’re lovely.
After this Sunday of the Transfiguration, we leave the season of Epiphany, the season of light. The light has been steadily growing from the Star of Bethlehem and the Magi’s visit through Jesus’s baptism and the wedding feast at Cana. It’s gotten brighter as Jesus has performed many miracles and attracted many followers. Now the light overwhelms us at the Transfiguration. Soon it will be time for us to head off the mountaintop and into the valley that is Lent.
Lent has a darker, more sober focus than Epiphany. It’s a penitential time. The spiritual life is not all peak experiences. It’s also about discipline and routine. In Lent, many Christians choose a discipline to help them feel closer to God. Like extra prayers or Bible study. Some fast. Some choose to examine their own hearts, alone or in the company of a confessor.
As my colleague Tripp reminds me, these spiritual disciplines aren’t necessarily going to give us brilliant flashes of illumination and instant closeness with God. Every time we pray we’re not going to get…the transfiguration. Sorry. We do them because they are part of our identity as Christians. But spiritual disciplines can transform our lives over time. They can gradually empty us of preoccupations with our little “self” and help us join more and more with the Great Self, God.
What gives us the strength to be faithful to our identity as Christians? What gave Jesus the strength to be faithful to his identity as Messiah? Discipline, yes, but underneath that discipline is love. The kind Paul talks about in today’s reading from 1 Corinthians: Love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love that doesn’t insist on its own way.
Christ’s primary motivation was love. And so it needs to be with us. Otherwise we can become bitter and resentful, trudging along cheerlessly through our duties. Our responsibilities – and spiritual disciplines -- are best undertaken in a spirit of love. And love is closely linked to discipline.
If we truly love God, ourselves, and our neighbors, we live disciplined lives, not lives of carefree irresponsibility. If we really love our children, we discipline them in healthy ways so they will grow up to be disciplined adults. Love and discipline allow us to grow up, work hard, go through the milestones of our lives. They get us to those mountaintop moments. And help us accept when it’s time to come down.
Can we, as disciples of Christ, have the kind of love Christ had? And out of that disciplined love, do the work God has given us to do, down here in the valley?
Paul calls us to spiritual maturity as disciples of Christ. He asks us to put aside our childish ways. Now we see through a glass dimly. We can’t always feel the joy and certainty of God’s presence. But we can be loving and disciplined, listen to Jesus, pray, and follow his example. And perhaps sometime we too shall meet God face to face and know with a dazzling certainty what we need to know.
Today is the Transfiguration. A mountaintop moment. It would be nice to camp here. But On Wednesday, Lent begins and we descend into the valley. There will be some work and discipline involved, but if undertaken with love, we will find joy in it. We’ll go up to the mountain with Jesus at Palm Sunday, and then again at Easter. Are you ready for the journey? It’s bound to be a roller coaster ride of the very best kind, with some amazing vistas. Shall we?
Amen.
+++
Thursday, February 15
Reconciler Update
This Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday and concludes the season after Epiphany. We are moving into the season of Lent. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday (this year February 22), which calls us to remember our mortality and our need for the mercy of God. Lent continues for forty days (excluding Sundays)leading to Easter. This is a time of preparation and examination as we remember the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. It is a time of fasting, and other spiritual disciplines as we take time examine ourselves and our life in light of the Gospel.
Since many of us the keeping of Lent is unfamiliar we will provide some information on Lent in the coming Sundays. We do want to encourage you to take the time to review your life before God as we prepare to celebrate Easter, through fasting, or other disciplines like meditation, or solitude etc. If you would like to look read up on the various spiritual disciplines, a good place to begin is Richard Fosters book The Celebration of Discipline. (one of the pastors or someone in the congregation might be willing to lend a copy if you need to borrow one, ask around.)
As with most things the Episcopal, Covenant and Baptist traditions have different ways of marking and celebrating Lent, we will be reflecting this more deliberately this Lent with some minor changes in our worship.
Announcements:
Wednesday February 21st is Ash Wednesday, we are having a joint worship service with Immanuel and St Elias at 7:30 PM in the sanctuary.
Holy Week and Easter:
We are having joint worship services Holy Week and Easter Day with Immanuel and St Elias. On Easter Sunday We will not be having our regular Evening service at 6 PM but will have a joint service with Immanuel at 10:30 AM. For Holy week there will be a Maundy Thursday Service, a Good Friday Service and an Easter Vigil service on Holy Saturday. Times and more details coming soon. If you would be interested in taking part in lay leadership roles in any of the above services please talk with Laura, Larry or Tripp.
Our Bible Study on Praying the Psalms Resumes on February 28th we will be looking at chapters 6 and 7. We meet in the chapel at 7:30 PM. There is a prayer service with Immanuel at 7 PM that some of us have been attending and all are welcome to join.
In Christ,
Larry
Since many of us the keeping of Lent is unfamiliar we will provide some information on Lent in the coming Sundays. We do want to encourage you to take the time to review your life before God as we prepare to celebrate Easter, through fasting, or other disciplines like meditation, or solitude etc. If you would like to look read up on the various spiritual disciplines, a good place to begin is Richard Fosters book The Celebration of Discipline. (one of the pastors or someone in the congregation might be willing to lend a copy if you need to borrow one, ask around.)
As with most things the Episcopal, Covenant and Baptist traditions have different ways of marking and celebrating Lent, we will be reflecting this more deliberately this Lent with some minor changes in our worship.
Announcements:
Wednesday February 21st is Ash Wednesday, we are having a joint worship service with Immanuel and St Elias at 7:30 PM in the sanctuary.
Holy Week and Easter:
We are having joint worship services Holy Week and Easter Day with Immanuel and St Elias. On Easter Sunday We will not be having our regular Evening service at 6 PM but will have a joint service with Immanuel at 10:30 AM. For Holy week there will be a Maundy Thursday Service, a Good Friday Service and an Easter Vigil service on Holy Saturday. Times and more details coming soon. If you would be interested in taking part in lay leadership roles in any of the above services please talk with Laura, Larry or Tripp.
Our Bible Study on Praying the Psalms Resumes on February 28th we will be looking at chapters 6 and 7. We meet in the chapel at 7:30 PM. There is a prayer service with Immanuel at 7 PM that some of us have been attending and all are welcome to join.
In Christ,
Larry
Monday, February 12
Sermon Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Psalm 1
Corinthians 15:12-20
Luke 6:17-26
Entrusting Ourselves to the Living Stream
Jeremiah is writing in difficult times. His prophesies come from a time of turmoil, and ultimately the end of Israel, of Judah as a sovereign nation. These words from God through Jeremiah come at a time of intense political debate, a time of politicking, a time in which using force of arms or diplomacy is being argued and disputed. It is a time in which doing more is seen as the solution to the problems Judah faces. If only we could do more, have more cohesion, more weapons etc. Sound familiar? 1 Corinthians is written to a church in turmoil. Paul is addressing a church that has split into factions; there are disputes over apostolic authority, disputes over what is or is not a sin and what is acceptable sexual conduct, and theological disputes over what is essential for the faith. Sound familiar? Luke writes his Gospel in a time when the world is dominated by a world power, that is mostly peaceful at its centers of power but on the fringes there is violence, skirmishes and war. At this time these wars at the edges of the empire don’t quite touches the citizens of the great empire. There is a peace of sort, but at a price, Palestine in particular is in turmoil, Rebellions, insurgencies, and ultimately the desolation of Jerusalem. Luke’s Jesus is speaking to an oppressed people on the edge of an empire, people who have been impoverished by the empires political and economic system, while others are made wealthy by that same system. Sound familiar? These are three thumbnail sketches of the context of our three texts for today. I mention these contexts because we have a tendency when we find our Scriptures and the tradition of the Church difficult to accept to claim that everything is so different these days. After all back then 2000 years ago or more, those were different times, believing in God was easier then. Sure there are differences: our science and our technology is different, and we may know more about certain things, like molecules and atoms and electrons and protons, and our conception of the cosmos is vastly different,. However, as I have done, I can also list to you the ways in which things are much the same. We haven’t transcended our humanity, our creatureliness, or our sinfulness. Things are still much the same, we are no more prone to doubt than those of the past, and we are no less gullible and credulous. We still believe our hope is in ourselves, in our ingenuity, our weapons, our politics, or our economics. We still put our trust in the wrong place in the wrong people and wrong things. Our texts remind us there is only one place of refuge, of hope; there is only one place that deserves our ultimate trust.
Listen again to Jeremiah: Jeremiah 17:5-10
17:5 Thus says the LORD: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the LORD.
17:6 They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
17:7 Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.
17:8 They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.
17:9 The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse-- who can understand it?
17:10 I the LORD test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.
Do we not still do these things, whether we are Democrats, Republicans, radical activists, anarchists, socialists, or communists, or however we might identify. Do we not put our trust in ourselves? We, human flesh, can solve everything if only we have the right economic system, if only we have the right reforms, if only we have the right worldview, if only we have the right weapons, enough troupes, or enough money (either from taxes or from capitalist enterprise). Jeremiah tells us that when we choose to trust in ourselves whether we are reformists or for the status quo, whether we are anarchists or democratic capitalists, we chose to live in a desert. We choose to live on the edge of death if we solely rely on our own human effort and ingenuity. Jeremiah in a time of turmoil when it seems more is demanded to fix the world around us tells us to let go of our trust in ourselves, and to be willing to be planted next to that living stream that is God. Are we tired of death, and suffering and injustice and war, then stop trusting in human effort, seek to live in God’s care for only next to that spring is there true life, every where else is on the edge of death desert a slat plain where little if anything can grow. The trouble is when I say this I am sure we hear a call to be passive, to do nothing! The kings of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem heard this as well, and were convinced Jeremiah was mad or worse had it in for the chosen people of God. But the issue isn’t action or inaction, but rather in whom or what do we put our trust. To whom do we look for the ultimate solution, is it science, is it democracy, is it in money and economy, is it America, the President, the Presidency, in war, in peace, or in activism? Jeremiah says if we put our trust in any of those things we live in a desert. It is all the same, and it is simply not trusting in God. Jeremiah says we have a choice: God, the source of all life, or ourselves, life or death.
The Resurrection is also about life and death. In some sense accepting or rejecting the reality of the Resurrection is the same choice that Jeremiah prophesied, or at least that is what Paul is saying to us in this portion of Corinthians. Paul is not saying that he can prove the historicity of the Resurrection, or that the science and/or popular belief of the day find it an acceptable and believable doctrine. Rather he is saying that if there is no Resurrection then we are on our own, and Christianity is false, or more to the point Christians are hopeless (literally) romantics. Let us be clear the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is not a nice story or metaphor for Paul, it happened, it is inexplicable and it is the fulcrum of the faith! But why is Paul so adamant that Jesus Christ must have been raised? Isn’t it enough that it symbolizes our life in God? After all it’s not like Christ’s resurrection was simply resuscitation of a body, right? Sure that is so, the Resurrection is more than that so much more. Resurrection is the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s hope in God as the source of life. Paul is clear that without Christ’s resurrection there is no life, if the story simply ends with Jesus in the grave and some enlightenment on the other side, death still wins in the end. Death, that is a desolate world of survival, is all we have, and then the message of the Gospel is a joke. If the love shown us in the life Jesus just leads only to death, if God has not overcome the last enemy death, then love has no power, and there is no life. We then are hopeless romantics. We have a nice fable that might comfort us but has no power, it will not change the world, everything is the same, and death sin and injustice are the final word. This is the world without Resurrection with out a God in whom we can trust for our life. Resurrection is the fulfillment of the promise of Jeremiah 17. If we have encountered life in Jesus Christ, if we have found life in the trust of gathering here together then there is Resurrection.
In the final analysis, Jesus’ beatitudes and woes in Luke depend on the Resurrection for their truth. There is nothing blessed about the poor if God doesn’t bring to life, if God has not overcome that which is the ultimate source of poverty in the world. There is nothing blessed about mourning unless there is the possibility of being comforted in the reality that there is more than the power of the death squad, and the survival of the fittest. If Jesus just suffered we have no hope. If there is no Resurrection there is no danger, no curse or woe in looking after ones own wealth at the cost of others, there is no danger in taking headless comfort and enjoyment in a world of pain and death. This is so because the Resurrection says there is more than simple survival. Through the Resurrection of Christ we know that death, sin and the devil do not have the last word. This is why Paul says that our sins remain if there is no resurrection, because if this is the truth then Jesus Christ died and nothing changed. And if that is so then love is not the answer, love is just a game, a fable we comfort ourselves with. If there is no resurrection then love does not ground the universe, no resurrection and the universe is a cold heartless place, where justice is a pipe dream, and survival of the fittest, and “the Will to power” are the ultimate reality. Chose this day what you will follow, life or death.
So in whom or what do you trust? Do you trust that God raised him who was crucified to life again? Can you accept this thing that is beyond human explanation comprehension and control? This is what the Resurrection asks of us and has always asked. My reading of Corinthians and other passages of the New Testament belie current belief that it was easier 2000 years ago to believe in the Resurrection and a myriad of other doctrines we find hard to swallow. People were naïve then, it is said, Resurrection was a commonplace belief. This Corinthians passage, Thessalonians, Paul in Athens all show that Resurrection (probably for different reasons) was as difficult for people to believe then as it is now. Paul isn’t saying he can prove historically that Jesus rose from the dead, nor that it is explicable according to biology or the laws of physics, Rather he argues it is a matter of true verses false hope. If we are too hope in life that is beyond this desolate world and can also bring this desolate world to life, then the Resurrection is necessary. There is no other way for us to know life for the Resurrection is the ultimate defeat of the enemy of life and love.
If there is no resurrection than we only can hope in our own resources are own small attempts to solve the worlds problems, we can only hope in those who will die, in systems and nations that will pass like every other one before it. Without the Resurrection there is no life, or at least nothing beyond our own attempts to scrape out a life for ourselves. But if you are here I trust some part of you has tasted true life, you have tasted the Resurrection, you have experienced Love as that which grounds all things even though the world witnesses to the reality of death and suffering. The world is being transformed, Jesus has been raised, can you take the risk to really trust in this, in God, who asks you to let go of all our human attempts to control, and can say blessed are you who are poor, in a world that says blessed are you when you are successful and wealthy and can buy everything your heart desires. God says woe to you who are successful and wealthy and can buy everything your heart desires, for that is death, as you trust in only human things. My sisters and brothers there is only one way to truly live, it is in the reality of the Resurrection, trusting in God even when it is unbelievable and improvable, even when your world seems to be crumbling around you. ‘Christ has Died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again” is no fairy tale, it is not a nice metaphor rather it is what gives life to the world; everything else is always already in the grip of death. If you want life you will rest and be nurtured in the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Only in God and the one who has been crucified and raised can we find the nurture sustenance and care we need to act in this world dominated by death, sin and injustice. I urge us, echoing Jeremiah, to only hope and trust in God who is life and love, all else is desolation.
Psalm 1
Corinthians 15:12-20
Luke 6:17-26
Entrusting Ourselves to the Living Stream
Jeremiah is writing in difficult times. His prophesies come from a time of turmoil, and ultimately the end of Israel, of Judah as a sovereign nation. These words from God through Jeremiah come at a time of intense political debate, a time of politicking, a time in which using force of arms or diplomacy is being argued and disputed. It is a time in which doing more is seen as the solution to the problems Judah faces. If only we could do more, have more cohesion, more weapons etc. Sound familiar? 1 Corinthians is written to a church in turmoil. Paul is addressing a church that has split into factions; there are disputes over apostolic authority, disputes over what is or is not a sin and what is acceptable sexual conduct, and theological disputes over what is essential for the faith. Sound familiar? Luke writes his Gospel in a time when the world is dominated by a world power, that is mostly peaceful at its centers of power but on the fringes there is violence, skirmishes and war. At this time these wars at the edges of the empire don’t quite touches the citizens of the great empire. There is a peace of sort, but at a price, Palestine in particular is in turmoil, Rebellions, insurgencies, and ultimately the desolation of Jerusalem. Luke’s Jesus is speaking to an oppressed people on the edge of an empire, people who have been impoverished by the empires political and economic system, while others are made wealthy by that same system. Sound familiar? These are three thumbnail sketches of the context of our three texts for today. I mention these contexts because we have a tendency when we find our Scriptures and the tradition of the Church difficult to accept to claim that everything is so different these days. After all back then 2000 years ago or more, those were different times, believing in God was easier then. Sure there are differences: our science and our technology is different, and we may know more about certain things, like molecules and atoms and electrons and protons, and our conception of the cosmos is vastly different,. However, as I have done, I can also list to you the ways in which things are much the same. We haven’t transcended our humanity, our creatureliness, or our sinfulness. Things are still much the same, we are no more prone to doubt than those of the past, and we are no less gullible and credulous. We still believe our hope is in ourselves, in our ingenuity, our weapons, our politics, or our economics. We still put our trust in the wrong place in the wrong people and wrong things. Our texts remind us there is only one place of refuge, of hope; there is only one place that deserves our ultimate trust.
Listen again to Jeremiah: Jeremiah 17:5-10
17:5 Thus says the LORD: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the LORD.
17:6 They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
17:7 Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.
17:8 They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.
17:9 The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse-- who can understand it?
17:10 I the LORD test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.
Do we not still do these things, whether we are Democrats, Republicans, radical activists, anarchists, socialists, or communists, or however we might identify. Do we not put our trust in ourselves? We, human flesh, can solve everything if only we have the right economic system, if only we have the right reforms, if only we have the right worldview, if only we have the right weapons, enough troupes, or enough money (either from taxes or from capitalist enterprise). Jeremiah tells us that when we choose to trust in ourselves whether we are reformists or for the status quo, whether we are anarchists or democratic capitalists, we chose to live in a desert. We choose to live on the edge of death if we solely rely on our own human effort and ingenuity. Jeremiah in a time of turmoil when it seems more is demanded to fix the world around us tells us to let go of our trust in ourselves, and to be willing to be planted next to that living stream that is God. Are we tired of death, and suffering and injustice and war, then stop trusting in human effort, seek to live in God’s care for only next to that spring is there true life, every where else is on the edge of death desert a slat plain where little if anything can grow. The trouble is when I say this I am sure we hear a call to be passive, to do nothing! The kings of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem heard this as well, and were convinced Jeremiah was mad or worse had it in for the chosen people of God. But the issue isn’t action or inaction, but rather in whom or what do we put our trust. To whom do we look for the ultimate solution, is it science, is it democracy, is it in money and economy, is it America, the President, the Presidency, in war, in peace, or in activism? Jeremiah says if we put our trust in any of those things we live in a desert. It is all the same, and it is simply not trusting in God. Jeremiah says we have a choice: God, the source of all life, or ourselves, life or death.
The Resurrection is also about life and death. In some sense accepting or rejecting the reality of the Resurrection is the same choice that Jeremiah prophesied, or at least that is what Paul is saying to us in this portion of Corinthians. Paul is not saying that he can prove the historicity of the Resurrection, or that the science and/or popular belief of the day find it an acceptable and believable doctrine. Rather he is saying that if there is no Resurrection then we are on our own, and Christianity is false, or more to the point Christians are hopeless (literally) romantics. Let us be clear the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is not a nice story or metaphor for Paul, it happened, it is inexplicable and it is the fulcrum of the faith! But why is Paul so adamant that Jesus Christ must have been raised? Isn’t it enough that it symbolizes our life in God? After all it’s not like Christ’s resurrection was simply resuscitation of a body, right? Sure that is so, the Resurrection is more than that so much more. Resurrection is the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s hope in God as the source of life. Paul is clear that without Christ’s resurrection there is no life, if the story simply ends with Jesus in the grave and some enlightenment on the other side, death still wins in the end. Death, that is a desolate world of survival, is all we have, and then the message of the Gospel is a joke. If the love shown us in the life Jesus just leads only to death, if God has not overcome the last enemy death, then love has no power, and there is no life. We then are hopeless romantics. We have a nice fable that might comfort us but has no power, it will not change the world, everything is the same, and death sin and injustice are the final word. This is the world without Resurrection with out a God in whom we can trust for our life. Resurrection is the fulfillment of the promise of Jeremiah 17. If we have encountered life in Jesus Christ, if we have found life in the trust of gathering here together then there is Resurrection.
In the final analysis, Jesus’ beatitudes and woes in Luke depend on the Resurrection for their truth. There is nothing blessed about the poor if God doesn’t bring to life, if God has not overcome that which is the ultimate source of poverty in the world. There is nothing blessed about mourning unless there is the possibility of being comforted in the reality that there is more than the power of the death squad, and the survival of the fittest. If Jesus just suffered we have no hope. If there is no Resurrection there is no danger, no curse or woe in looking after ones own wealth at the cost of others, there is no danger in taking headless comfort and enjoyment in a world of pain and death. This is so because the Resurrection says there is more than simple survival. Through the Resurrection of Christ we know that death, sin and the devil do not have the last word. This is why Paul says that our sins remain if there is no resurrection, because if this is the truth then Jesus Christ died and nothing changed. And if that is so then love is not the answer, love is just a game, a fable we comfort ourselves with. If there is no resurrection then love does not ground the universe, no resurrection and the universe is a cold heartless place, where justice is a pipe dream, and survival of the fittest, and “the Will to power” are the ultimate reality. Chose this day what you will follow, life or death.
So in whom or what do you trust? Do you trust that God raised him who was crucified to life again? Can you accept this thing that is beyond human explanation comprehension and control? This is what the Resurrection asks of us and has always asked. My reading of Corinthians and other passages of the New Testament belie current belief that it was easier 2000 years ago to believe in the Resurrection and a myriad of other doctrines we find hard to swallow. People were naïve then, it is said, Resurrection was a commonplace belief. This Corinthians passage, Thessalonians, Paul in Athens all show that Resurrection (probably for different reasons) was as difficult for people to believe then as it is now. Paul isn’t saying he can prove historically that Jesus rose from the dead, nor that it is explicable according to biology or the laws of physics, Rather he argues it is a matter of true verses false hope. If we are too hope in life that is beyond this desolate world and can also bring this desolate world to life, then the Resurrection is necessary. There is no other way for us to know life for the Resurrection is the ultimate defeat of the enemy of life and love.
If there is no resurrection than we only can hope in our own resources are own small attempts to solve the worlds problems, we can only hope in those who will die, in systems and nations that will pass like every other one before it. Without the Resurrection there is no life, or at least nothing beyond our own attempts to scrape out a life for ourselves. But if you are here I trust some part of you has tasted true life, you have tasted the Resurrection, you have experienced Love as that which grounds all things even though the world witnesses to the reality of death and suffering. The world is being transformed, Jesus has been raised, can you take the risk to really trust in this, in God, who asks you to let go of all our human attempts to control, and can say blessed are you who are poor, in a world that says blessed are you when you are successful and wealthy and can buy everything your heart desires. God says woe to you who are successful and wealthy and can buy everything your heart desires, for that is death, as you trust in only human things. My sisters and brothers there is only one way to truly live, it is in the reality of the Resurrection, trusting in God even when it is unbelievable and improvable, even when your world seems to be crumbling around you. ‘Christ has Died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again” is no fairy tale, it is not a nice metaphor rather it is what gives life to the world; everything else is always already in the grip of death. If you want life you will rest and be nurtured in the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Only in God and the one who has been crucified and raised can we find the nurture sustenance and care we need to act in this world dominated by death, sin and injustice. I urge us, echoing Jeremiah, to only hope and trust in God who is life and love, all else is desolation.
Saturday, February 10
Reconciler Almost Weekly Update
Grace and Peace to you in the name of God,
From Luke's Gospel:
Announcements:
Bible Study: On January 9th we began our new Bible study on Praying the Psalms. This Bible Study will run through the season of Epiphany and conclude during Lent. We are reading Eugene Peterson's book Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer. Bible Study meets Wednesdays at 7:30 in the chapel at Immanuel. We will not meet in honor of St. Valentine's Day. So, for next week, have chapters six and seven read. We will double up.
Council Meeting: Church Council Meetings are the 2nd Monday of each month. We meet at the "Nidge" (the parsonage) at 7:30 p.m. This month's meeting will be held Monday, February 12.
Retreat: Due to scheduling difficulties, we are having to go to Plan B for our Benedictine retreat this Lent. Stay tuned for more details.
MYSPACE Site: We have a new Myspace site which is accessible at www.myspace.com/christreconciler
Peace and all good things,
Tripp Hudgins
Pastoral Team
Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler
From Luke's Gospel:
‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’This is part of the extended reading for this Sunday's Gospel lesson. I have been thinking about this passage a great deal lately...in particular how it reminds me of a virtue of the 12-step programs. One does not "crosstalk" during meetings. People speak their piece and then the next person speaks...and only about themselves and not about the other person. Why? Well, though sometimes this kind of sharing can become selfish, it will also help to keep judgment at a minimum. One is compelled by the discipline to reflect on one's own journey and not that of your brother or sister. No room for condemnation. No room for judgment. There is only room for our truths and stories...It's powerful medicine.
Announcements:
Bible Study: On January 9th we began our new Bible study on Praying the Psalms. This Bible Study will run through the season of Epiphany and conclude during Lent. We are reading Eugene Peterson's book Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer. Bible Study meets Wednesdays at 7:30 in the chapel at Immanuel. We will not meet in honor of St. Valentine's Day. So, for next week, have chapters six and seven read. We will double up.
Council Meeting: Church Council Meetings are the 2nd Monday of each month. We meet at the "Nidge" (the parsonage) at 7:30 p.m. This month's meeting will be held Monday, February 12.
Retreat: Due to scheduling difficulties, we are having to go to Plan B for our Benedictine retreat this Lent. Stay tuned for more details.
MYSPACE Site: We have a new Myspace site which is accessible at www.myspace.com/christreconciler
Peace and all good things,
Tripp Hudgins
Pastoral Team
Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler
Friday, February 2
Reconciler Almost Weekly Update
Last Sunday's sermon focused on the "Prophet in the Hometown" passage from Luke's gospel (Luke 4:21-32). Although that phrase has long been familiar in the old adage: "No one is a prophet in his or her hometown," I found new meaning in the passage upon further study and reflection. The heart of the passage, for many Christians, is the radical inclusivity and universality of God's kingdom.
Here's the story: Jesus is participating in worship at the synagogue in Nazareth, and reads the Scripture passage from Isaiah (Isaiah 61.1-2, 58.6):
"The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me;he has sent me to announce good news to the poor,
to proclaim release for prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind;
to let the broken victims go free;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Jesus then tells the hometown crowd: "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." They are fine with this; they will have a hometown prophet and all the honor and healing that go along with that. They marvel at how well he speaks. But then Jesus infuriates them by saying they are going to have to share him; he will not be confining his ministry to Nazareth.
Jesus recounts to them times when prophets before him, namely Elijah and Elisha, went to people outside their own country and healed and helped them. Well, Jesus's townpeople are fit to be tied when they hear that Jesus hasn't come just for them. They get ready to run him off a cliff. But Jesus escapes their clutches and goes on to the next town, next task, wherever he is going on to. Luke says " He was going on." This passage foreshadows both crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus will end his life a prophet without honor in either his hometown or country. But God's love for all of us could not be killed, and is going on.
God refuses to turn his back on the poor, oppressed, and disenfranchised -- no matter their nationality race, gender, or other identifier. The gospel calls us to see the inclusivity of God's grace - always a stretch for our imagination. We want to pigeonhole and mete out God's grace, to have a corner on God. But Jesus came for all. In a stratified, hierarchical, divisive world this message of radical inclusivity is stunning, or ought to stun us. The truths of inclusivity and equality, for which many have fought and died, are truths our world is often loathe to hear. Some of its messengers have lost their lives in the struggle to express the enormity of God's universal love for all. Yet that love is going on.
At Reconciler we're called to embrace the universality of God's reconciling grace and express it across denominational boundaries. We're called to reach out to others in that spirit, building up the Kingdom.
Our conversation after the sermon focused mostly on inclusive language, a topic of some interest at Reconciler. Some of the questions around this topic are: if God loves, and extends grace to all, why must the language of the church be so androcentric (male-centered?) Why use exclusively male pronouns for God and Holy Spirit? Doesn't God have some female qualities within God? Or, isn't God beyond gender? Must we always say "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" to refer to the Trinity or can we say "Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer" or other formulas? What does it mean to use entirely masculine language in church, when in most churches a significant majority of the active members are female? What are the pastoral, theological, epistemological, and linguistic implications?
It was a rich discussion. Larry Kamphausen has posted some thoughts on his blog: http://priestlygoth.blogspot.com and I plan to post there are well. What are your thoughts? Let us know.
In Bible Study we have been talking about how to speak TO God, as opposed to how to speak ABOUT God. Eugene Peterson's book on praying the psalms has sparked some lively disussion. Please join us on Wednesday nights for Bible Study, or Sunday nights for worship. You are welcome!
An Epiphany blessing:
"May Christ, the Son of God, be manifest in you, that your lives may be a light to the world; and the blessing of God be among you and remain with you always." (Episcopal Book of Occasional Services)Announcements
Bible Study: On January 9th we began our new Bible study on Praying the Psalms. This Bible Study will run through the season of Epiphany and conclude during Lent. We are reading Eugene Peterson's book Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer. Bible Study meets Wednesdays at 7:30 in the chapel at Immanuel. For this coming Wednesday, February 5, we are reading Chapter 5. These are short chapters and it's a little book, so it's not hard to catch up. Feel free to join in even if you have missed previous sessions. At 7:00, there is a half-hour evening prayer service in the Immanuel sanctuary that is a good complement to our Bible Study. Treat yourself to some quiet time and good conversation.Council Meeting:
Church Council Meetings are the 2nd Monday of each month. We meet at the "Nidge" (the parsonage) at 7:30 p.m. This month's meeting will be held Monday, February 12.
Retreat:
Please let us know by SUNDAY if you are interested in a retreat: either a weekend retreat at Three Rivers, Michigan (a Benedictine monastery) or a day-long retreat to a Benedictine community in Chicago. Also let us know which dates are best for you. We have been discussing the weekends of February 22-23 and March 3-4, but may need to go back to the proverbial drawing board if those dates don't work for people.
MYSPACE Site: We have a new Myspace site which is accessible at www.myspace.com/christreconciler
I hope you are experiencing the light of Christ in the darkness of February! Despite the Bears game and falling temperatures, we do plan to meet for worship at our usual time, 6:00 Sunday. (Go Bears!)
May the peace of the Lord be always with you,
Laura+
The Reverend Laura Gottardi-Littell
for the Pastoral Team
The Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler
Sermon: The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
4 Epiphany, Year C
January 28, 2007
Readings: Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a,
Gospel: Luke 4:21-32 “Prophet in Hometown”
The Reverend Laura Gottardi-Littell
+++
Have you ever been the bearer of bad news? Even if it’s actually good news disguised as bad? Ever had to tell someone, or a group of people, a truth they didn’t want to hear, but you felt they needed to hear? Or have you been the one who didn’t like the message? Likely we’ve all been on one side or the other of the truth-telling fence, and it’s never easy.
Speaking prophetically is something we’re all called to do, whether we’re pastors or church members. We may feel like Jeremiah in today’s Old Testament reading. Jeremiah laments “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a child.” But God reminds Jeremiah, that he is not a child. Jeremiah is to speak what God commands him too, and God will be there to deliver him.
Today’s gospel vignette shows us people on both sides of the truth-telling fence
The one saying something difficult, the prophet -- in this case, Jesus.
The ones in the congregation who hear something difficult – in this case the hometown crowd listening to Jesus in the synagogue.
At first the crowds love what Jesus has to say, and marvel at how well their home boy can speak: “Hey, isn’t that Joseph’s son? Shoot, I knew him when he was knee-high to a grasshopper. How he’s grown!” They’re thrilled …until he starts to say that he has come not just for them, but also for people outside Nazareth and Israel. And then their prejudices, and insularity, their need and greed start to kick up, and they are enraged. You mean we’re not going to reap all the benefits of having a hometown prophet to ourselves? He was sent to heal only us, right? Well, from what he just said, apparently not. So, very ticked off, they try to shoot the messenger, or in this case, drive him off a cliff.
It takes courage to speak the truth, or hear it spoken. The truth will set you free… someone wise said. And then as someone equally wise added … if it doesn’t kill you first. Speaking and hearing the truth sometimes feels like it will damn
near kill us. Look what happens to Jesus in today’s gospel.
But as still another wise person said, the truth is always kind. And I believe that. That after we get over the pain of having our illusions shattered – about self, another, the world, whatever –we are in a stronger position to deal with reality. And many times our illusions are damaging us anyway. So we need to have the blinders removed. Sure, the sunlight can hurt our eyes when we first come out of a dark room. But then…we’re in the light! no longer languishing in lies or distortions that were harmful. The warm illuminating rays of the sun wash over us, and…we’re gradually enlightened.
What Jesus said to his hometown was actually good news, kind news: Jesus had come for all, not some. God valued all people, not just Nazarenes and Israelites. God’s love and grace were enormous enough to override human divisions.
Today’s gospel from Luke begs a couple of important questions: 1) How can we be authentic, speak the truth and still remain in relationship? It’s an essential question for individuals, groups, churches. And 2) What do we do with the radical inclusivity Jesus calls us to in this passage? How do we reach beyond limits we set, or are set for us by society, and include others in the embrace of the gospel?
I think these two questions, 1) how can we be authentic and still remain in relationship, and 2) how to be inclusive of “outsiders” are related.
Both involve seeing both our own potential and the potential of the other and speaking to it. The more we are self-defined and self-loving the more authentic and inclusive we are. The more we know and embrace our own selves, the more available we are to others.
When we face the truth about ourselves (and the truth is kind: we are God’s beloved, acceptable just as we are, although we may need to change some of our ways) we can emerge from the darkness that separates us from the rest of God’s people. We are in a better position to experience on a deep level that everyone, whatever their tribe or belief, skin color or shape, is worthy of respect.
What Jesus calls us to in today’s gospel is radical inclusivity. Beyond mere tokenism or political correctness, he calls us to see and act out the reality that God cares for all. He tells us the hard truth that the poor and oppressed people of all nations, women or man, black or white are God’s beloved. And ought to be equal in our sight. You may say, yes, yes, we know and affirm this. Or you might say, yes, yes, Laura, we’ve had political correctness seminars at work/church. Ok, fine. But the world does not act on this radical inclusivity, as you know, and the term political correctness is often our cynical way of distancing ourselves from, and mildly mocking, these hard and painful truths of equality. How do I know they’re hard and painful truths? Because truth tellers on this subject have paid a heavy price. Jesus. Mohatma Ghandi. Martin Luther King. Oscar Romero. Women who starved themselves in jails so womankind could have the vote. Other women who stepped “out of line” in courageous ways so their sisters could live in dignity, opportunity, and freedom from violence. Gays and lesbians have risked censure and scorn, been victims of hate crimes because they stood up for their equality or just dared to be themselves. People have suffered and died for the hard truth of inclusion and equality. Not to mention the myriad wars fought between tribes and nations. Why’s it all so risky, this message that God came for all?
People in dominant groups – which all of us belong to in one way or another – are often loathe to look at and own up to our exclusiveness. And while we might not like the divisions in our world, nationalism, racism, sexism, or classism, to name just a few, we may feel quite attached to the privileges and distinctions they give us.
It can be very hard to break down our denial that we do have certain privileges, then contemplate giving them up or sharing them. But it’s a better world, when all are free to live up to our potential, when all are recognized as God’s people. Xenophobia – fear and dislike of the stranger or “other” – hurts everyone, including the prejudiced one. Our ‘isms’ – racism, sexism, classism, etc. – destroy all of us. I firmly believe this.
Messages of inclusivity and equality can seem like bad news, invoking suspicion, fear, anger, and denial. We can find many ways – some quite subtle -- to push them away. But these messages are in fact the good news, the gospel, whether we like it or not.
We may wonder, as did Jesus’s townspeople: “Why be part of God’s kingdom if it’s not going to directly benefit me, my tribe, my group? “ And truth be told, there are sacrifices involved in giving up our false sense of separation, the fences that divide.
At Reconciler, we demonstrate inclusivity in a vital and uncommon way by being an ecumenical church, drawing on the traditions of several distinct denominations. This is a wonderful and unique experiment that can’t be underestimated in its rarity and importance. It has its challenging and risky aspects. Could we be more inclusive, more diverse? Yes, probably we could. And perhaps we will grow to be. I trust we will do so in ways that seeks to avoid mere tokenism and political correctness. Openness to the other, whoever the other is, needs to come from a deep place of respect and reality testing. And being willing at times to sacrifice one’s own pride of place and comfort zone for the task of building up the kingdom. Our friend William spoke to us about “el plenitud del reino” – the plenitude of the kingdom – and Jesus speaks to us in today’s gospel about that that astonishing abundance for all. It’s still scandalous, the grace of God that extends to us, if we only dare to accept and live into it.
I love the ending of today’s gospel passage. Luke says: “But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went on his way.” When the people in Jesus’ town try to run him off a cliff, his ultimate rejection is foreshadowed. Jesus will be rejected not only by his townspeople, but by many of his compatriots, the Israelites. He will end his life a prophet without honor in either hometown or country. Today’s gospel passage foreshadows his crucifixion. But it also foreshadows the resurrection. Luke’s gospel concludes: “He went on his way” or in another translation from the Greek “He was going on.” Jesus gave the hard message of God’s inclusivity to his townspeople and then went on to his next task. Ultimately Jesus dies for this and the other hard messages he delivers, but…even after death, he is going on. God’s love for all of us just couldn’t die. And my friends, as the Body of Christ, we are going on too. Each of us are vital members of the body, as Paul stresses in our reading from Corinthians. Valuing and respecting each part, sharing with others the hard but good news of radical inclusion, we are to go on building up the Kingdom in all its plenitude. Amen.
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January 28, 2007
Readings: Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a,
Gospel: Luke 4:21-32 “Prophet in Hometown”
The Reverend Laura Gottardi-Littell
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Have you ever been the bearer of bad news? Even if it’s actually good news disguised as bad? Ever had to tell someone, or a group of people, a truth they didn’t want to hear, but you felt they needed to hear? Or have you been the one who didn’t like the message? Likely we’ve all been on one side or the other of the truth-telling fence, and it’s never easy.
Speaking prophetically is something we’re all called to do, whether we’re pastors or church members. We may feel like Jeremiah in today’s Old Testament reading. Jeremiah laments “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a child.” But God reminds Jeremiah, that he is not a child. Jeremiah is to speak what God commands him too, and God will be there to deliver him.
Today’s gospel vignette shows us people on both sides of the truth-telling fence
The one saying something difficult, the prophet -- in this case, Jesus.
The ones in the congregation who hear something difficult – in this case the hometown crowd listening to Jesus in the synagogue.
At first the crowds love what Jesus has to say, and marvel at how well their home boy can speak: “Hey, isn’t that Joseph’s son? Shoot, I knew him when he was knee-high to a grasshopper. How he’s grown!” They’re thrilled …until he starts to say that he has come not just for them, but also for people outside Nazareth and Israel. And then their prejudices, and insularity, their need and greed start to kick up, and they are enraged. You mean we’re not going to reap all the benefits of having a hometown prophet to ourselves? He was sent to heal only us, right? Well, from what he just said, apparently not. So, very ticked off, they try to shoot the messenger, or in this case, drive him off a cliff.
It takes courage to speak the truth, or hear it spoken. The truth will set you free… someone wise said. And then as someone equally wise added … if it doesn’t kill you first. Speaking and hearing the truth sometimes feels like it will damn
near kill us. Look what happens to Jesus in today’s gospel.
But as still another wise person said, the truth is always kind. And I believe that. That after we get over the pain of having our illusions shattered – about self, another, the world, whatever –we are in a stronger position to deal with reality. And many times our illusions are damaging us anyway. So we need to have the blinders removed. Sure, the sunlight can hurt our eyes when we first come out of a dark room. But then…we’re in the light! no longer languishing in lies or distortions that were harmful. The warm illuminating rays of the sun wash over us, and…we’re gradually enlightened.
What Jesus said to his hometown was actually good news, kind news: Jesus had come for all, not some. God valued all people, not just Nazarenes and Israelites. God’s love and grace were enormous enough to override human divisions.
Today’s gospel from Luke begs a couple of important questions: 1) How can we be authentic, speak the truth and still remain in relationship? It’s an essential question for individuals, groups, churches. And 2) What do we do with the radical inclusivity Jesus calls us to in this passage? How do we reach beyond limits we set, or are set for us by society, and include others in the embrace of the gospel?
I think these two questions, 1) how can we be authentic and still remain in relationship, and 2) how to be inclusive of “outsiders” are related.
Both involve seeing both our own potential and the potential of the other and speaking to it. The more we are self-defined and self-loving the more authentic and inclusive we are. The more we know and embrace our own selves, the more available we are to others.
When we face the truth about ourselves (and the truth is kind: we are God’s beloved, acceptable just as we are, although we may need to change some of our ways) we can emerge from the darkness that separates us from the rest of God’s people. We are in a better position to experience on a deep level that everyone, whatever their tribe or belief, skin color or shape, is worthy of respect.
What Jesus calls us to in today’s gospel is radical inclusivity. Beyond mere tokenism or political correctness, he calls us to see and act out the reality that God cares for all. He tells us the hard truth that the poor and oppressed people of all nations, women or man, black or white are God’s beloved. And ought to be equal in our sight. You may say, yes, yes, we know and affirm this. Or you might say, yes, yes, Laura, we’ve had political correctness seminars at work/church. Ok, fine. But the world does not act on this radical inclusivity, as you know, and the term political correctness is often our cynical way of distancing ourselves from, and mildly mocking, these hard and painful truths of equality. How do I know they’re hard and painful truths? Because truth tellers on this subject have paid a heavy price. Jesus. Mohatma Ghandi. Martin Luther King. Oscar Romero. Women who starved themselves in jails so womankind could have the vote. Other women who stepped “out of line” in courageous ways so their sisters could live in dignity, opportunity, and freedom from violence. Gays and lesbians have risked censure and scorn, been victims of hate crimes because they stood up for their equality or just dared to be themselves. People have suffered and died for the hard truth of inclusion and equality. Not to mention the myriad wars fought between tribes and nations. Why’s it all so risky, this message that God came for all?
People in dominant groups – which all of us belong to in one way or another – are often loathe to look at and own up to our exclusiveness. And while we might not like the divisions in our world, nationalism, racism, sexism, or classism, to name just a few, we may feel quite attached to the privileges and distinctions they give us.
It can be very hard to break down our denial that we do have certain privileges, then contemplate giving them up or sharing them. But it’s a better world, when all are free to live up to our potential, when all are recognized as God’s people. Xenophobia – fear and dislike of the stranger or “other” – hurts everyone, including the prejudiced one. Our ‘isms’ – racism, sexism, classism, etc. – destroy all of us. I firmly believe this.
Messages of inclusivity and equality can seem like bad news, invoking suspicion, fear, anger, and denial. We can find many ways – some quite subtle -- to push them away. But these messages are in fact the good news, the gospel, whether we like it or not.
We may wonder, as did Jesus’s townspeople: “Why be part of God’s kingdom if it’s not going to directly benefit me, my tribe, my group? “ And truth be told, there are sacrifices involved in giving up our false sense of separation, the fences that divide.
At Reconciler, we demonstrate inclusivity in a vital and uncommon way by being an ecumenical church, drawing on the traditions of several distinct denominations. This is a wonderful and unique experiment that can’t be underestimated in its rarity and importance. It has its challenging and risky aspects. Could we be more inclusive, more diverse? Yes, probably we could. And perhaps we will grow to be. I trust we will do so in ways that seeks to avoid mere tokenism and political correctness. Openness to the other, whoever the other is, needs to come from a deep place of respect and reality testing. And being willing at times to sacrifice one’s own pride of place and comfort zone for the task of building up the kingdom. Our friend William spoke to us about “el plenitud del reino” – the plenitude of the kingdom – and Jesus speaks to us in today’s gospel about that that astonishing abundance for all. It’s still scandalous, the grace of God that extends to us, if we only dare to accept and live into it.
I love the ending of today’s gospel passage. Luke says: “But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went on his way.” When the people in Jesus’ town try to run him off a cliff, his ultimate rejection is foreshadowed. Jesus will be rejected not only by his townspeople, but by many of his compatriots, the Israelites. He will end his life a prophet without honor in either hometown or country. Today’s gospel passage foreshadows his crucifixion. But it also foreshadows the resurrection. Luke’s gospel concludes: “He went on his way” or in another translation from the Greek “He was going on.” Jesus gave the hard message of God’s inclusivity to his townspeople and then went on to his next task. Ultimately Jesus dies for this and the other hard messages he delivers, but…even after death, he is going on. God’s love for all of us just couldn’t die. And my friends, as the Body of Christ, we are going on too. Each of us are vital members of the body, as Paul stresses in our reading from Corinthians. Valuing and respecting each part, sharing with others the hard but good news of radical inclusion, we are to go on building up the Kingdom in all its plenitude. Amen.
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