First Reading: Jeremiah 28:5-9

⁵The prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord; ⁶and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill the words that you have prophesied, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. ⁷But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. ⁸The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. ⁹As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

Psalm: Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18

Your love, O Lord, forever will I sing. (Ps. 89:1)

 ¹Your love, O Lord, forever will I sing;
  from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.
 ²For I am persuaded that your steadfast love is established forever;
  you have set your faithfulness firmly in the heavens.
 ³“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
  I have sworn an oath to David my servant:
 ⁴‘I will establish your line forever,
  and preserve your throne for all generations.’ ” 
 ¹⁵Happy are the people who know the festal shout!
  They walk, O Lord, in the light of your presence.
 ¹⁶They rejoice daily in your name;
  they are jubilant in your righteousness.
 ¹⁷For you are the glory of their strength,
  and by your favor our might is exalted.
 ¹⁸Truly, our shield belongs to the Lord;
  our king to the Holy One of Israel. 

Second Reading: Romans 6:12-23

¹²Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. ¹³No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. ¹⁴For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

 ¹⁵What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, ¹⁸and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.
 ²⁰When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. ²²But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. ²³For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gospel: Matthew 10:40-42

 [Jesus said to the twelve:] ⁴⁰“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; ⁴²and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

Children’s Sermon:  Let’s sing the Zacchaeus Song we learned as young children:

 Zacchaeus was a wee little man

 and a wee little man was he. 

He climbed up in a sycamore tree

 for the Lord he wanted to see.

  And as the savior passed him by,

 he looked up in the tree.

  And he said,

 Zacchaeus you come down for I’m going to your house today.

Let us pray.  Lord may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

         Discipleship Part 3, the “welcoming moment.” Two weeks ago on Pentecost 3 we read about Jesus sending out his disciples and read the texts as applying to us.  We are God’s plan, the messengers of the news that the kingdom of heaven is near. God feels compassion for his sheep that are helpless and harassed without shepherds.  God is not sitting up in heaven, waiting for us to earn our way to him.  We do not go to Him, He came to us in Jesus Christ and has opened the door to relationship. Now we, his messengers, you and I, extend that invitation of relationship to all people.  People are invited to a God who is just but that justice is tempered with love.  He is a God who wants to be known, to be loved and to be worshipped!

         Last week, we reflected on the implications of being sent.  The kingdom of heaven will clash with the kingdom of this world and we will face challenges when we give the message but we do not need to be afraid.  God has not kept secrets from us and has sent the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who walks with us and will give us the words to say.  We do not need to fear people who destroy the body but we need only fear the Evil one who can harm our souls.  We are more valuable to God than the common, ordinary sparrow.

         People were created with free will and have choice.  As messengers, our responsibility is not to save people.  Salvation comes from what was done by Christ on the cross.  We are to faithfully proclaim the truth.  Some  however will choose not to believe.  Also, following Christ may feel like we are loosing our lives as we obey but the truth is that as we refuse our inborn self-centeredness, we gain life.  In loosing our life for Christ, we save our life.

         WHEW.  What more is there to say?  The last three verses of Matthew 10 is our text for today.  They talk about that “welcoming moment” when we realize we could share and the rewards of being a disciple of Jesus when we do share.

We have the honor of being messengers.

“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me,

 and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”

Rejection is not personal.

         We are God’s plan and we are God’s messengers.  I think we use the phrase, “Don’t kill the messenger.”  This week the mailperson delivered a letter from the IRS saying I owe money for 2022 because a reliable, well-known tax organization filled out my return with me and a mistake occurred.  For some reason an income blank was not filled in and I am responsible.  Shooting the mailperson of that letter will not eliminate the debt.  The organization that I think made the mistake does not own responsibility because I signed on the line.  I am held guilty and I have given all my explanations but the truth is still in the letter.  Money is owed.

         In the same way we can deny our status as a “sinner.”  I was too young to understand.  My spouse is a jerk and made me do it.  I didn’t know the gun was loaded.  I needed the money more than the IRS.  My neighbor is far worse than myself.  In Kenya people would say that they made a “mistake” and did not “sin.”  Adultry is sin.  Lust is human and forgiveable.

         We are messengers when we share with another our experiences of a God who wants to be involved with his sheep and who walked through death for them.  Jesus invited Zacchaeus down from the tree and said he wanted to go to Zacchaeus’ house. Had Zacchaeus refused it would have missed an opportunity to get to know Jesus.

          It is easy to feel like people are rejecting us and judging us because of the truth we carry but their rejection is really a rejection of God.  Welcoming the messenger, welcoming us, is welcoming God.  We have the privilege of informing people that the God of the universe loves them.  It is a great honor to tell someone the person is loved, forgiven, valued and need not be helpless and harrassed.  It is an honor to be an Ambassador for the United States and a greater honor to be an Ambassador for the God of the universe.  Jesus called Zacchaeus down from the tree and wanted to eat with him. The slave girl who told Naaman’s wife there was a prophet in Israel who could cure her husband’s leprosy, was written up in history.  In Acts 23 Paul’s nephew hears about a plot to kill Paul and goes to Paul and to the authorities reporting.  Paul’s life is saved and we are blessed.  Being a messenger for God is an honor.

         So perhaps the first question facing us today is to ask how our “approach” to sharing is working?  Are we embarrassed to share the message we have been entrusted with?  Are we more concerned about acceptance and popularity than the other’s plight? Are we focused on ourselves or sharing with another the joy we have experienced?  Perhaps if our walk with Christ is lukewarm, our sharing will be lukewarm also.  It’s a thought.        

         So now let’s dig a bit deeper.  The Zacchaeus song we sang is built on his story found in Luke 19:1-10.  What do we know about Zacchaeus?  He was short, the chief tax collector and wealthy.  He had little reason to need Jesus and good reason to believe that Jesus would never visit him.  Too much past, too much baggage.  But he was curious so he climbed a tree just to get a glimpse from afar, from a safe social distance.  Zacchaeus is confronted by a moment of welcome.  “Zacchaeus, you come down for I’m going to your house today.”  Jesus wants to visit him.  Zacchaeus has to make a decision about whether he is going to welcome Jesus.  The Bible says Zacchaeus “welcomed him (Jesus) gladly.”

         Likewise a “welcoming moment” is a time when we decide we are going to share the our truth with another. My imperfections and the imperfections of the other are not important.  My excuses of being too short, too wealthy, or an outcast don’t matter.  The question is the openness of my heart to share and of the heart of the other to receive the message of Jesus.  It is an honor to be the bearer of good news.

Often the messenger “is tipped!”

¹Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet

will receive a prophet’s reward.”

         You might think of the Dominos Pizza guy at the door but how it applies to disciples is not so obvious.  The words, ”prophet’s reward”, is not used elsewhere in Scripture.  The prophets often seem to get a questionable welcome, especially when speaking truth to power.  We might think of Elijah being thrown in the cistern.  The prophet by definition is “prophesizing,” speaking God’s words about a situation or about the future and if what they say does not come true, they are killed.  The disciples were thought to be modern day prophets. When we share, we are speaking about truth the world does not acknowledge and about a future the world cannot see but must accept by faith.

         I think of the story of the widow of Zarephath.  There was drought and she went out to collect wood for her last meal with her son before they would starve to death.  She was expecting death.  Instead she met Elijah, a prophet from “the other tribe” (for she was Sidonian, living in the Phonecian coast and Elijah was from Israel.) who requested a drink of water and a piece of bread.  1 Kings 17:7-16.  This was a “welcoming moment” for the poor widow.  How would she welcome the visitor?  She had nothing the world would feel is necessary for a proper welcome and she had no future.  She had no husband to entertain him.  She lived in poverty and probably had social rules about welcoming strangers.  But she did.  She shared her little and was rewarded with food to the end of the famine.  Elijah also benefited because he had food to the end of the famine.

         The prophets often found themselves in difficult situations but people who helped the prophets were rewarded.  Perhaps we can read into this that as hard as it is to be the messenger of God’s words, the outcome for the person who receives the message is blessing and the person who sees another being blessed is also blessed personally.  Zacchaeus received Jesus and was so changed he promised to pay back those he had overcharged and many were blessed.  I suspect Jesus was blessed at seeing Zacchaeus’ joy.  To be able to give life is rewarding.    

Messengers “pay forward”

“and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous”.

         This verse makes me think of Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10.  Let me start by saying that we are only righteous because of Christ.  None of us are righteous in and of ourselves, Rom 3:16, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”  As we become part of the body of Christ, his righteousness is credited to us.  There is a bit of a theological debate about baptism but the base line is that we are not righteous ourselves.  We are the recipients of righteousness.

     Cornelius is a Roman centurion, a god-fearing man living in Caesarea, praying and an angel comes and tells him to invite Peter who is visiting in Joppa.  Meanwhile Peter is in Joppa, resting on a housetop, dreaming of a sheet being lowered from heaven full of animals and being commanded to eat. As he ponders the implications of the dream, Cornelius’ messengers arrive and invite Peter to meet with Cornelius.  What a beautiful picture of the “moment of welcome” that becomes a guideline for “welcoming moments.”  Despite racial differences, despite social differences, despite the religious difference, Cornelius opens his house to Peter.  He even invites all his own relatives, believing Peter is the true representative of God.  Peter, on the other hand, must open his heart and break the social norms of his faith to meet with “a gentile.”  This welcoming moment is pivotal in the story of Christianity.  Cornelius and his household open their hearts to faith, experience the Holy Spirit, believe and are baptized.  Peter returns to Jerusalem and is confronted for his actions.  The young church struggles to understand but opens its door to the Gentiles.  We are the inheritors, perhaps the reward of this welcome.

         The end of James 2 tells how Abraham, the “Father of the Faith,” and Rahab, “the harlot,” both believed God and it was credited to them, regardless of their social status, as righteousness.  Abraham was given the title, “Friend of God,” and Rahab married a prince in Israel, became the grandmother of Boaz who took Ruth and they all became part of the line of David.  When we accept the role of messenger of God, we do not know where the ripples will end but God knows and rewards.  Sharing our faith is investing in our future and others we may not know.

         Zacchaeus was not a righteous man but he heard Jesus wanted to eat with him.  He welcomed Jesus and believed.  Not only did he believe, he too is included as one of the great stories of the Bible.  We may think we are too short or too stained with sin but righteousness is not because we are good people but because God is a good God and offers to share his righteousness with us. 

^“42and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple

—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

         So let’s step back and try to get the big picture.  We are sent forth as disciples, representative of God, given a message to deliver to people who may or may not receive it.  When we come to that “welcoming moment” of sharing our truth, we are standing on a threshold.  I must choose if I will be transparent and represent all God has helped me to be or will I put on my mask to protect me from the potential rejection I anticipate might happen?  Likewise the other person must decide if that person will meet me with an open heart? 

         The world would have us think that “welcoming moments” depend on my ability to impress you with who I am.  Jesus says these encounters depend on my willingness to share the truth I know about God with another and the other’s willingness to receive.  It is a moment when the Holy Spirit is moving.  I may be too short, have a shoddy past, be poor on the verge of starvation with no resources or I may be endowed with the status and wealth of this world but regardless of my “baggage”, “welcoming moments” challenge me to open my heart to another and share.  Good news is like a glass of cold water on a hot summer day. 

         The reward:  the other is blessed and their lives are turned around.  Zacchaeus shared his wealth.  The widow of Zaraphath and son were saved in the drought.  Cornelius and his household believed, were baptized and the Christian church opened its doors to the Gentiles.  It is possible we will be rejected, even killed, but they do not reject us but He who sent us. They can kill the body but they cannot kill the soul. It is an honor to be Christ’s ambassador.  It is an investment in another and in our future.  God is watching and God rewards.

Let the people of God say, “AMEN!”

First Reading: Jeremiah 20:7-13

 ⁷O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed;
 you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed.
 I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.
 ⁸For whenever I speak, I must cry out,

      I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”
 For the word of the Lord has become for me
  a reproach and derision all day long.
 ⁹If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,”
 then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones;
 I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.
 ¹⁰For I hear many whispering: “Terror is all around!
 Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”  All my close friends
  are watching for me to stumble.
 “Perhaps he can be enticed, and we can prevail against him,
  and take our revenge on him.”
 ¹¹But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior;
  therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail.
 They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed.
 Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.
 ¹²O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous,

         you see the heart and the mind; let me see your retribution upon

      them, for to you I have committed my cause.
 ¹³Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord!
 For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.

Psalm: Psalm 69:7-10 [11-15] 16-18

Answer me, O Lord, for your love is kind. (Ps. 69:16)

 ⁷Surely, for your sake I have suffered reproach,
  and shame has covered my face.
 ⁸I have become a stranger to my own kindred,
  an alien to my mother’s children.
 ⁹Zeal for your house has eaten me up;
  the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.
 ¹⁰I humbled myself with fasting,
  but that was turned to my reproach. 
 ¹¹I put on sackcloth also, and became a byword among them.
 ¹²Those who sit at the gate murmur against me,
  and the drunkards make songs about me.
 ¹³But as for me, this is my prayer to you, at the time you have set, O Lord:
  “In your great mercy, O God, answer me with your unfailing help.
 ¹⁴Save me from the mire; do not let me sink;
  let me be rescued from those who hate me and out of the deep waters. 
 ¹⁵Let not the torrent of waters wash over me, neither let the deep swallow me up; do not let the pit shut its mouth upon me.
]  ¹⁶Answer me, O Lord, for your love is kind;
  in your great compassion, turn to me.
 ¹⁷Hide not your face from your servant;
  be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.
 ¹⁸Draw near to me and redeem me;
  because of my enemies deliver me. 

Second Reading: Romans 6:1b-11

^1bShould we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? ²By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? ³Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
 ⁵For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷For whoever has died is freed from sin. ⁸But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. ¹¹So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Gospel: Matthew 10:24-39

 [Jesus said to the twelve:] ²⁴“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; ²⁵it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
 ²⁶“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. ²⁸Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
 ³²“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; ³³but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
 ³⁴“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
 ³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father,
 and a daughter against her mother,
 and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
 ³⁶and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

CHILDREN’S SERMON  The following speech should sound familiar to most of us and so we often tune out when we hear it.

“Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the crew I ask that you please direct your attention to the monitors above as we review the emergency procedures. There are six emergency exits on this aircraft. Take a minute to locate the exit closest to you. Note that the nearest exit may be behind you. Count the number of rows to this exit. Should the cabin experience sudden pressure loss, stay calm and listen for instructions from the cabin crew. Oxygen masks will drop down from above your seat. Place the mask over your mouth and nose, like this. Pull the strap to tighten it. If you are traveling with children, make sure that your own mask is on first before helping your children. In the unlikely event of an emergency landing and evacuation, leave your carry-on items behind. Life rafts are located below your seats and emergency lighting will lead you to your closest exit and slide. We ask that you make sure that all carry-on luggage is stowed away safely during the flight. While we wait for take off, please take a moment to review the safety data card in the seat pocket in front of you.”

Tell your neighbor what items the flight attendant mentions in her speech.

Let us pray, May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight My Rock and My Redeemer.

SERMON

         Our text this Sunday picks up from where we stopped last week.  Jesus is giving instructions to his crew.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 5-8 where he lays out his State of the Union Address about what the kingdom of heaven is about.  It is not like the kingdom of this world!  Jesus then goes about Galilee doing what he has talked about.  The rubber meets the road.  He walks the talk.  He has traveled his “hood,” among his people, and realizes they are like sheep without a shepherd, harassed and helpless.  The heart of God incarnate is filled with compassion.  He calls his disciples together and shares his authority with them and sends them out with instructions.  “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. (Matt 10:16)” Jesus gives them instructions for their journey and possibly we have heard the instructions so many times our spiritual ears tune out.  Today, though, we pick up his instructions to his disciples and also to us, his disciples to our world today.

Community:  “It is enough… (v. 25)”

         During Pentecost we focus on the difference it makes in our lives that we believe in a Triune God unlike other world religions.  Today Jesus tells his disciples that “it is enough”, it is enough for the disciples to be like their teacher or master.  Perhaps like the plane attendant’s speech, we need to be reminded to stay calm and don’t panic.  We are not seeking to be “above” or outshine each other.  God will care for each of us in an emergency and we don’t have to battle another for safety.  The Trinity is not about an authority hierarchy and competition but about a unity where each aspect of the godhead glorifies the character of the other.  Jesus glorifies the Father and the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus.  When the mother of James and John asked Jesus for her sons to sit at his right hand and left hand when he came into power, she had missed the point.  When we somehow think the Bishop is closer to God, more powerful than the person in the pew next to us and that God cares more about the Bishop than me, I fear we are sliding down a rabbit hole.  When we pray together we are not thinking numbers make power or that the other guy is closer to God’s ear but we are inviting each other into a group conversation.  Big churches or small churches, rich people or poor people, or even talented verses ordinary make no difference to God.  His goal is for us to be Christ like using the characteristics God created within each of us.  We are each part of the body and we each serve a role that reflects something about God.  It is enough to be like him as we are created to be. We are on God’s plane, on his agenda, each having our own seat and he will help all of us board and deal with any emergency that might arrive.

Communication:  “So have no fear of them…(v, 26)”

         Jesus next says my favorite words “have no fear.”  We need not be afraid of others because there are no secrets with God.  We are not to be afraid of “them,” the people who attack us.   Hmmmm, that makes me stop and think about our social world today.

         “Scam” is one of the words that come to mind and “disinformation” is another word that has become popular.  We do not have to be afraid that God will “scam” or deceive us into doing something harmful to ourselves.  God is not going to mislead us about where the exit is when we encounter turbulence.  He will not bring out all our dirty laundry to discredit us.  We are forgiven and secure in God’s love.   Our sins are as far as the East is from the West.  We do not need to be afraid that God will try to take advantage of our ignorance.  The Holy Spirit is our Advocate and always interceding for us.   God is on our side, fighting for us and communicating with us what we need to know.  We can count on his “safety instructions.”

         Likewise God does not dispense “disinformation” to try and confuse us and trick us into believing him.  When we think about ways that communication becomes twisted and harmful in our world, we know these are campaigns that come from evil.  God hates gossip, slander and envy.  God is not like that.  So when fear enters, we know we are being tempted by the evil one.

         Jesus says we need not fear those who can kill the body, other people, but our only fear need be that we are pleasing God who cares about our soul and our eternity.  We do not need to panic in a crisis and fear physical death.  Jesus says we are of more value than a sparrow.  This last weekend I had visitors from California and we went with my neighbor to the Apopka Wildlife trail.  It is 14 miles on gravel road through a swampy area that houses millions of birds and alligators.  The photographers in our group were in heaven.  My friend with her bird book tried to find any bird she did not recognize.  We are more valuable to God than a tiny, ordinary sparrow.  He delights in them…and in you! What God tells us, we can shout from housetops without fear.

         Jesus goes to a darker place as he shares with his disciples not to fear to testify of their faith.  Many of his followers throughout history and today will be called to account by courts and by people of other religions.  We call it being a martyr.  Airplanes do encounter problems.  The underwater sub that has been in the news this week did have problems.   Jesus introduces a reciprocal principle here.  It should sound familiar to us.  In the Lord’s Prayer we ask, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”  If we refuse to forgive, we continue to carry that burden and God won’t force us to let go.  The life-vest under your seat on the plane is of no use if you refuse to believe and put it on.  Here Jesus says we are to acknowledge him before people and he will acknowledge us before God.  This is a piece of spiritual meat we must chew on a bit.  Let me propose a possible understanding.

         When I bury truth within myself and talk contrary to what I know is true, I am deceiving others and hurting myself.  I go home kicking myself for being dishonest. I know I have not been my better self, a person of integrity, congruent outwardly with my inner beliefs.  I have given way to fear.  Likewise, when we are duplicitous, then there is no victory for Jesus to brag about to the Father.  The gold medal I might have won now goes to another because I do not go the whole mile.  I suppose one of the examples of what I’m trying to say is Eric Liddell, the runner.  He was convicted by his conscience about running the qualifying race for the 100-meter for the Olympics on a Sunday.  He allowed Abrams to run it and he ran the 400 meter race that he had not trained for.  By being true to his beliefs, another won the gold medal that all thought was his but he did medal in the longer race.  He did not cave under social pressure.

         Most of our “moments of truth” are not that dramatic or as dramatic as an airplane problem.  I often fail in front of the refrigerator door and then hang my head with my friends, as we know we have not dieted, as we had wanted.  Perhaps truth hangs in the balance when we fill out our tax returns.  The flight attendant has a general announcement that is made on every flight for all people but each crisis is different and each of us is not on the same plane.  But we are headed to the same destination and we do encounter similar problems that God wants to help us navigate.

         Fears eat away at our insides as we fear scams, shams, and disinformation and that fear paralyzes our actions.  Fears can also eat away at our outward testimonies, the person we present ourselves to be to others.  Jesus concludes these thoughts by again reiterating that he is not Santa Claus.  He did not come to bring Christmas and to make our lives here on earth comfy.  Jesus is not about instant health, wealth and prosperity.  The goal is not to be comfortable on the flight but to get to our destination trusting his instructions for the trip.  He is building a kingdom where community without competition is enough and where we do not spend our lives in fear of the other.  

Obedience: ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their

life for my sake will find it.”

         Our triune God is communal and we are people of community.  The community that is forming will work by different values than the communities of this world.  God will communicate truth to us and through us to build his kingdom.  We need to communicate with others.  Having that safety card in the pocket in front of you in the plane is of no use if we don’t read it.  Christian community can expect friction and frustration from the world as they communicate their values and the ways they function to the society around them.  We must never forget that we are valuable and seeking to be like our teacher and master where we are.

         Jesus now gives another mind twister.  “Forgive me my trespasses as I forgive others.”  Acknowledge Jesus before people and he can acknowledge us before God.  And thirdly Jesus says that it is as we lose our life for Christ’s sake that we find life.  The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth are not the same and work differently.  So disciples must always make sure they are listening to and following the instructions of their master because his directions will feel like loosing our lives but in obeying him we find life.

         Forgiveness over revenge for the wrongs done us can feel like the death of our pride.  Sharing our wealth with a church through offerings can feel like compromising our ability to lead a comfortable life.  Reading the Bible rather than keeping track of the next series on TV may make us look a little ignorant in public but….  God’s ways don’t make sense in our world and often feel life threatening.  The world sent Jesus to the cross and being like Jesus can feel life threatening also.  In an emergency on the plane, we do not know if there is enough oxygen coming through those masks for everyone.  I have never actually seen that life vest under my seat nor do I know if it is big enough for me.  I do check for exit doors.  But I must admit I am locating the bathrooms also.  We just don’t know and must obey the instructions given us when we board.  We just don’t know if someday we will be called to account for our faith.  We don’t know what the end of our journey will be like.  We all vote for falling asleep in our chair or bed surrounded by loved ones but only God knows.  And so we close today with the promise Jesus gave,

³⁹Those who find their life will lose it,

and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Buckle your seat belts for another week.  He has life-vests, oxygen masks, and marked paths to exits for whatever turbulence you will face this week.

And the people of God said, “Thank You!”

First Reading: Exodus 19:2-8a

²[The Israelites] had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.³Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: ⁴You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. ⁵Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, ⁶but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”
 ⁷So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ^8aThe people all answered as one: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

Psalm: Psalm 100

We are God’s people and the sheep of God’s pasture. (Ps. 100:3)

 ¹Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands!
  ²Serve the Lord with gladness; come into God’s presence with a song.
 ³Know that the Lord is God, our maker to whom we belong;
  we are God’s people and the sheep of God’s pasture. 
 ⁴Enter the gates of the Lord with thanksgiving and the courts with praise;
  give thanks and bless God’s holy name.
 ⁵Good indeed is the Lord, whose steadfast love is everlasting,
  whose faithfulness endures from age to age. 

Second Reading: Romans 5:1-8

¹Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
 ⁶For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. ⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

Gospel: Matthew 9:35—10:8 [9-23]

³⁵Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
 ^10:1Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. ²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
 ⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. [⁹Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, ¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. ¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹²As you enter the house, greet it. ¹³If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
 ¹⁶“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; ¹⁸and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. ¹⁹When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; ²⁰for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ²¹Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; ²²and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³When they persecute you in one town,  towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”]

CHILDREN’S SERMON:

 Aesop wrote a famous fable called: The Lion’s Share

            “A long time ago, the Lion, the Fox, the Jackal, and the Wolf agreed to go hunting together, sharing with each other whatever they found.  One day the Wolf ran down a Stag and immediately called his comrades to divide the spoil. Without being asked, the Lion placed himself at the head of the feast to do the carving, and, with a great show of fairness, began to count the guests.  “One,” he said, counting on his claws, “that is myself the Lion. Two, that’s the Wolf, three, is the Jackal, and the Fox makes four.”  He then very carefully divided the Stag into four equal parts.

         “I am King Lion,” he said, when he had finished, “so of course I get the first part. This next part falls to me because I am the strongest; and this is mine because I am the bravest.”  He now began to glare at the others very savagely. “If any of you have any claim to the part that is left,” he growled, stretching his claws menacingly, “now is the time to speak up.”

The animals of the forest had a problem.  They were hungry.  King Lion in the fable is not like King Jesus, as we shall see in our sermon today.  How are the Lion and Jesus different?

Let us pray.  Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

         In our Psalm for today, verse 3, sets our theme,  “We are God’s people and the sheep of God’s pasture.”  The first reading from the Old Testament reminds us of God’s promise to the people of Israel,  

         “⁵Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you     shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the       whole earth is mine, ⁶but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a        holy nation.”

God had a plan for his creation, a good plan.  We are his sheep designed to be a priestly kingdom.  And so our text opens with Jesus taking a tour of his “hood.” He’s checking out his flock.  He teaches, proclaims the good news of the kingdom, and cures disease.  True to the character of our triune God, Jesus wants a healthy community, is communicating with his sheep that the “kingdom is near,” and is teaching.  So far King Jesus and King Lion might appear to be similar, both agreeing in the good of everyone.

The Problem

       Jesus, God incarnate, has come to his creation but “Houston, we have a problem!” Jesus sees that his people are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”  The problem is not that the sheep are stupid and need to go to seminary.  The problem is not that the sheep need to be sheared of their heavy wool that causes them to drown if they fall in the river.  The problem is not that the sheep are in Israel and really need to be in America where there are green pastures.  No, the problem is that shepherds are harassing and harming his sheep.  King Jesus focuses on the good of the sheep.  King Lion in the fable is focused on self and not on the good of everyone.  The sheep are not guilty of being sheep. God created them sheep and God loves sheep. 

         Jesus sees that God’s people are like sheep being “harassed and helpless.”  Please note that our text does not open with God being furious at his people’s waywardness.  Our text says Jesus is filled with compassion for his sheep.  I need to hear that today and maybe you do too.  God’s response to my dilemma with life is compassion, not judgment.  Unlike King Lion, God does not pull rank.   Let me say it again.  Jesus’ response to my problems is compassion.  God is love.  God hates sin, anything that destroys his sheep, but God loves his people.  God does not want his sheep to be hungry while he feasts.

The Plan

         Jesus calls his disciples and gives them authority.  Jesus’ solution is sharing.  Jesus’ solution is people, other sheep, not education, not new laws or new rulers, not science and not new discoveries for a better life for the sheep, and not relocation to a better environment.  Jesus calls his disciples and shares with them his authority to help his people.  He sends them out “like sheep among wolves.”  King Jesus shares unlike King Lion.

         Folks, we are God’s plan for the problems of life, not social security, not bank accounts, not government, not doctors and not moving.  Jesus called his disciples together, delegated his authority over the evils of life and sent them out.  It is not God’s will that any should be lost.  Our problem is not the other person.  I’m going to say that again too.  That person, who irritates you or does life different from you, is not the problem.  They are all lost sheep.  Let me remind us of Galatians 6:12,

            ^“12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but      against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers    of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the       heavenly places.”

That other person who gets to me is another sheep, just like me.  I don’t want to excuse abuse but I also think that often I forget that I am God’s plan for helping that other to cope with their problems in life.  I forget that I have my blind spots. 

         I also note that Jesus did not send his disciples out to those “heathens, the Gentiles.”  It is easy to focus on the stranger as a problem because for sure they will do things differently than ourselves.  But Jesus has the disciples focus on the home turf first.  I was deeply touched by an evangelism example that challenged me with a question.  Would I prefer to get $1,000 a day for a month,  total of $,30,000 or would I prefer to get one dollar, $1.00, the first day and let it double everyday for a month?  For the non-mathematically inclined the far bigger return is to take the $1.00 and let it double daily.  By day 15, half way through the month, I will receive $32,768!  We might also call it the ripple effect.  Being nice to one person and sharing your faith with that person can profoundly change the course of history.  Jesus knew this.  His 12 disciples have changed the world.  King Lion keeping all the food does not help build his kingdom.

         The song we warbled in the 70s was “Freely, Freely”.  Freely we have received and freely we are to give.   Jesus says it this way, 

         “⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.         You received without payment; give without payment. “

That sounds like a big order but I would suggest our problem with Jesus’ command is with us–we forget to pray.  It is not we who do the miracles.  God does.  Our role is to pray, share and invite God into the dynamics of the challenges we encounter.  Today we do not acknowledge demons but we do recognize evil.  We do not see leprosy in our neighborhoods but we do have the sick and outcaste.  And raising the dead does seem impossible but praying for the sick and grieving is not.  God has empowered us to share with others as his representatives.  He has given us authority.  As Nike would say, “Just do it.”

         Jesus adds a caveat. Whew!  Not all people are receptive or willing to hear and we are not charged to just share with anyone and everyone.  Jesus encouraged us to be discerning.  Jesus also warns that not everyone will be receptive.  Many disciples died as martyrs.  That is not our story today but it is for many in our world.  Our challenge is not to change the other but to be transparent about our faith and ourselves as the Holy Spirit taps us on the shoulder.

         Jesus also sent his disciples out two by two; having a friend to share the concerns of our heart is good.  We are not Lone Rangers.  We are part of a body and our challenge is to be true to our role in the body.  We are not all preachers but we are all important and we are all God’s representatives.  We are God’s plan for spreading the news that the Kingdom of Heaven is near!

Peace

         “…do not worry…” Being God’s plan for dealing with the problems of life feels like a heavy responsibility.  It is easy for me to ponder whether I should say something or keep my mouth shut.  Jesus teaches us but we still have to obey.  And so I find Jesus closing these instructions by saying, “Do not worry.”  Those are very comforting words.  Let me say them again, “Do not worry.”  He comes full circle from visiting his “hood” and seeing people like sheep that are harassed and helpless, he comes back and says in essence, I am with you.  Don’t worry.  The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say and will be with you.  Obedience is never me out on a limb alone but it is reaching out to grasp the hand of God who is leading me.  It is not God standing behind me saying, do it or else.  It is God pulling me forward for my own good and for the good of the other.

         King Jesus does not show his claws and challenge us with his authority like King Lion.  King Jesus has compassion for his sheep that are harassed and hurt by life.  King Jesus shares his authority.  King Jesus walks with us into the challenges we face.  We are not alone.  We do not need to worry.  The kingdom of heaven is near.

Lord, may the motives of my heart be compassion.

Lord, may I see people as your plan.

Lord, may I play my part in your plan.

Lord, may we be messengers of peace, trusting your presence.

Keep our hearts on you when we are misunderstood.

Let the people of God say “AMEN!”

First Reading: Hosea 5:15–6:6

 ¹⁵I will return again to my place
  until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face.
  In their distress they will beg my favor:

 ^6:1“Come, let us return to the Lord;
  for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;
  he has struck down, and he will bind us up.
 ²After two days he will revive us;
  on the third day he will raise us up,
  that we may live before him.
 ³Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;
  his appearing is as sure as the dawn;
 he will come to us like the showers,
  like the spring rains that water the earth.”

 ⁴What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
  What shall I do with you, O Judah?
 Your love is like a morning cloud,
  like the dew that goes away early.
 ⁵Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
  I have killed them by the words of my mouth,
  and my judgment goes forth as the light.
 ⁶For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
  the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Psalm: Psalm 50:7-15

 ⁷“Listen, my people, and I will speak: Israel, I will bear witness against      you; for I am God, your God.
 ⁸I do not accuse you because of your sacrifices;
  your burnt offerings are always before me.
 ⁹I will not accept a calf from your stalls, nor goats from your pens;
 ¹⁰for all the wild animals of the forest are mine,
  the cattle on a thousand hills. 
 ¹¹I know every bird of the mountains,
  and the creatures of the fields are mine.
 ¹²If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
  for the whole world is mine and all that is in it.
 ¹³Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls,
  or drink the blood of goats?
 ¹⁴Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving
  and make good your vows to the Most High.
 ¹⁵Call upon me in the day of trouble;
  I will deliver you, and you shall honor me.

Second Reading: Romans 4:13-25

¹³The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
 ¹⁶For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, ¹⁷as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. ¹⁸Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” ¹⁹He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. ²²Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” ²³Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, ²⁴but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

⁹As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
 ¹⁰And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. ¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹²But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

 ¹⁸While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” ¹⁹And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. ²⁰Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, ²¹for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” ²²Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. ²³When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, ²⁴he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. ²⁵But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. ²⁶And the report of this spread throughout that district.

CHILDREN’S SERMON:  Three Little Pigs 

We all know the story of the three little pigs who went out to build their homes.  The first little pig built his house of straw and the wolf blew it down.  The second little pig built his house of wood and the wolf blew it down.  The third little pig built his house of bricks.  It withstood the test of the wolf.  Share with your neighbor what one of the “wolves” are today that might be blowing on your house.

Let us pray.  Lord may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

         Today we are really starting the Pentecost season.  Pentecost is the time after Easter and after the Holy spirit is sent to be with each of us as our counselor, our advocat, the Spirit of Truth leading and guiding us in our daily lives.  We reflected last week on how the Trinity draws us into community, draws us into communication, and teaches us lessons we are challenged to obey.  Today’s text introduces us to three people, three real examples of this.  Matthew is a social outcaste, a tax collector, who is called to follow Jesus.  Jairus, the synagogue leader is not a follower but struggling with the immenent death of his daughter.  The third is a desparate unnamed women, “unclean” from a flow of blood.  She has no name, has no status as a female, and is sick.  All three people are outside Christian community.  All three are not in comfortable communication with Jesus nor ordinary church going people.  All three need Jesus and they must make choices.

Matthew:  “⁹As Jesus was walking along,”

         “As” introduces disciple number 5.  Jesus has called James and John, Peter and Andrew.  “As” Jesus is walking along he notices Matthew.  We don’t know why.  He does not go out of his way but is alert to who is in his way.  We sometimes think evangelism is sharing the Gospel with some “identified sinner” who obviously needs to hear about Jesus because we see the questionable lifestyle.  Jesus is not looking for someone to enlist to his cause but is going about life as normal and notices a man he engages in conversation. 

         We would not classify Matthew as a modern day “seeker.”  As I listen to the news reports I wonder if the workers for the IRS or police or FBI would find a warm welcome in our churches.  On the other hand perhaps we would not think to talk to a bartender or nightclub owner or a political leader from the opposite side of the rails.  We all have our social excuses for not interacting with people that make us uncomfortable.  We are too old, not rich enough, too conservative and so we excuse ourselves from crossing the line between “in” and “out.”  Matthew as a tax collector was an “outsider.”

         Matthew is part of an existing community, not necessarily looking for new friends.  Matthew’s friends come with him to listen to Jesus and those ever watching Pharisees object.  Jesus is clear that building community, caring for the sick and outcaste is a priority for God.  If we were to draw a clock to represent the time we spend talking with God, talking with friends about our faith, and talking with “others” about our faith, we might have to hang our head.  The point I want to make is not numbers of people witnessed to or our assesment of the spiritual condition of people we interact with. Only God knows the heart. But I want to note that Jesus was willing to talk about faith to those who happened to cross his path.

         Pentecost is not focusing on how our God communicates with even the social outcaste but the reality that because Jesus is alive in our lives, we may at anytime feel the tap of the Holy Spirit on our shoulder to share about our faith with someone we would not normally interact with.  That social outcaste is outcaste in the eyes of the world but is someone God wants to be in his community.  Can we say, “Welcome”?  Let’s turn to our neighbor and say, Welcome to Bethany!

         Matthew had to make a choice.   Jesus invited him to “follow.”  Matthew had to choose to obey.  He did and that changed his life from “outsider” to “insider.”  Matthew came with the skills he had honed in the secular world and perhaps with some of the bad habits also that had to be repurposed but when he chose to follow Jesus, he not only became an “insider” but he also became “valuable” and “forgiven.”  Matthew became someone who was part of God’s community, part of God’s story, someone in relationship with God, and under God’s authority – not Rome’s. We might say that Matthew was building his house of straw, on finances, and the wind of finances can blow it down.  He ran to a house built with bricks.

Jairus

         Matthew was a social outcaste, a tax collector.  Jairus on the other hand was a leader in the Synagogue.  Not all problems are “out there with those sinners.”  Jairus knew enough about Jesus to seek him out in his hour of need but he was not a committed follower.  We might call these people CEO Christians.  We might see them at Christmas, Easter and Other times like death.  Or again we might call them 9-1-1 Christians.  They tune in during emergencies hoping for help for their crisis or some crisis they perceive in the world.  Jairus is not without faith even though he goes to that “other” church or denomination.  He knew enough to turn to Jesus.  Turning to Jesus in our hour of need is always a good choice.

         Jesus goes with Jairus but so do the crowds.  I doubt this was some sort of triumphal procession through the streets of Jerusalem.  Community is messy.  The evil one loves to whisper in our ear that probably God will not answer my prayer request as I waited too long – til my daughter died and the mourners are gathered.  Probably the others clamouring for God’s attention will be dealt with before me as I am not a committed devotee of Jesus.  The evil ones loves to throw up all the possible barriers to community that might highjack God’s attention from our place in community.  Like wise all the voices of the crowd and our friends communicate, “Don’t bother the master.”

         Jairus had a crisis though.  His daughter had died.  I was not there and am not medical but whether she died or was in a coma, the girl too was not in community.  We can be outside God’s community because of our doubts and diseases.  That is a different dynamic than Matthew.  The dynamics of Jairus or his daughter does not stop Jesus from engaging with them.   We do not need to be people of faith for Jesus to reach out.  Like Jairus’ daughter we may need someone else interceding for us.  That someone might be you!

         When Jesus arrives at their home, he first silences the crowds and the mockers.  She is not dead.  She is not beyond the ability of God to help.  Jairus’ crisis-faith does not limit God’s power to heal nor his love for the lost.  God is about restoring life and building faith.  He is not about measuring how worthy we are to be part of his community.  God does not love us just because of our faith in Jesus.  God loves us because we are his creation.

         Jesus tells Jairus to clear out the crowd and Jesus tells Jairus’ daughter, arise.  Jairus, a public religious leader must choose if he is going to obey infront of his congregation, infront of his peeps.  That is where the rubber meets the road.  Jesus is communicating and inviting him into community and he must put faith into action.  His obedience affects the atmosphere for his daughter and allows Jesus to “do his thing” for her.  Our obedience impacts the lives of others who may be entrapped in situations beyond their control.  Matthew went from being “an outsider” to “an insider” with his crew of people watching.  Jairus went from “sick with anxiety” to “reporter” of the miracle in his house.  His daughter went from “dead” to “alive.”  Pentecost season is a time when we realize how our status in community is changed, our communication channels are more open with God, and we realize how strategic our obedience is in the lives of others.  Perhaps people who are emergency prayers are like people building their houses of sticks.  It’s better than straw but in an emergency, they are in trouble.

An Unnamed Woman

         Our third character we meet this morning is an unnamed woman in the crowd who is outside community because of her illness and her identity as a woman.  She sees herself as unseen, unworthy and untouchable.  Her desparate hope is that by just touching the edge of Jesus’ robe she can be made well.  I suspect many in our world today are like this woman.  The obvious are those differently challenged who find it physically challenging to come to church because of their physical conditions that make the mechanics of going to church challenging but also embarrassing.  They turn on the TV and are discipled at a distance about the “health, wealth, and prosperity” the gospel offers but which has not come to them.  Then there are those with colorful pasts of being used, abused and rejected.  Most of us carry stories we do not want to share but for many their weight of failure drives them to desparately seek the edge of Jesus’ robe.  Real relationship is beyond their imagination.  Often we don’t see them because they don’t even value themselves.  Sometimes we too are so ashamed about our failures, we, like them, grasp desparately for Jesus.

         The beauty of this woman is that even when she considers herself unacceptable, Jesus knows the power has flowed from him and he knows she is there in the shadows.  She goes from “unseen” and “untouchable” to “seen” and “daughter.”  Jesus calls her “daughter.”  The world rejects her but faith has made her a daughter of the risen Lord.  Jesus communicates with her that she is valuable and whole through him.  Her choice to turn to him changed her life.  I would suggest this is a decision to build a house of bricks.  Straw and wood would not do for this woman.

Matthew, Jairus, a dead daughter, a sick woman

         Our text today takes people who are outside community and we see Jesus pull them into relationship.  We see people who are out of communication with God, enter into communication and who then become part of stories spreading throughout the world and through time.  We see people making choices to obey and follow and realize the huge difference it made in their lives.  Perhaps we are just like one of those people or perhaps we know someone else who is.  The message of Pentecost is that no matter what kind of house we build, of straw, wood or brick, God desires to be our guest and have us as part of his community.  He wants to communicate with us about whatever is on our minds.  He does not want us to call on him just when the big bad wolves are at our door.  And he wants us to let him help build stronger homes that stand firm when the winds of life blow.  Pentecost is a time when we ask ourselves if we are building with straw, wood or brick. Ephesians 2:19-21 challenges us:

^“19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, ²⁰ built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord;”

Let the people of God say, “AMEN!”

First Reading: Genesis 1:1–2:4a

¹In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, ²the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. ³Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
 ⁶And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. ⁸God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
 ⁹And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. ¹¹Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. ¹²The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. ¹³And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
 ¹⁴And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, ¹⁵and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
 ²⁰And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” ²¹So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. ²²God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
 ²⁴And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. ²⁵God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
 ²⁶Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
 ²⁷So God created humankind in his image,
  in the image of God he created them;
  male and female he created them.
²⁸God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” ²⁹God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. ³⁰And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
 ^2:1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. ²And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. ³So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
 ^4aThese are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

Psalm: Psalm 8

How majestic is your name in all the earth! (Ps. 8:1)

 ¹O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in ^| all the earth!—
 ²you whose glory is chanted above the heavens out of the mouths of infants and children; you have set up a fortress against your enemies, to silence the foe and avenger.
 ³When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
  the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,
 ⁴what are mere mortals that you should be mindful of them,
  human beings that you should care for them? 
 ⁵Yet you have made them little less than divine;
  with glory and honor you crown them.
 ⁶You have made them rule over the works of your hands;
  you have put all things under their feet:
 ⁷all flocks and cattle, even the wild beasts of the field,
 ⁸the birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
  and whatever passes along the paths of the sea.
 ⁹O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

 [Paul writes:] ¹¹Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. ¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.
 ¹³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

CHILDREN’S SERMON

Hans Christian Anderson in 1863 wrote The Ugly Duckling.  A duck hatches her eggs and one of the chicks is different and labeled ugly by the others.  The chick flees and goes through a series of experiences that convince him he is an ugly duckling.  He finally joins a flock of swans and discovers that he is not a duck but a beautiful swan.

Have you ever felt like an ugly duckling, not fitting in with those around you?

Let us pray.  Lord may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

         Today is the first Sundy after Pentecost, the long green season.  It is long because it is close to 27 weeks, half the liturgical year.  Green will be the color of our church paraments or decorations because Pentecost is about life, life in Christ, the risen, living God who is involved in our lives.

         Can you hear Luther’s Small Catechism question, “What does this mean?”  Today’s text opens the Pentecost season with the Great Commission.  It is a favorite missionary text but it is also a mandate that permeates all our lives.  Let me suggest there are three themes that will impact our thinking in the Pentecost season.

• God is Trinity and we as his creation, made in his image, live in community. 
• God talks.  We are characterized by our ability to think abstractly and encode our ideas in language.  We are charged with communicating the Gospel.
• God teaches.  God is a being with ideas and expectations and we are expected to obey.

God is Trinity=Relational

“…baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

         At the very core of the Christian faith is the mystery of the Trinity.  We do not have three gods that share authority like the three branches of our American government.  God does not operate by checks and balances.  We do not have a hierarchy of gods that take turns being in power.  We believe that our God is Trinitarian, “three persons in one being, one essence.”  I still like the example of electricity that powers my house.  When I turn on my lamp, it sends forth light.  When I turn on my stove, it radiates heat.  The TV and radio are visual and auditory.  One, all, or none can be experienced at the same time without diminishing the electricity present n my house.  Because Jesus is not seen, does not mean he has ceased to exist.  He was the Word at creation and will be our light in the New Jerusalem.  The Spirit breathed at creation and intercedes for us now.  This triune God fills the pages of Scripture.  We accept this truth by faith even though science struggles with it.

         So what does that mean to us?  We are made in the image of this triune God.  We are baptized in the name of this triune God.  Triune-ness defines us.  Walter Wangaarin in his book, As For Me and My House, presents the explanation I like the most.  I do not know who I am without you.  It is as I relate to you that I know if I am truly being loving or kind or mean and hurtful.  Love is not just something that oozes out of my pores but is a relational quality.  I am experiencing why death of a spouse or divorce is so painful.  Part of me is leaving.  There is something in the reality of community that defines my identity and is basic to my very being. In the creation story God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.”  I’m sure it has been pointed out the plural-ness of this statement, “our image.”  We are made for community.

         Paul uses the picture of a body to describe the church.  As varied and diverse as the body is with its different parts and functions, so also is the church, the body of Christ.  That person across the room that is so irritating carries a part of the image of God that is to bless me.  Gossip, covetousness, murder, slander – all the big 10 – have no place in the kingdom of heaven because they violate the image of God in our world.

         So here we might ask ourselves how we are doing relationally in our lives, not just in church.  Are there people we are offending that we need to heal relationships with?  Are there people different from ourselves that we need to broaden our thinking and try to understand?  We need each other.  Turn to your neighbor and say, “Thank you for being in my life!”  “Forgive me if I have hurt you.”  Bethany is a community reflecting the image of God and together we say something about God that we cannot say alone.  The flock of swans confirmed the identity of the ugly duckling.

God talks=Communicating

          “…Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”

         We believe in a God that has and does talk to us throughout history.  It is the very essence of Trinity.  The godhead is always in communication.  The good news is not just for my own edification and salvation and for the selected chosen but it is to be told to everyone.

         God’s heart’s desire is that all should be discipled, be told the good news.  We are not ugly ducklings but baby swans maturing.  Often we think of discipling as the job of the pastor.  But I think that if we stop and think, there is someone we look up to and there are people who look up to us.  One day my eldest son asked me to cut his hair just like his dorm father – whom he did not even particularly like but whom he was observing.  His younger brother then wanted his hair cut like his “big brother” assigned to him who was a soccer star for the school.  He spent an hour going through year books to find pictures of his heroe.  Yes we have our TV models that the media promotes but like the ugly duckling we also watch those around us and know when we are different and don’t fit in.  As I look at the life of Christ, I do not see someone who went around preaching how people had to come to him to be saved but he went around speaking the truth he knew about God, doing the things he knew God did, and loving others.  We all have a story we can share.  We all can encourage some one who thinks that they are an ugly duckling that, in truth, they are God’s creation for whom he incarnated and wants to be in communication with.  God has a story to tell and we have a story to tell also.  God desires to be in relationship, growing us all.  Our triune God does not sit afar waiting for us to earn our way into his presence but opens communication channels because that is his nature.

         So perhaps today we need to turn to that person in the pew with us and say, “You are not an ugly duckling but a swan in process.  Thank you for being here.”

God is Teacher=Obedience

:…teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you…”

         Teaching is a communication word that comes from the heart of a God who is triune, but it is interesting that it is followed by “obey.”  Faith is not an intellectual feat, memorizing Luther’s Small Catechism.  Faith is not a mystical experience defined by how many times we speak in tongues.  Faith is a relationship that grows out of obedience to the God of the universe that offers something our world does not promote or value.

         Jesus taught us to forgive our enemies.  We do not forgive others easily.  We do not love our enemies.  We do not share our coats freely.  Christianity does not make us healthy, wealthy, and wise in the world’s eyes.   Faith requires submission to the “other” as we grow to know the “others.”  Relationship is mutual give and take.  Christ prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “not my will but thine.”  Obedience and submission are counter-cultural and fight against our will.  As much as we preach a warm cozy relationship with God, we must never forget that he is God and we are his creation.  We are the recipients of salvation.  We need the Holy Spirit to struggle in prayer with us and counsel us, and lead us back to the right path when we go astray.  We need to be still and know that he is God as Psalm 8 so nicely reminds us today.  As we obey and work together with God, faith grows.  This does not come naturally and we are told to teach others to obey.

         Oh my.  I see one finger pointing out and four fingers curled back to myself.  The question rings, how well do I obey that I have the authority to tell someone else to obey?  And so we come full circle.  Being in relationship demands communication, talking, and submission, obedience to the wisdom of the “other.”  Trinity is a word we use to describe our God but it is also a word that permeates into our lives and impacts all our relationships, not just with our friends but also with strangers and those we struggle with.    We start Pentecost with pondering the Trinity because the nature of our God not only gives us life but also defines our life.  I am an ugly duckling until I find my place as a disciple of Christ, telling others and teaching them to obey even as God has blessed me.  God is Trinity, talking and teaching me that I am not an ugly duckling but his beloved child. Finally, we must always remember Christ’s final words, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

         Let the people of God say, “Thank you Lord, AMEN.”

First Reading: Acts 1:6-14

⁶When [the apostles] had come together, they asked [Jesus], “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ⁹When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. ¹¹They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
 ¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. ¹³When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

Psalm: Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35

 ¹Let God arise, and let God’s enemies be scattered;
  let those who hate God flee.
 ²As smoke is driven away, so you should drive them away;
  as the wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
 ³But let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God;
  let them also be merry and joyful.
 ⁴Sing to God, sing praises to God’s name; exalt the one who rides the clouds;  I Am is that name, rejoice before God!
 ⁵In your holy habitation, O God,
  you are a father to orphans, defender of widows;
 ⁶you give the solitary a home and bring forth prisoners into freedom; but the rebels shall live in desert places.
 ⁷O God, when you went forth before your people,
  when you marched through the wilderness,
 ⁸the earth quaked, and the skies poured down rain, at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
 ⁹You sent a bountiful rain, O God;
  you restored your inheritance when it languished.
 ¹⁰Your people found their home in it;
  in your goodness, O God, you have made provision for the poor.
 ³²Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
  sing praises to the Lord.
 ³³You ride in the heavens, O God, in the ancient heavens;
  you send forth your voice, your mighty voice.
 ³⁴Ascribe power to God,
  whose majesty is over Israel; whose strength is in the skies.
 ³⁵How wonderful you are in your holy places, O God of Israel,
  giving strength and power to your people! Blessed be God!

Second Reading: 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.
 ^5:6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. ⁷Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. ⁸Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. ¹⁰And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. ¹¹To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

Gospel: John 17:1-11

¹After Jesus had spoken these words [to his disciples], he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, ²since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. ⁵So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
 ⁶“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; ⁸for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. ¹⁰All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”

CHILDREN’S SERMON

One of my favorite unwind movies is “Ever After”.  It retells the story of Cinderella.  In France the Brothers Grimm visit an old lady in a castle who holds up a glass slipper and puts the story into context.  As she concludes, she says this classic line, “It does not matter that they lived happily-ever-after.  It matters that they lived!”  I love it.  It does not matter that we live happily-ever-after but that we live.  Turn to your neighbor and share for a moment just one thought on what “living well” means to you.

Let us pray.  Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

         “The hour has come,” prays Jesus after he has walked to Gethsemane with his followers, after the Last Supper and after he has imparted his last words of wisdom.  “The hour has come.”  We have come to the end of the Easter Season.  Thursday is Ascension and next Sunday we celebrate Pentecost. It reminds me of Lion King near the end, as Simba looks over Prideland that he is about to rule and Rafiki, the prophetic bird, says, “It is time.”  Perhaps you felt that way before the wedding as you prepared to enter or as you waited to enter the operating room or as you entered the procession for graduation.  “The hour has come” signifies a change, a transition to a new phase.  It is a feeling mixed with the excitement of anticipation and perhaps fears of the unknown future.

“Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you”

         Easter Sunday is not the end of the God story that the Bible tells.  Christ died for our sins.  Sometimes we stop there and leave off the Old Testament and all that build up to the Gospels and act as if my salvation is the whole point of Christianity.  But the story is not over.  The Bible is not a Jesus story but God speaking to us about himself and his walk with us.  The hour has come for the next phase.  Jesus prays to be glorified so that God is glorified.  Jesus names glorification as the next phase.  Glory is a hard word to get our minds around.  Let’s see if we can unpack it a little.  Our text starts with glory invoking the reality of authority.

Authority

“glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,

 ²since you have given him authority over all people,

 to give eternal life to all whom you have given him”

         The father gave the son authority over people, the authority to give them eternal life.  Authority is delegated from the Father to the Son.  We did not elect Jesus “savior” because we believe.  President Biden has authority because he is the elected president of the United States and we are bound to live under his influence whether we voted for him or not.  The majority of people chose him.  Jesus does not have authority that we respect, generated by winning an election.  He does not rule a democracy.  God declared him the “savior”.  The kingdom of this world may be a democracy but the kingdom of God is a theocracy, a realm ruled by God and Jesus has lived that example through out the Gospels.  He healed.  He walked on water by his own authority.  He cast out demons.  He lived showing us what heavenly authority looks like.

         Jesus has the power to give us eternal life in the heavenly kingdom.  When Jesus says that he is “the way, the truth, and the life” he is referring to life now and eternal life.  As we submit to his authority we find life.  This side of eternity that may mean small glimpses like finding hope when we are discouraged by turning to him in prayer.  It may mean we find love when we offer forgiveness to an enemy as Jesus told us to and the renewed relationship surprises us with love.  It may mean we find the strength to run the race as Eric Liddell testified in “Chariots of Fire,” “Where does the strength come to run the race?  It comes from within.”  These are glimpses of the eternal life we find in Christ. He has authority to give us eternal life as a gift, not as a paycheck for good deeds or reward for faith.  We praise him when we see his way working.  We glorify him as we rejoice.

         Christ’s authority comes from relationship to the Father, not from popularity with people.  Christ’s authority comes from finishing the task that was laid before him.  He has achieved eternal life that he gives and we have looked at this truth through the Easter season.  He is not giving us campaign promises that he hopes to fulfill when he gets in office if the other political party cooperates.  We don’t follow his leadership because it makes sense and accomplishes the task we chose him for.  We follow because he and the Father are one and he has finished the task he incarnated to do and he now returns to his original glory and eternal authority.

         This may be the moment when I take my faith temperature and ask myself if my faith looks like a democracy or is it based on a relationship where I bow to the authority and wisdom of the Christ?  

  “name” and “words”

         Christ came with a goal.  He came to make God’s name known.  Yes, he accomplished our redemption but in doing so he glorifies God.  Most people alive acknowledge the probability of the existence of a god but the nature of that god is up for discussion.  We have tales of super heroes and gods that intermarry and may even mate with humans.  We have tales of “forces” that guide our actions and are sources of power and fight with the “dark side.”  Perhaps we even like to think of Jesus as Dumbledore of Harry Potter and Satan as Voldemort.  Some would say we worship materialism, wealth, and talent.  We have all different ways we can access “power’ from whatever “god” today.  Perhaps in Biblical times the Baals were sources of fertility but it seems like our Baals are sources of power.  Jesus says he has made God’s name known and glorified.  God is not like other gods of this world. 

         Secondly Jesus has made God’s “words” known to us.  God speaks!  God speaks in every language.  God speaks over millennium.  We know about God’s character and about his wishes for us. We can read Scripture and we can look at the life of Jesus, God incarnate.  God came to us and revealed himself.  I know no other god that comes to walk with its creation, to create relationship that carries into eternity.  Jesus has made the nature of God known to us by coming to us and has made his words real to us in the actions of his life.  Jesus did not demand that Rome become Jews or live by the laws of Moses but lived a life that invited all to follow. God’s word glorifies God.

         The words Jesus taught us were to reveal God.  We love our neighbor as ourselves, we love our enemy as ourselves, and we love the foreigner as ourselves because they are God’s creation.  Our love glorifies God and Christ came to all people.

“…protect them in your name that you have given me,

 so that they may be one, as we are one…”

         Jesus ends this High Priestly Prayer with a very touching note.  He prays for our protection and our unity.  Please allow me to repeat that.  He prays for our protection and our unity.  Jesus walked with the poor, the sick, the demon possessed, in halls of power, through stormy seas, during times of popularity when all yelled “hallelujah” and during times of distain when the crowds yelled “crucify him.  He walked through birth and he walked through death.  This God we worship today is three dimensional and real.  He is not sitting far off in a cloud or on a different planet.  Jesus prays that this God who is present in our world, will protect us from evil.  No matter how bad the situation may seem, the God of the universe is protecting us. 

         This is not a universal prayer for the masses but a prayer of relationship for “friends.”  Interestingly Jesus connects this protection with unity.  In times of trouble, it is possible to try and be a lone ranger but I suspect that it is during hard times we not only have God’s protection but we also have the buffer zone of the body of Christ.  We have each other.  Hard times draw us together.  In my humanity, I tend to not want others to see me when I am ugly, weak, or needy for fear of their criticism and rejection.  Jesus knows the pain of hard times and I suspect he knows how important were those women gathered at the foot of the cross, those three sleepy friends who didn’t stay awake in the Garden of Gethsemane but were present, and maybe even his God heart was touched by the wisemen traveling to experience his birth.  It is the end of the Easter season and we know “the Lord is risen” because we experience him in community.  May our differences not drive us apart. 

“…the hour has come…”

         The hour has come. God’s story is not over. God now entrusts his story into our hands as he has our back.  We are not abandoned. Jesus did not “social distance” to heaven until he returns to judge.  He completed his work on earth and empowered us to continue the story. The Holy Spirit is with us.  Our lives and our faith, which may feel small and invisible, are involved in bringing glory, honor and praise to God for eternity. May we not give in to that which divides and may we nurture those habits that keep us in relationship with others and with God, our source of strength, life and protection.  May we not seek to live happily ever after but may we seek to live a life that glorifies God.

Let the people of God say “AMEN!”

First Reading: Acts 17:22-31

²²Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. ²³For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. ²⁴The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, ²⁵nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. ²⁶From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, ²⁷so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,
 ‘For we too are his offspring.’
²⁹Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. ³⁰While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Psalm: Psalm 66:8-20

 ⁸Bless our God, you peoples;
  let the sound of praise be heard.
 ⁹Our God has kept us among the living
  and has not allowed our feet to slip.
 ¹⁰For you, O God, have tested us;
  you have tried us just as silver is tried.
 ¹¹You brought us into the net;
  you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.
 ¹²You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water,
  but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.
 ¹³I will enter your house with burnt offerings
  and will pay you my vows—
 ¹⁴those that I promised with my lips
  and spoke with my mouth when I was in trouble.
 ¹⁵I will offer you burnt offerings of fatlings with the smoke of rams;
  I will give you oxen and goats.
 ¹⁶Come and listen, all you who believe,
  and I will tell you what God has done for me.
 ¹⁷I called out to God with my mouth,
  and praised the Lord with my tongue.
 ¹⁸If I had cherished evil in my heart,
  the Lord would not have heard me;
 ¹⁹but in truth God has heard me
  and has attended to the sound of my prayer.
 ²⁰Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer,
  nor withheld unfailing love from me.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:13-22

¹³Who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? ¹⁴But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, ¹⁵but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; ¹⁶yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. ¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, ¹⁹in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, ²⁰who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. ²¹And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

Gospel: John 14:15-21

 [Jesus said to the disciples:] ¹⁵“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. ¹⁷This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
 ¹⁸“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. ¹⁹In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. ²⁰On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

CHILDREN’’S SERMON

         Today, to wet our thinking for the text, let us think of words that start with “A” that we might use to describe God.  Please share for a moment.

Let us pray.  Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

         During our Easter Season we have traveled from the hallelujahs off Easter Sunday and shouts of “The Lord is Risen” to the testimonies of people who saw the risen Christ as they sheltered behind locked doors that evening – scared.  We looked at testimonies from others who encountered Christ through the Word he opened to them after they left Jerusalem walking home to Emmaus, just overwhelmed by all the events that took place that day.  We reflected on being his sheep and recognizing his voice as he calls.  We were challenged last week not to just listen but to believe the voice of the risen Christ because he is God, is preparing a place for us, and because he has a perfect track record of doing good and going before us to show us the way, the truth, and the life.  Today we come to another imperative.  We not only listen and believe but we must also act on our beliefs.  Faith is not just a brain rush and a hope but it is a way to live.  Let us look at the text.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

         The foundation of our relationship with God is love, not fear of punishment.  He deals with us not as an authority keeping track of our good and bad moments but as a parent with a beloved child.  We love our kids when they have poopy diapers even if we hold our nose.  We care about our friends even when they are angry with us.  We pray for friends when they are not with us and are struggling.  We rejoice whenever we get a love note and “keep the faith” when they are silent.  Keeping God’s commandments is based on love and trust that this unseen deity loves us too.

         The word “commandments” carries the connotation of law.  In fact we call the 10 Commandments, The Law.  We often think of them as holding up a mirror of perfection that drives us to acknowledge our need for God and that drives us to our knees crying for mercy.  Today “The Man” is often portrayed, as an authority figure to be despised who has no empathy for the plight of a person’s situation. It is easy to think of God as “the man.”   We just didn’t see that stop sign.  We are planning to fix the broken light.  Circumstances and the other guy drove us to do what we did.  Please understand and have mercy!

         I am guilty of thinking of God as an ultimate authority.  My husband has encouraged me through the years to think in terms of guidelines and not rigid laws.  The 10 Commandments are like the operation manual telling us how life works best.  If we don’t kill by murder or hate, if we don’t spread lies or covet and if we honor God then life will flow much better.  There will still be trials and problems but we will weather them better by turning to God and following his guidance.  God’s guidelines are based on his love for us!

A#1:  Advocate

¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate”

         Advocacy is a big word in our culture today.  We march.  We speak truth to power.  We write letters and sign petitions.  We want to believe our voice is heard.  Others advocate through their actions.  Bethany has a garden and provides a daycare for young children.  Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit to be not only with us but also in us.  He is not off marching in Washington for fairer laws.  The Holy Spirit lives in us, revealing truth to us to live our lives.  But the Spirit is also an honest mirror that reflects through our conscience the truth about ourselves and where we need to change so we can be our better selves.  The Holy Spirit interprets our prayers when we are so lost in a dilemma that we do not even know how to pray.  That is advocacy with empathy!  That is a love relationship and not just a popular cause that is being promoted.  God cares and advocates for us.

A#2:  Abandonment–Adoption

¹⁸“I will not leave you orphaned”

         One of the big words in our family is “adoption.”  My husband was a war baby and adopted at two months.  That defined his life as his new parents carried him to Kenya, East Africa.  The abandonment of his birth mother and the adoption by his parents defined him!  We adopted two abandoned Kenyan orphans and that defined their lives.  It threw them into the confusion of a bicultural and biracial family and resulted in identity crises that many do not face.  Jesus promises that he will never abandon his followers, his children.  He did not promise us happy-ever-after.  He has adopted us and we are his and that defines our future.

         I would suspect that one of the hardest aspects of trials and problems is the sense of aloneness and the voice that says no one cares.  That is the voice of the evil one who is “the father of lies.”  Community, the body of Christ, is so important to all of us at all points in our life story.  We pledge prayer and support to that baby being baptized.  We witness vows of faith at confirmation.  We rejoice at weddings, graduations, and grieve together at funerals.  At those horrible moments like divorce or job loss or moving, we throw arms around each other and remind ourselves that we are not abandoned by God who walks with us into the unknown future.

         I must ask us to pause for a brief moment and ponder if there is someone we know who is going through a transition that needs our support?  Or, perhaps we have been reluctant to ask for the support we need for the trauma we are facing.  If you are like me, a hug goes a long way to relieve those hard times and remind me of God’s presence even as the sunrise and sunset do.

A#3:  Adore

”I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

         I deliberately am choosing to use the word “adore” that starts with A.  The word “love” has been cheapened by movies, by false promises of people who have betrayed us, and leaves a bit of a flat taste in my mouth.  It is so easy to respond, yeah, God loves me as long as I obey, keep his commandments, but what about the days when I go to bed giving myself a big F for mouth in motion, forgetful memory of an important occasion or or or.  My mind wonders how God can love me when I am such a failure.  That, my friend, is worldly wisdom.  We are in the Easter season and the cross is certainly a symbol of a world religion that rejected the messiah they were anticipating, of demanding crucifixion of the man who had healed and fed them, and the horrible humiliation of exposure to the crowds.  To the world, Jesus got an F.  In God’s wisdom that we do not understand, Jesus got an A at that moment that he showed his love, his adoration for his creation.  He did not abandon and did more than adopt, he adored us enough to walk through death and open access to God.  We say he died for our sins, that’s advocacy.  Easter continues the truth with resurrection that speaks to our adoption and continued connection with him – not abandonment.  Christianity speaks of a God who adores us even when we are not our better selves.

         Jesus says that not only does he love us but he will also “reveal” himself to us.  I’m going to call that A#4: Available.  We do not have to be afraid that God is on a conference call with the angels in the Middle East or Ukraine/Russia, getting the latest news.  Jesus says that in his love, he will reveal himself and be transparent.

         I love those sappy DVDs about the mail order brides who travel from the East Coast to the lonely widower who needs someone to help with his children and “make a difference.”  The two people gradually reveal themselves to each other and need turns into love and committed relationship.  Part of that growing story is the willingness to open their hearts about their past pains and the willingness to be available to the future pains relationship involves.  Jesus promises that God will reveal his reality to us and I think that means with all honesty.  He lets us know what upsets him and what pleases him about the situations we get ourselves involved in.  His love is not just a contract of commitment but also a relationship of availability.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

         So where does that leave us today?  It is Easter season and we know the Lord is raised.  People saw him.  He fulfilled the prophecy of Scripture.  He is a Good Shepherd calling to us to follow him.  He knows us by name and we can learn to recognize his voice.  We can believe and trust him.  We can walk the talk.  God loves us and gives us commandments to show us how to have a good life.  He is our Advocate, not Abandoning us but Adopting us, and he Adores us and is always Available.  That’s a pretty good report card of A’s!!  He walks with us through the tests that confront us this week.  WOW!

Let the people of God say, “AMEN!”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 First Reading: Acts 7:55-60

⁵⁵Filled with the Holy Spirit, [Stephen] gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶“Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” ⁵⁷But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. ⁵⁸Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he died.

Psalm: Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16

 ¹In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame;
  deliver me in your righteousness.
 ²Incline your ear to me;
  make haste to deliver me.
 ³Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe, for you are my crag and    my stronghold; for the sake of your name, lead me and guide me.
 ⁴Take me out of the net that they have secretly set for me,
  for you are my tower of strength.
 ⁵Into your hands I commend my spirit,
  for you have redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth.
 ¹⁵My times are in your hand;
  rescue me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.
 ¹⁶Let your face shine upon your servant;
  save me in your steadfast love.”

Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:2-10

²Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—³if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
 ⁴Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and ⁵like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For it stands in scripture:
 “See, I am laying in Zion a stone,
  a cornerstone chosen and precious;
 and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
⁷To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,
 “The stone that the builders rejected
  has become the very head of the corner,”
⁸and
 “A stone that makes them stumble,
  and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
 ⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
 ¹⁰Once you were not a people,
  but now you are God’s people;
 once you had not received mercy,
  but now you have received mercy.

Gospel: John 14:1-14

 [Jesus said to the disciples:] ¹“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. ²In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴And you know the way to the place where I am going.” ⁵Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” ⁶Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
 ⁸Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” ⁹Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. ¹²Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”

CHILDREN’S SERMON

To help us dig into our text today, let us first do a minute of groupthink.  How do our ministry of Bethany Gardens speak to the world and us about our faith?  What do we believe as we start our growing season?

Let us pray.  Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.  Amen.

SERMON

         Today is the fifth Sunday in the Easter Season.  The glow of Easter Sunday has faded and we are squarely back into the reality of life with all its challenges.  We know these moments.  The wedding and all its celebration is over and we have to face the reality of a real 24-7 relationship.  The retirement celebrations are over and we now have to build a meaningful future without that daily structure work provides.  Perhaps the funeral is over, friends have left and we have to go forward.  Six weeks into college courses, we face midterms, tests, or papers and the thrill of independence from home is fading.  After the mountaintop experiences, we inevitably return to normal life with its challenges.  Easter has not given way to Pentecost yet.  We are still grappling with, “The Lord is Risen,” the chant of Easter, and how we know that is true.

         We have read and pondered the testimonies of others who saw Jesus on Easter, the women at the tomb, the followers that evening, the two on the road to Emmaus.  We pondered the promises of the Good Shepherd and the analogy of Jesus as “the gate,” “the voice” that calls us forth into our present life and future.  We are his sheep but often like sheep we are a bit dense.  We listen for God’s voice in our life but God seems to be busy in Ukraine or the Middle East.  Surely Jesus knew the faith challenges we would face in believing he is risen and so we turn to his last words of advice that he gave his disciples as they walked to the Garden of Gethsemane.  Surely there is more to Easter reality than listening to the testimonies of others or following a shepherd we cannot see anymore and whose voice speaks in so many different ways.  Let us ponder some of Jesus’ last words and how they might help us on this journey.

“Believe in God, believe also in me.”

         Our text begins as Jesus and the disciples leave the upper room from the last supper and start heading to Gethsemane.  Jesus opens with the word “believe.”  Last week we were encouraged to “listen” to the voice of the Good Shepherd.  Between listening and receiving knowledge comes the step of believing.  When I was at Bethany, I listened to the lectures about warm weather plants and cold weather plants but I am not a farmer nor was I from the Midwest when I was with you.  I could have argued that I wanted to grow strawberries for my cereal but I had to trust the leader about the proper time to plant them.  I want to be a happy and productive Christian but I must believe the words I hear from Jesus.  He tells me to forgive those who hurt my feelings but that does not happen automatically.  Tithing in an economy that challenges all of us is hard.  Attending church when I’m tired makes no sense.  I must believe God’s word and take it from head and make it action.  I must weave my beliefs into real life.

         Jesus goes one step further, though.  We do not believe just because some guru gave wise words back centuries ago.  Jesus says we are to believe because he and God are one.  Jesus pulls out his credentials, pulls rank on all other authorities and says we can believe when we can’t see him that he personally was God incarnate.  Phillip is not so convinced and asks to see the Father.  It might be like me, an ignorant farmer-wantabee questioning the instructions from Bruce about the gardening and demanding to hear from the pastor.  Ooops, no pastor yet and the one who comes might come from the Minneapolis seminary and not be a farmer.  We must believe, trust, the words of the leaders of the program even if it is not apparent how the seed will grow or when or where.

         We do not follow Jesus because he’s smart, or wise, or gives me all my wishes, or heals all my wounds, or makes me wealthy.  We follow because we believe He is God.  That does not seem to be a point of debate…but we do debate his authority in our lives, don’t we.  People often live life as if elections are coming and Jesus’ leadership, his shepherding of our lives is up for election if things don’t work out as we think or if he takes too long to answer.  We are prone to look at other authorities or denominations and consider our alternatives.

         Let us take a moment and take our faith temperature.  Is there a pre-nuptial agreement and escape clauses that we need to acknowledge and eliminate?  Jesus calls us to follow him when we cannot see and do not understand because he is God of the universe and he knows the way through the wilderness of this life.  He is alive, he is raised, and he is going before us.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

“…a place for you…”

         Jesus not only grounds us in faith that he is God but he also promises us a place.  The Bible opens in the Garden of Eden and closes in the New Jerusalem.  Jesus assures the disciples that he is going to prepare a place that he will take them and us to.  For the gardeners in the congregation, it sounds like the offer of gardening space, prepared and ready to be used.  Jesus is not offering a theory about heaven, practice lessons to be a good heaven resident but he is preparing an actual place.  Bethany Gardens is a model garden, a course, but it is also a real place that produces real food for the gardeners and the needy. 

         Like Thomas or perhaps like people new to our program, we might ask, where is this garden?  Where is my spot?  Bruce says, “Follow me, I’ll take you to your spot.”  Jesus is preparing a tangible place that he will return to take us to.  And like Aslan in Chronicles of Narnia, Jesus will be there with us.  Jesus is the way, tells the truth, and is the life.

“…believe me because of the works themselves…”

         For those of us who aren’t quite sure what Jesus being God means, and are not interested in being heavenly gardeners but would prefer to join the heavenly choir, Jesus points us to his track record.  Bethany Gardens has an outstanding track record.  Produce has increased yearly.  More food is donated to the hungry each year.  And Bethany Gardens has won several awards, recognized by Purdue University.  Let us consider Jesus’ track record.  He healed the blind and did not make people blind.  He fed the hungry.  He walked on water.  He knows the pain we experience only his pain was crucifixion, humiliation and rejection.  He knows not only as God but also as true man the situations we face, the discouragements we wrestle with and our doubts.  I might question whether our politicians truly understand the plight of ordinary people in the trenches but as I read the gospels and the stories recorded, I know that Jesus walked the talk.  People at Bethany Gardens have proven their expertise and we can trust them.

And so what?

¹²Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”

         I suspect that if I were a fly on the wall, I would hear that a goal for Bethany Gardens this year is to surpass the food production of last year.  Each year the program has grown.  Bethany Gardens is a garden and does produce food, and does teach and help people but it is also a ministry to bless others.  Jesus incarnated as man claiming to be God, laid the foundations for those who would follow, and demonstrated the truth of his claims.  He could say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Jesus concludes, though, by prophesying that his followers will change the world.  They will bless the nations as promised to Abraham.  From that small group of followers that huddled behind locked doors on Easter evening, who walked away from the chaos of Jerusalem questioning what they had seen, and from people living in a culture where they knew they could face crucifixion and persecution, came a spread of what came to be known as Christianity.  How was that possible?  Jesus, true man and true God returned to heaven and represents us and answers our prayers.  He is risen, alive and active.

         Let us be clear.  We do not make the seeds we plant.  We do not make the rainfall that waters those plants.  We receive the energy and the wisdom to tend those plants.  The credit does not go to our wonderful leaders as wonderful as they may be nor does the credit go to the followers of Jesus.  The credit and glory goes to God.  Prayers are not always answered the way we want.  There are droughts or horrible storms or plagues we did not anticipate but that does not mean God is not present.  Jesus promises that he will be actively involved in answering all prayers to him.  He is not just a listener.  He is active even when we don’t understand.  We are invited to ask, to dream, and to have wonderful goals that will bring glory to God.

         In this passage, our text calls us to the reality that “The Lord is risen,” not only because of testimonies, not only because the teachings are proven in reality but also because we can believe Jesus is God so he speaks the truth, shows us the way, and is our life for eternity.  We believe!

The Lord is risen!

Let the people of God say, “AMEN!                 “

First Reading: Acts 2:42-47

⁴²[The baptized] devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
 ⁴³Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All who believed were together and had all things in common; ⁴⁵they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Psalm: Psalm 23

 ¹The Lord^| is my shepherd;
  I shall not be in want.
 ²The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures
  and leads me beside still waters.
 ³You restore my soul, O Lord,
  and guide me along right pathways for your name’s sake.
 ⁴Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil;
  for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
 ⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
  you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is running over.
 ⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
  and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:19-25

¹⁹It is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. ²⁰If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. ²¹For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
 ²²“He committed no sin,
  and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
²³When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Gospel: John 10:1-10

 [Jesus said:] ¹“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. ²The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
 ⁷So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

CHILDREN’S SERMON

         Let me share again another of my favorite tales, Little Red Riding Hood.  A little girl was called “Little Red Riding Hood” because she loved to wear a red cape her beloved grandmother had given her.  One day her mother sent her to her grandmother’s house with a fresh cake and a drink, as the grandmother was sick and weak.  On the way through the forest, she met an evil wolf that pretended to be her friend.  On hearing of her mission, he raced ahead of her to eat the grandmother and then dress up like her to wait for the little girl to arrive.  He would have two meals! 

         Little Red Riding Hood came to the door and knocked.  The wolf invited her in but the little girl had to rub her eyes. Something was wrong.  “Grandmother, what big eyes you have!” “Grandmother, what big ears you have!” “Grandmother, what big teeth you have!”  As the wolf jumped at the little girl, she screamed and a huntsman nearby came to help her.  Grandmother, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Huntsman enjoyed eating the cake and sharing the drink!

         Share – what alerts you that something is wrong?

Let us pray.  Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

         Easter morning we greeted each other, “The Lord is risen!”  And the other responded, “The Lord is risen indeed!”  Many sang, “Halleluiah, Christ the Lord is Risen Today.”  For six weeks we are now in the Easter Season and bask in the realization that Christ walked through death for us and we focus on passages that support that he lives.  We believe Jesus is alive and active in our world today. People who were alive then saw him.  But also his teachings help us identify him today.  The truth is that we live with our hearts grounded in the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus ushered in but our bodies are still grounded in this Kingdom of this World and all the struggles that plague us.  We grow into the truth of the risen Lord.

           The second Sunday of Easter, we found some followers behind locked doors, scared of those outside and unsure of this resurrection news.  Jesus appeared and it became real.  The third Sunday we walked with two people on the road to Emmaus, leaving all the confusion and discussing all the events.  Jesus walked with them and opened their hearts by giving them a new understanding of God in Scripture and by breaking bread with them.  They returned to Jerusalem to rejoice with others who had “sighted” the risen Christ.

         A new understanding of Scripture and how God is working in our world is emerging during the Easter Season.  For many God is a distant being who may speak through prophets, through experiences of victory like Jericho, or through clouds and signs like leaving Egypt.  God can be found in his Temple or church and in the Scriptures but God is not necessarily a personally involved deity concerned about the common person’s life.

           Easter is a seismic earthquake that reconstructs our whole understanding of how we relate to God.  Like Little Red Riding Hood, we encounter today so many wolves that try to convince us they are grandmother.  They invite us to the good life but in fact their eyes are too big, their ears too big, and their teeth are too big.  They make empty promises.  Easter challenges us to recognize Jesus’ presence in our lives when we no longer have his physical presence with us.

           So today we return to the gospel of John chapter 10 and review our understanding of the Good Shepherd. Our God who created the universe and who incarnated in Jesus, true God and true man, and who rose on Easter Sunday is active and alive today.  This God is the gate to the Kingdom of Heaven. We stand at the door, the gate, to enter grandmother’s house and must decide who is the “real thing,” the “genuine article” calling to us.

“the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. “

         I’m guessing Little Red Riding Hood stood at the door and knocked.  I’m sure we have all seen that famous painting of Jesus standing at the door and knocking based on Rev. 3:20, “Behold I stand at the door and knock.”  It is often noted that the door has no knob because the person inside must let the visitor enter.  Today our text has Jesus standing at the door, the gate, and calling us out.  We are not looking inward at our fears and doubts but outward to Jesus who is alive.  Little Red Riding Hood enters and looks at the presence behind the voice calling her to enter.  She becomes confused.  Grandmother’s eyes are too big, ears too long, and teeth too sharp. Something is not quite right. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice.  How?

Grandmother, what big eyes you have!

         Little Red Riding Hood compares the eyes, the vision the voice is painting for her to the voice of truth.  Is the voice calling us to the “good life,” the life of comfort and a space where all our needs can be met by just believing and buying into its message?  All we have to do is have enough faith and pray.  It sounds to me like our commercials that are calling to us to invest in their product for the good life.  It sounds like our politics that call us to vote for their candidate to restore the past and provide a secure future.

         I would propose that the Gospel does not offer health, wealth and prosperity but offers God’s voice.  James 3 gives us clues for recognizing God’s wisdom calling to us:

            ^“16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above s first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.”

Is the voice you hear appealing to your own personal desires and ego or is it helping you to focus outward to God?

         But so often God seems silent.  During those times that we call “the dark night of the soul,” the body of Christ actively listens with us.  This is when God uses his voice through silence; it does not imply absence but focused listening.  As we speak and God listens, we clarify our thoughts, our wishes, and our petitions and find our own voice and identity.  God’s silent voice partners with us and with the community to draw us into voice.

         We listen to God’s voice through prayer, through Scripture and through community because the Good Shepherd knows our name.  For the Christian, there is a personal relationship. After the crucifixion, resurrection, there was no physical Jesus but followers had to learn to listen for his voice. God does not have big eyes to see us better because he knows us and knows us by name.  His voice will call us to look away from the problems that plague us here in the kingdom of this world and will call us to follow him to green pastures, still waters, and a banquet prepared in the unseen future we walk into.

Grandmother, what big ears you have?

         I have often talked about that little voice that sits on my shoulder and whispers in my ears.  Often the message is just plain crushing; telling me the things I fear to admit might be true about my life.  The evil voice focuses on fears and doubts and draws me away from God’s truth and God’s promises to care for us, even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  Timothy is far more severe in his admonition to beware of the wolf with big ears that spreads gossip, rumors, jealousy and lies.  It is not the voice of the Good Shepherd.

         “³ For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves  teachers to suit their own desires, ⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. 2 Timothy 4:3-3” 

         Let us ponder for a moment what we spend our time listening to during the week and why.  We need to be aware of events in our world and in our community but when by this information, we feel drawn away from God then we know we are in danger.  One of the big blessings of worshiping together is the music that focuses our minds on eternal truth of God’s love and presence.  Turn to your neighbor and share a word of encouragement.  May we be people this week that say words of encouragement and faith, sharing truth that focuses people on hope and God’s presence.

Grandmother, what big teeth you have!

         The truth comes out.  “All who came before me are thieves and bandits.”  False shepherds seek only to steal and devour.  They are thieves and bandits.  They steal joy, faith, hope and love, the fruits of the Spirit.  This Sunday we return to Jesus’ parable of the Good Shepherd because we, even today need to recognize the Shepherd’s voice.  We do not see Jesus as those first disciples did but we know that he speaks into our world today. 

         I like the story of Little Red Riding Hood because, just recognizing the wolf, the false voices that call to us and make all sorts of promises only to deceive and disappoint us, does not remove the little girl from harm.  The wolf springs on her and she screams.  It is the huntsman who comes to her rescue and kills the wolf.  The voice of the evil one can drive us to despair but as we call out to God, he saves us.  Perhaps our eyes fall on just the right scripture verse that encourages us.  Perhaps our ears hear just the right song that dispels despair. And then those large fangs shrink to manageable size as we realize Jesus is walking with us through the valley of fear and preparing a banquet at the other side.  I would like to think the grandmother, Little Red Riding Hood and the Huntsman sat down and enjoyed a feast together. 

         Having a living savior and shepherd does not mean there will not be dangers and challenges and dark nights of the soul but it does means God walks with us and speaks into our situations.  He is our gate.  The voice of God will lead us from inward turmoil and doubts to outward focus on his presence, from fear of the future to peace in his presence, and from the seen dangers to the unseen power of the resurrection.

The Lord is risen.  The Lord is risen indeed.

Let the people of God say, “AMEN.”

First Reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41

^14aPeter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed [the crowd], ³⁶“Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
 ³⁷Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” ³⁸Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” ⁴⁰And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

Psalm: Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19

 ¹I love the Lord, who has heard my voice,
  and listened to my supplication,
 ²for the Lord has given ear to me
  whenever I called.
 ³The cords of death entangled me; the anguish of the grave came upon me; I came to grief and sorrow.
 ⁴Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
  “O Lord, I pray you, save my life.” 
 ¹²How shall I repay the Lord
  for all the good things God has done for me?
 ¹³I will lift the cup of salvation
  and call on the name of the Lord.
 ¹⁴I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
  in the presence of all God’s people.
 ¹⁵Precious in your sight, O Lord,
  is the death of your servants.
 ¹⁶O Lord, truly I am your servant;
  I am your servant, the child of your handmaid; you have freed me from  my bonds.
 ¹⁷I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
  and call upon the name of the Lord.
 ¹⁸I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
  in the presence of all God’s people,
 ¹⁹in the courts of the Lord’s house,
  in the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Hallelujah! 

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:17-23

¹⁷If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. ¹⁸You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. ²⁰He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. ²¹Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
 ²²Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. ²³You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.

Gospel: Luke 24:13-35

¹³Now on that same day [when Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene,] two [disciples] were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, ¹⁶but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” ¹⁹He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. ²¹But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. ²²Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, ²³and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. ²⁴Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” ²⁵Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! ²⁶Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” ²⁷Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
 ²⁸As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. ³²They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” ³³That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. ³⁴They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

CHILDREN’S SERMON:  I think today we will go back to one of my favorite Aesop’s Fables:  The Lion and The Mouse.

“A Lion lay asleep in the forest. A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and ran across the Lion’s nose. The Lion laid his paw on the tiny creature to kill her.

“Spare me!” begged the poor Mouse. “Please let me go and some day I will surely repay you.”  The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him but he let the Mouse go because he fancied himself generous.

Some days later, the Lion was caught in a hunter’s net. He filled the forest with his angry roaring. The Mouse found the Lion struggling. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed it and soon the Lion was free.”

Question to share with your neighbor:  Why was the Mouse’s plea so foolish to the Lion?

Let us pray.   Lord, May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptible in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

         Last week we jumped from Easter morning to Easter evening, from sharing “The Lord is Risen” to hiding behind locked doors, afraid.  Today we go to the gospel of Luke and Easter afternoon. We read of two people walking away from all the action and excitement of Jerusalem, the crucifixion and the rumors of the resurrection.  While some followers gathered behind locked doors in fear, these two people just plain left.  “I’m out of here!” may have been their cry.  When life becomes overwhelming, distancing ourselves from the chaos and all the voices around us is a valid coping mechanism.  In significant ways we become like the little mouse pleading, “Let me go.”  Perhaps we are scared but we are also confused and we need a safe space.  I love to get in my car and drive.  My father went to the garage and his tool bench.  Others go to the mall or zone out in a video.  We have ways we cope with overload.  Our two people in the text are leaving the scene and walking along, engrossed in conversation, talking about all they’ve been through.

God’s wisdom confuses worldly wisdom

         The lion’s first impulse is to kill that mouse that disturbed him.  He has the power.  He has the right.  He is king of the forest and has the authority.  Besides mice are…you name it cause mice are near the bottom of the food chain.  Our knee jerk reactions often are to lash out and get rid of the nuisance.  Pilot washed his hands of Jesus.  The Jewish authorities demand the death of Jesus.  The soldiers were just following orders.  The disciples fled.  Judas committed suicide.  Easter morning and the cry, “He is risen,” makes no sense.  The followers of Jesus at some level understood that Jesus was the promised Messiah but they had their own definition of what that meant.  The Messiah would get rid of Rome and return them to their glorious past.  The followers knew mice should not disturb lions and dead people don’t rise.

     Even we have our expectations of how God should or could or ought to be acting in our world. We even back up our wants with Bible verses that tell us we can have anything from God if we have faith and pray.  For sure we know God is on our side and doubt his presence with our enemy.  So who are the lions in our world today?  Wealth, youth, talent, government and yes, beauty.  If we have one of these we are on the right side of the equation of life and if we are poor, the “other” ethnicity, weak or differently abled, we are at the bottom of the food chain.  Most of us would admit we are somewhere in-between but hoping to climb the respect ladder.  When the tables are turned and Jesus is crucified, dies and is buried but maybe resurrected, the two people are confused and need space to process.

“talking with each other about all these things that had happened”

Confusion turns us inward in discussion with those we trust.

         The lion is amused at the tiny mouse’s plea.  He frees her, not because he believes the mouse can help but because he chooses to be generous.  We hear the Easter message.  Many are willing to be CEO Christians, be baptized and come to church on special occasions like Christmas/Easter/and Other times like funerals or confirmations but the resurrection is not truly integrated truth in their lives.  It might be interesting to talk about but it is not life changing.  Many are on the road to Emmaus and do not even recognize Jesus walking beside them.  We are busy discussing all the things taking place in our world today.

“What things?”

         Interestingly Jesus comes as a presence, not a power.  He wants to know what we are so preoccupied with and what is so confusing.  He walks with us in the events of our lives.  He does not stand outside our reality and manipulate our lives either as he thinks they should be or as we would like them to be.  Jesus travels with us and wants to know what is on our minds.  But what does he do?  He points our two people to scripture.  Jesus is not only the risen Lord but he is also the Living Word.  I find it interesting that he starts with Moses; laying a foundation they would understand from their heritage and drawing them into the present.  He goes from the known to the unknown, from the seen to the unseen.  Part of the problem with confusion and events that challenge our understanding of our faith is the need to go back and clarify our concept of God.  And so Jesus starts with Moses.

         Perhaps as we face situations in our life today, the challenge is to ask ourselves how we think God ought to solve it and then chat with a friend to broaden our understanding of how God might choose to be acting.  Legendary coach John Wooden of the UCLA Bruins is famous for starting his seasons by teaching his players how to put on their shoes and socks.  He took them back to the basics because no game can be won with sore feet.  Jesus took the two people on the road back to the basics, Moses.  I sure would have loved to be a Kleenex in the pocket in one of those people hearing Jesus review scripture!  We have Bibles and can review whenever we are confused.  We have prayer and can talk to God about our confusion and the Holy Spirit sheds light.  God joins us in our questions.

^“21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”

         Our understanding of God impacts our expectations of our lives.   As we clarify our understanding of God, we see our present in a new light.  When the mouse chews through the rope holding the lion captive, the lion sees the mouse in a new light and he is set free to be all God created him to be.  The lion has been redeemed and the crucifixion redeemed Israel and all of us too.  The resurrection is not just an historical event we celebrate at Easter.  Freedom for the lion is not just a scriptural assurance that someday he will lay down with the lamb.  It is a reality he lives into three dimensionally, touching and feeling.

         Jesus ate with the two from Emmaus.  “³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.“  Jesus gave us the sacrament of communion.  It is in communion that he tells us the bread is his body broken for us and the wine is his blood shed for us.  He is with us three dimensionally, right inside us as we eat and drink.  We can be assured that he is in the midst of all circumstances we go through.

^“35Then they told what had happened on the road,

 and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

         God’s wisdom is not like worldly wisdom.  Letting the mouse go free is counter intuitive.  Dramatic events can overwhelm us and drive us to seek space with others we trust.  We are confused and seek clarification but unlike the world, we do not become the brilliant insightful ones, we become the sharing ones.  Wisdom and clarity come from God in the midst of our lives.  Our joy of discovery is meant to be shared.  The two people had to return to Jerusalem and tell the other followers who themselves were experiencing the risen Christ. The resurrection sets us free to be our better selves, the person God would have us be in our worlds.

         The resurrection turns us from inward fear and confusion to outward awareness of God presence with us in our world, speaking into our dynamics today through his word.  Fear gives way to peace and confusion gives way to clarity. The seen calamities of this world gives way to the unseen presence of God walking with us, helping us to understand, and communing with us.  The lion realizes the mouse is not a silly disturbance and bother but a significant encounter with unseen blessings to be lived into.  The Lord is risen!  The Lord is risen, indeed.

Let the people of God say, “Amen.”