Stephen speaks, “Introduction”

June 28, 2022

Acts 7: 1-3

Stephen, one of the first “deacons” in the early fellowship, was chosen for his wisdom.  He was to help make sure the distribution of food to widows was fair.  He was respected and was known for his good deeds and speech.  Opposition arose and false accusations were made and he was brought to trial in front of the Sanhedrin.  He stood up and started a long speech that is recorded for us.  Where did he start to tell his story?  Where do we start to tell our story?  Learning to tell our story of faith is an important part of our spiritual growth!

         The believers were meeting in the Temple as they still saw themselves as Jews.  Jews saw them as Jews spreading misinformation.  It feels a bit like our January 6 reports going on now except it is Stephen, the accused’s chance to speak.  He starts on common ground, not on accusations, not on defenses.  He starts with Jewish history that they all agree on.  Don’t forget he is being charged with disrespecting Moses. Stephen goes back to Abraham, though, being called by God to leave his home country and to travel to a promised land.  He does not start with law.  He starts with God speaking and calling.  He paints a bigger picture, bigger than himself.

         If you were accused of being a Christian, how would you start your story?  Many start with the word, “I,” “I decided to believe….  Others might start with a narrative of how their mother led them to believe as a child kneeling by the bed.  Some start with their baptism as a baby in their parent’s arms followed by a life of growing awareness of what that meant.  I have also heard many share about claiming Christian status because it was confirmation and that’s what you did but then one day….  I continually amazed at the variety of ways people came into relationship with Jesus.  Zaccheus climbed a tree.  A woman having bled for 12 years desperately hoped by touching the hem of his cloak, she would be healed.  A Canaanite woman was willing to be likened to a dog to receive grace for her sick daughter.  The blind, those with leprosy, and even the dead son of the woman of Nain are brought to Jesus.  Jesus does not seem to be tied to one story or one way of being approached. 

      So how do you start your faith story?  Take a few minutes now to reflect on your journey and how you would explain yourself – perhaps not to a Jewish Sanhedrin – but to a crew of people who doubted your genuineness.  Where would your story start?  Step back, reflect, and thank God for his hand in your history.

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“Foundation for Martyrdom”

June 27, 2022

Acts 6: 8-15

We ended last week with factions developing within the early fellowship when different groups felt they were not being treated fairly.  Oh my, we know this story.  The evening news is full of reports, demonstrations, and groups forming to defend their interest.  Our faith is challenged and grows in the presence of injustice and discrimination!  But today we see that those same feelings of opposition were brewing in the larger context.  Remember our young believers are still meeting within the Jewish Temple.

         The believers see Stephen, one of the men chosen to help distribute food more fairly among the widows, as being full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit.  Factions within the Temple that start stirring the pot of jealousy now target him.  Gossip spreads and the stories grow.  Most of us played that game as children where the first person in the circle whispers to the next etc. and by the time the words get around, the original message is all distorted.  It appears that this antagonism against Stephen is traveling along ethnic groupings but then it escalates to outright accusations based on lies.  Stephen is taken before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish court and accused of defaming Mosaic teachings.  Interestingly the chapter ends saying, “his face was like the face of an angel.”

         I can remember my mother questioning me and somehow she would look at me and know, “It is written all over your face!”  Lying did not work for me.  So what is written all over our face today?  As I think about our text in terms of spiritual growth, it seems that one of the marks of maturity is a continuity or integrity between our core self and our social presence.  We are not “two-faced,” pretending to be something we aren’t.  We walk the talk.  This is not a question of beauty but more asking if our faith is transparent in our countenance, in the way we live our lives. Let us spend a few minutes this morning asking the Holy Spirit to shine light on our lives and reveal to us areas where we are not being consistent, congruent.  Lord, we long to walk the walk and talk the talk so others may see and hear about the hope that is within us, even during tough times when truth is distorted.  Blessings as you grow in integrity.

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Third Sunday after Pentecost

June 26, 2022

First Reading: 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21

15Then the Lord said to [Elijah,] “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.
 19So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. 20He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” Then Elijah said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?” 21He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

Psalm: Psalm 16

 1Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you;
  I have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, my good above all other.”
 2All my delight is in the godly that are in the land,
  upon those who are noble among the people.
 3But those who run after other gods
  shall have their troubles multiplied.
 4I will not pour out drink offerings to such gods,
  never take their names upon my lips. 
 5O Lord, you are my portion and my cup;
  it is you who uphold my lot.
 6My boundaries enclose a pleasant land;
  indeed, I have a rich inheritance.
 7I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
  my heart teaches me night after night.
 8I have set the Lord always before me;
  because God is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 
 9My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices;
  my body also shall rest in hope.
 10For you will not abandon me to the grave,
  nor let your holy one see the pit.
 11You will show me the path of life;
  in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are     pleasures forevermore.

Second Reading: Galatians 5:1, 13-25

1For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

 13For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. 14For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

 16Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 22By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

Gospel: Luke 9:51-62

51When the days drew near for [Jesus] to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55But he turned and rebuked them. 56Then they went on to another village.
 57As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

CHILDREN’S SERMON

A common gesture that is popular today is to point two fingers at someone’s eyes, back to our eyes, and back to theirs.  Turn to your neighbor and make the motion.  What are you communicating in this gesture do you think?

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

Last week we started to dig in to our journey of Pentecost.  We faced the reality that while we have mountaintop experiences like Pentecost when the Triune God seems so real and powerfully working in our lives even beyond our expectations, the truth is that evil also is working in our world.  Last week we visited the healing of the demoniac who ran to Jesus.  But we also saw the demons who only bargained with Jesus about their demise and the towns people that flat out refused to engage with Jesus.  The journey of faith and transformation into our better selves, the person God created us to be, is just that, a journey and we make choices.  Last week we saw the choices being made about submitting to the authority of Jesus and trusting him for our future. Today we look from a different perspective.  We see the challenges of faith to our priorities.  We are challenged to FOCUS.

          Our text from Luke occurs as Jesus is heading to Jerusalem and his crucifixion.  Jesus passed from Galilee in northern Israel through Samaria to get to Jerusalem.  He was not received well in Samaria and the disciples were furious.  They wanted to call down fire from heaven.  Jesus looked at them and said “FOCUS!” Today we would use the gesture of pointing our two fingers at another’s eyes and then wave them back to ours and then back to theirs.  The implied message is “Focus!”, “Are we on the same page?”, or “Are we agreed on this?”

Where to lay my head?

Back on the road, Jesus is met by three people that present three challenges to following Jesus.  The first person wants to follow Jesus anywhere. Today’s movies would have Jesus pointing his two fingers at the man’s eyes and saying, “Focus.”  To follow Jesus is to be homeless.  His followers have no den like a fox and no nest like a bird.  Are we up for that kind of homelessness? 

         St. Augustine in his book Confessions is famously quoted for writing, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”  To enter the Pentecost journey is to shift our focus from place to person.  As a person who has spent her life moving, much like military people, I often say, “My home is where my suitcase is!”  The question, “Where are you from?” is very difficult because I automatically search my memory banks to evaluate which of the many places I’ve lived, I most identify with.  Now people ask me, “Does you house feel like home yet?”

         Jesus says that foxes have holes, places to hide, and birds have nests, places above danger.  Both my parents died when we were in Kenya.  The next furlough I had a big argument with my husband, probably about a small issue, stomped out, got in the car and suddenly realized I now had no where to go.  I sat in my car in the library lot crying.  Home is a place where we are known, where we are loved hopefully, and where there are people who hold your story, who know you.  I know that is not true for all people because many carry scars of abuse, abandonment, and rejection.  Jesus is saying that “home” is no longer something we strive to find or create here on earth because like the reception in Samaria, the journey of faith often puts us at odds with the world and the values of the world.  Family is no longer biological and even in churches people are forgiven sinners and hurt each other.  “Home” becomes a spiritual definition and not a social definition.

     Similarly birds can fly away.  In the movie  “Forest Gump”, one of the scenes that always comes to mind is when young Forest runs to Jenny’s house and Jenny is evading her father who is abusing her.  They run into the cornfield and she has him kneel and pray with her, “Lord make me a bird so I can fly away.”  Birds can fly away from trouble but Christians are often known for facing into problems.  Bethany Gardens is of course the obvious example.  We do not fly away from the problems whether that is the war in Ukraine where relief is pouring in or whether it is the hunger in our own neighborhood.  Hospitals, social services, orphanages, schools and learning institutions all have sprung up from not flying away.  It is true the efforts are marred with human problems but the truth is that to be a follower of Jesus is to face the dramas of evil and to have restless hearts til our hearts rest in God.

         So where do you rest your head today?  When worry, fears, bad memories plague you, where do you focus?  Jesus says, “Focus.” (do the finger motion).  We are called to look Jesus eye to eye and agree with him.  We do that through Scripture, through music, through prayer, through fellowship and perhaps through a walk.  We are called to look at Jesus eye to eye wherever we go.  Is there an area you need to gaze into his eyes today?

“first let me go and bury my father”

Our first person is challenged to redefine “home.”  Our second person is challenged to redefine “priorities.”  Jesus calls this person to follow and the person replies, “first let me….”   Ooops, the response shows priority issues.  Jesus points his fingers at this person and again says, “FOCUS.”  We know that Jesus is not arguing about the burial of the person’s father for other places in Scripture tell us to care for our families.  Jesus reprimands religious leaders who got around helping parents by saying something was promised to God.  He also says that he who does not care for parents is worse than a heathen.  Jesus must not be opposed to family but to that word “first.”  How often do we prioritize our obedience to God and beg, first let me… fill in the blank?

         We share our money or resources after we pay our bills.  That of course is easy to point to with so many voices begging us to share our resources for the worthy cause they are supporting.  Starving, emaciated people’s faces cover letters and magazine.  So we make decisions on how to share our blessings with these many causes that call to us.  Are we giving to assuage guilt and earn credit with God or friends?  Jesus wants us to put him first.  For others, the challenge is getting to church if they are not too tired from Friday and Saturday activities.  Our world is over run with activities and noise.  Sunday morning is an opportunity for family and self.  Jesus challenges us to make God our “first” choice, however that looks.

         Jesus response is enlightening, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”  Perhaps the question is not if we give money or time, but more a question of who we associate with.  Who we associate with says something about our priorities.   Dead people don’t bury dead people but that idiom challenges the man’s request to let him first bury his father.  We might throw back our idiom, “Birds of a feather flock together,” to challenge someone about loyalties and priorities.   The important point is that in whatever we do and with whomever we associate, we be living out our focus on the kingdom of God.  I don’t think Jesus is wanting us to feel guilty about watching a movie with family, going fishing, or socializing.  He wants us to do things that build community, build our souls, and enjoy the creation he made for us but the challenge is to not loose focus on what is our first love, God.  So perhaps we ask ourselves with this follower, Is what I am doing drawing me closer to God or drawing me away from God?  That’s something to think about.

“But let me first say farewell to those at my home”

Jesus challenges the first person to realize the faith journey brings a restlessness and a focus that feels like not having a den or a nest, a place to rest our head.  He challenges the second person about his priorities and what is first.  Are the tasks that come “first” in our life drawing us into relationship with God or distracting us.  The third challenge is similar.  The person requests to bid farewell to family, but notice that the person starts with “but.”  This person’s request is more conditional than a matter of priorities.  It reminds me of our demons last week who when ordered to leave the man but they bargain with Jesus, yes, but..send us into the pigs. 

         The “buts” in life are the fears and doubts that slow down our journey.  I want to be a Christian but…God might ask me to be a missionary and I’m afraid of snakes, but God might ask me to be single and not follow the cultural norms of dating, but God might ask me to give up partying on Saturday and so the excuses go. I can hear that little voice whispering in my ear about the potential hazards and prices I might pay for living life God’s way.

         Can you envision Jesus taking his fingers and pointing them at this person’s eyes, FOCUS, and listen. 

  • “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)”   
  • Again we read “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)” 

God goes before us to guide us, behind us to protect us and beside us to partner with us.  Those are serious promises.

Jesus ends, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  Unlike modern evangelists who tell us, “Try Jesus, you’ll like him,” Jesus points his finger at our eyes and calls us to focus on him.  The faith journey is not easy and he does not deceive us.  We will have to do battle with evil in all its guises.  We will have to make choices.

  • We will have no place to rest our head except in him. “28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)”
  • We will have to examine our priorities. “seek first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)”
  • We will be tempted to fear and doubt the consequences of our choice.  But God is faithful to travel with us.

May we not be guilty of loosing focus this week as we journey with our Savior. 

Let the people of God say, “AMEN!”

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“Hello, my name is…”

June 25, 2022

We  basically looked at Chapter 5 of Acts this week.  It opened with a tough lesson about integrity.  Ananias and Sapphira sold a field and agreed together to lie to Peter.  I bet they regretted that decision.  They died and “great fear seized the whole church.”  The followers were still meeting at the Temple after prayers and hashing over events.  Healings were common and tension was building.  The apostles were arrested and put in jail over night. An angel led them out to continue preaching in the Temple.  Leaders were angry enough to kill.  Gamaliel stood and convinced the crowd they did not want to be fighting God.  Rather than feeling defeated the apostles counted it joy to suffer like Jesus.  Praise in the face of persecution challenges my thinking and so this song speaks into my doubts.

         The modern song below sings about the temptation to be despairing when we encounter trials and persecutions but like the apostles, the singer focuses on his identity in Christ and is able to move beyond his mistakes.  It has a catchy tune and I share it with you as it encourages me to understand my challenges.

Hello, my name is regret, I’m pretty sure we have met, Every single day of your life, I’m the whisper inside, That won’t let you forget.

Hello, my name is defeat, I know you recognize me, Just when you think you can win. I’ll drag you right back down again. Till you’ve lost all belief.

Oh, these are the voices, oh these are the lies. And I have believed them, for the very last time.

Hello, my name is child of the One true King, I’ve been saved, I’ve been changed, I have been set free, Amazing grace is the song I sing,  Hello, my name is child of the One true King. 

I am no longer defined, By all the wreckage behind. The One who makes all things new.  Has proven it’s true, Just take a look at my life.

Hello, my name is child of the One true King,  I’ve been saved, I’ve been changed, I have been set free,  Amazing grace is the song I sing,  Hello, my name is child of the one true King. 

What love the Father Has lavished upon us,  That we should be called His children.  I am a child of the One true King.  What love the Father Has lavished upon us.  That we should be called His children.

Hello, my name is child of the One true King,  I’ve been saved, I’ve been changed, I have been set free,  Amazing grace is the song I sing,  Hello, my name is child of the One true King, yeah, 


I am a child of the One true King, 

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“Struggles with Success”

June 24, 2022

Acts 6:1-7

The Pentecost mountain top experience has gradually come to deal with the reality of every day life.  The followers of Jesus who see themselves as Jews, following Jesus, who died and is alive, are creating waves with the establishment.  Peter and John have been jailed twice now and severely warned about preaching.  Challenges meet the group from another front.  Those 3000 converts on Pentecost came from many language groups and Jerusalem is an international city.  Their original tactic of sharing and supporting each other is causing problems.  Factions are growing within the group.  The group seems to be divided between the Hellenistic Jews and the Hebraic Jews. Food distribution to widows does not seem to be fair.  Success creates new problems that have to be confronted.

         As we look at the splintering of modern Christian churches in the USA, we know the dynamic.  An English Lutheran church can be in the same block as a German Lutheran church or a Norwegian Lutheran church.  Organizational structure challenges was the byproduct of success.  Leadership did not splinter but they did meet.  The leaders gathered and decided to divide the tasks and appointed “deacons” to assist while the apostles focused on “ministry of the word and prayer” and selected men for ministries of service.  Thus began the seeds of “gifting.”  They realized that people, filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom, were gifted to do different tasks for the functioning of any fellowship.

         So if you were a fly on the wall back then, which group would you have wanted to be part of?  Choir, kitchen crew, worship team, education or perhaps ushering?  Spiritual growth is not just an academic awareness of the things we believe but it is also a growth in awareness of just how we fit into the body, the bigger picture.  We are not all preachers but we are all important to a fellowship.  I Corinthians 12 talks about spiritual gifts.  People debate whether we are gifted to do a job or if the gifts grows out of natural talents but the presence of God’s Spirit and wisdom seems to identify gift from natural talent.  We might ask ourselves today what brings us genuine joy when we go to church.  Spend a moment thanking God that you are important and your contribution is important.  Pray also for the leadership in your local gathering and for the church universal as it deals with all the challenges in our world today.  Blessings.

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“If…”

June 23, 2022

Acts 5:33-42

“if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail;

39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—

in that case you may even be found fighting against God!’

Gamaliel, a Pharisee who believes in the afterlife, stands up and speaks into the tempest raging in the Sanhedrin, as the Sadducees who did not believe in resurrection or life after death argue about what to do with Peter and the apostles.  The differences between the Jews and the Followers of Jesus is coming to a head.  The Temple crowd is angry enough to kill.  Gamaliel speaks up and gives the above advice.  “I advise you to leave these men alone.”  He reasons that plans rising from human reasoning will die out but if the apostles are God inspired and empowered, then the leaders would be fighting God.

     How do we determine if something is of God or mere human thinking?  That is a good question.  I think Gamaliel’s response is patience, give it the test of time.  We might say, “Count to ten!”  Note that Gamaliel traces back over Jewish history and over a largish piece of time.  He is stepping back and looking at the big picture.

     As I ponder his advice and whether it is good spiritual growth advice, I keep coming up with questions.  As missionaries, we were not allowed to mention money because the philosophy was that if the Lord wanted us on the field, He would make it happen.  And indeed, before we were even accepted, our support was pledged.  It is also true, though, that just because a program is successful and popular, it does not mean it is of the Lord.  Many cults have followers and advocate things we would not approve of.  Success does not mean God is on your side or you are doing his will.  Time has taught us that lesson too.

         So today’s reading leaves us pondering and perhaps that is not a bad place to be.  Gamaliel slowed down the crowd from killing the apostles with the word “if.”  The followers rejoiced at “being found worthy of disgrace for the Name.”  Some days the way forward is not so obvious and feels like a big “if.”  That does not mean that God is absent or that we are in the wrong.  Stepping back and trying to understand the big picture and the driving principles in a situation and committing it to prayer is always wise.  Lord, we need your perspective and your wisdom in the challenges we face today!  

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“Tempestuous Times”

June 22, 2022

Acts 5: 17-34

Yesterday we could see the mounting tensions between Temple leaders and the Followers’ leaders.  The new believer can be a real irritant to the establishment or the foreigner believer even if they have the same basic religious beliefs.  Interestingly Luke gives jealousy as the basic root cause of the conflict.  The Sadducees (who were sad…you…see, because they did not believe in resurrection) were deeply challenged at the core of their beliefs but the “other group” that was becoming so popular and contrary to their core tenant.  Two churches in one building is hard.  Jealousy enters.

         Peter and John are arrested and jailed again.  This time an angel of the Lord frees them, takes them outside and tells them to go to the Temple and preach!  We might not buy the “an angel did it” story but the next morning the jail doors were locked, the apostles missing and found in the Temple preaching.  Now the Temple leaders are angry enough to kill.  As we look at the wars raging today, the court trials destroying people’s lives, and the massive violence even against children, we know it is possible for people to become angry enough to kill.  A new key person appears now, Gamaliel.  Gamaliel a Pharisee and teacher of the law, stands and speaks.  Note he is a Pharisee.  That is like a Republican standing up and speaking to a group of riled up Democrats.     Tomorrow we will ponder what he says but let us not race past this part of the story.

         Jealousy so often undermines relationships and spiritual growth.  When we are in the grips of jealousy, we are not growing spiritually.  We can be jealous for many reasons.  In this story one side is jealous of the popularity of the other side.  People can be jealous because the other is more talented, richer, more beautiful, or more loved.  Perhaps there is a relationship that is a bit tense in your life. Could the problem be jealousy?  Just ask-in.

         The other thing I am challenged by is how Gamaliel in the midst of the tempest, has the courage to engage with the opposite side and talk.  We call it a “cut off” when we become upset and walk away from someone because they are living life in a way we strongly disagree with. We cut them off.  Gamaliel listened to the Sadducees with whom he was philosophically different from but was courageous to stand and engage with them.  It is so easy to convince ourselves that we are being tolerant, keeping the peace, letting by-gones be by-gones and we turn our back on issues rather than go through the pain of working it through with tough conversations.  We throw labels like “liberal” or “conservative.”  We dehumanize the other into a title.

         This part of Acts challenges me to consider if jealousy is impacting any of my relationships and if I hide behind labels.  Hmmm.  Holy Spirit, shine your light of truth in my heart that I might grow and not make rash judgments.  And please help all the parties in our country who are fighting with each other.  We need your healing and guidance to find peace!

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“Tempest in a Tea Pot”

June 21, 2022

Acts 5:12-17

When my sister and I would have our arguments, I can remember my mother coming in and saying, “Little birdies in a nest!”  or “What is this “tempest in a teapot?”  Our reading today talks about the followers of Jesus continuing on like usual, going to Temple to pray, and then meeting in one of the major gathering areas to debrief.  This was laying the foundation for later tensions, for a  tempest in the Jerusalem teapot.  Perhaps their meetings were not unlike the Adult Forum or the coffee hour after the service in our churches today.  I cannot imagine that Peter was particularly silent in his understanding of Scripture and I guess he waxed eloquent often.  The group of believers was growing and the Temple authorities were noticing.  Not only was Peter speaking up about his beliefs, people were being healed and many were bringing their person to be healed.  The paragraph ended, “and all of them were healed.”  I imagine there must have been more than one “praise the Lord” shouted.  It was a lot of noise in a small teapot.

         How about today?  Few of us have the gift of healing.  There are hospitals today.  But as I read this passage I wonder if today we go to church with anticipation of the after-meeting where we can really dig into conversation with others about a spiritual topic.  I suspect for many of us there is little anticipation of a miracle.  So I ask myself, what excites me about my faith and meeting with other Christians? We are all different and for some the walk in the woods refreshes our spirits while others enjoy a rousing debate and still others are content to just listen.  But what helps us go deeper? 

         We are part of the body of Christ and we need each other for many reasons.  When we are down we need the love and affirmation of the community.  When we are sick we need those care meals.  When we are cold we need the quilts the women make.  Sometimes we need a mechanic.  My church had a chili lunch and the proceeds helped buy a new car for our family returning to Kenya.  A prayer group raised money for a goat after a famine that wiped out herds in Kenya.  Healing comes in many forms.

         Think today of a time when people came along side you and encouraged you in some challenge you faced.  Thank God.  Now think if there is someone you could come along side and encourage.  Blessings as you practice and experience body life together.  Regular spiritual exercise and good nutrition is as important to growth of our spirits as food and exercise is to our bodies. 

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“A lie or just fudging on the truth?”

June 20, 2022

Acts 5:1-11

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” was one of those quotes I kept from high school, Tale of Two Cities.  Today we enter the second “city.”  After the mountain-top of Pentecost, the survival of overnight jail and interrogation by authorities, the new followers are challenged not only by external pressures but also internal drama.  Joseph who becomes known as Barnabas, son of encouragement, sells a field to help the new community.  I bet his gift was met with many thank-you-s.  Ananias and Saphira, a couple in the fellowship, sell a piece of their property also.  Leaders inspire followers but this couple adds a twist.  They turn over money to the fellowship but keep some for themselves.  That may not have been wrong but they lied to Peter about the amount.  It seems that the “city” without is challenging the group’s integrity and the “city” within is challenging their integrity also.  Our faith must not only grow in the face of prejudice but also in face of challenges to our integrity.

         As we ponder how these early believers grew from a group of scared people behind closed doors on Easter evening to become a group that changed the world, integrity must have been an important characteristic God wanted to build into them.  The husband lied first and died on the spot.  The wife came in shortly after and she too lied.  She dropped dead.  We don’t hear these kind of stories today but that does not mean integrity and honesty are not important, to God and to the growth of ourselves and our fellowships.  It is so easy to fudge a little or just forget to tell the whole story.  All the court drama today testify to our desire that government, police, schools, families …. Our leaders be people of integrity.

      Sooooo, how do you measure up?  We want to “protect the innocent” and hyppa reminds us not to gossip about information that is not ours to share but it is still worth spending a couple of moments now asking the Holy Spirit to bring to mind areas where we are challenged and why.  For me if I expect censure, I might slip.  Ouch.  It is a good thing we can confess and seek forgiveness. Blessings as you face challenges without and within today!

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Second Sunday after Pentecost

June 19, 2022

First Reading: Isaiah 65:1-9

 1I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask,
  to be found by those who did not seek me.
 I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
  to a nation that did not call on my name.
 2I held out my hands all day long
  to a rebellious people,
 who walk in a way that is not good,
  following their own devices;
 3a people who provoke me
  to my face continually,
 sacrificing in gardens
  and offering incense on bricks;
 4who sit inside tombs,
  and spend the night in secret places;
 who eat swine’s flesh,
  with broth of abominable things in their vessels;
 5who say, “Keep to yourself,
  do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
 These are a smoke in my nostrils,
  a fire that burns all day long.
 6See, it is written before me:
  I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
 I will indeed repay into their laps
  7their iniquities and their ancestors’ iniquities together,
 says the Lord;
 because they offered incense on the mountains
  and reviled me on the hills,
 I will measure into their laps
  full payment for their actions.
 8Thus says the Lord:
 As the wine is found in the cluster,
  and they say, “Do not destroy it,
  for there is a blessing in it,”
 so I will do for my servants’ sake,
  and not destroy them all.
 9I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
  and from Judah inheritors of my mountains;
 my chosen shall inherit it,
  and my servants shall settle there.

Psalm: Psalm 22:19-28

 19But you, O Lord, be not far away;  O my help, hasten to my aid.
 20Deliver me from the sword, my life from the power | of the dog.
 21Save me from the lion’s mouth!
  From the horns of wild bulls you have | rescued me.
 22I will declare your name to my people;
  in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.
 23You who fear the Lord, give praise! All you of Jacob’s line, give glory.
  Stand in awe of the Lord, all you offspring of Israel.
 24For the Lord does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty;    neither is the Lord’s face hidden from them;
  but when they cry out, the Lord hears them.
 25From you comes my praise in the great assembly;
  I will perform my vows in the sight of those who | fear the Lord.
 26The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
  Let those who seek the Lord give praise! May your hearts  live forever! 
 27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord;
  all the families of nations shall bow before God.
 28For dominion belongs to the Lord,
  who rules over the nations.

Second Reading: Galatians 3:23-29

23Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Gospel: Luke 8:26-39

26Then [Jesus and his disciples] arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”—29for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
 32Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
 34When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

CHILDREN’S SERMON:  Another look at Aesop’s “Lion and the Mouse” 

A Lion lay asleep in the forest. A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly. In her fright to get away, she ran across the Lion’s nose. The Lion laid his huge paw angrily 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 was generous and let the Mouse go.

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

“You laughed when I said I would repay you,” said the Mouse. “Now you see that even a Mouse can help a Lion.”

Turn to your neighbor.  What choice do you think the lion had to make?  What choice did the mouse have to make?

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

Moments of Truth and Consequences

         Today we continue into the Pentecost season. Pentecost shifts our attention from who our God is, as seen in the life of Jesus, to challenging us to ponder who we are with Jesus in our lives. At Pentecost the Spirit touched 3,000 lives and the Christian church started to have birthing pains.  Peter stood and preached, people believed and somehow life was different.  We now return to earlier texts with a different perspective. An encounter with the Holy tells us about God but it also changes us.  We come to a fork in the road of our life.  The lion had a choice to make in our Aesop fable.  Would he eat the mouse or spare it’s life?  The mouse had a choice to make also.  Would she try to aide the lion or let him die?  The consequences of choices impacts the trajectory of lives. 

         In our text today we have three sets of people or beings who stand on holy ground and must make a decision about what they are going to do.  The man, the demons, and the towns’ people all encounter Jesus and decide how to respond.  We are here today watching as the disciples did, the unseen audience standing on holy ground, and we must decide if we are going to snooze or apply the truth God brings to our hearts today!

A Man Obsessed or Possessed

         We don’t much like to talk about demon possession today as evil is for cartoons or for those people of the other party or the other country or just plain different from us.  Our text has a man who has been possessed by demons that controls his life.  Before we dismiss this, perhaps we know people who struggle with alcohol, with pornography, with anger, with eating, with shopping and dast we mention gossip!  Uvalde and how many other mass shootings testify that this Biblical story is real today.  To be human is to be susceptible to the influences of evil.

      To be tempted is not the problem.  Jesus was tempted.  The problem comes when we are driven by the tempter.  The man “had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs.”  Ouch.  When we are out of control, we are no longer able to clothe ourselves socially.  The addiction identifies us and labels us and we loose our unique identity as child of God.  We use words like drunk, addict, gossip, or loose to describe people who are not in control of their lives.  The man lived in the tombs, in hiding, out of touch with those who might help him.  Death is the companion.  We have suicide prevention lines and depression counselors and support groups for people caught in the grips of evil.  Let us not deceive ourselves, we are this person or at least we could be.  This is not a story.  This is real. It is us.

         This man has a choice.  He chooses to draw near to Jesus but please note, Jesus is not afraid of him and is willing to engage.  Jesus orders evil to leave as the man falls down before him. 

         “28When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the    top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”” 

Our man, as well as the demons, as well as the towns’ people, as well as the swine, and maybe even us, are all gripped with fear at the thought of interacting with Jesus.  Perhaps here we have a big clue for spiritual growth and peace.  When we are in the grips of fear, it probably is not God speaking but evil.  In the presence of that fear the man must decide to approach Jesus or flee to the tombs.  He approaches and Jesus restores him.  Jesus is not afraid of the man or the evil within him.  Jesus is more powerful than evil. And Jesus reaches out to the man in his helplessness.  The man realizes he is in the wrong and is afraid of torment.  I suspect when we know we are in the wrong, we too, become afraid of God and we are afraid of torment or afraid of the cost of repentance. 

         I have quoted Robert Frost’s poem before and do again:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

We choose Jesus and he heals.  We choose to run with fear and we suffer.  We all today have choices to make.  Jesus calls us to life!

Demons possessed or possessor

Our second group of beings that deal with Jesus are the demons possessing the man.  They know they are in the presence of the Holy, of the Son of God, and they bargain.  They beg not to be sent back to the abyss but into a herd of pigs.  Jesus grants their request.

         Yup, we know bargaining too.  Have we ever bargained with God and asked him to rescue us from a perceived trauma and promised to ….  At least we promise to be better, to return to church, to not eat sweets again, to not turn on pornography… if only he would deliver us this time.  I think this is the stuff of New Year’s resolutions and we all know we are lucky if we finish January before we slide into old habits again.  I catch myself with mouth in motion and shoot a prayer to heaven for help so I won’t be snarky again, but I am.

         Bargaining post pones the consequences.  The demons are allowed to go into the pigs but the pigs run down the steep bank to the lake and are drown.  The outcome is death so where are the demons now?  Getting the human dreams of our hearts is often not a solution and only leads to more pain.  I think of all those young adult dreams when I was sure I had found the right guy but that ended in pain.  It was only as I started listening to God and seeking his will that my life turned around.  The lion could have eaten the mouse but it would not have satisfied his hunger.  The mouse could have ignored the roars of the lion but she could not quiet her conscience that would remind her of his kindness and her promise.  Bargaining works for a while but it is not a good, long-term solution.

         Take a moment and sweep through your memory.  Are there areas in your life where you are bargaining with God and compromising?  Perhaps it is only avoiding saying “sorry” and healing a relationship.  The fear of humiliation, blocks the joy of restoration.  We need to put down those loads of anger and resentment and jealousy we carry.  Violence does not resolve anger.  Alcohol does not resolve grief.  The demons stand in the presence of Jesus but cannot say that four lettered word, “help.”

Town People Refuse

The demoniac pleads for help.  The demons bargain for compromise.  The town people just plain refuse Jesus and ask him to leave.  God does not force us to believe and be good and choose his way.  Jesus has cured the demoniac and returned him to his right mind.  Living proof of his power.  Jesus has sent the demons into the swine and into the lake.  Living proof of his authority.  God’s power and authority are used to help the demoniac and, I would contend are living demonstrations of Jesus’ loving commitment to help us.  In the presence of God’s love, people do refuse and send Jesus away.  The lion had no guarantee the mouse would ever help and the mouse had no guarantee that she could help the lion.  Both chose mercy. 

         The town’s people were seized with great fear.  Fear can paralyze us.  I think we say that the known enemy is better than the potential problems of the new.  I keep my old clunker because I know it’s quirks rather than buy a new-to-me used car.  Trust is scary.  People walk away and often we blame ourselves.

         The demoniac, now healed, is sent back to work with those people.  I think of those people we deeply love who seem to have hardened their hearts to God.  Like the demoniac, we have been healed and we have a story to tell of how God worked in our lives.  Perhaps we can remember when we felt out of control as if we were running around unclothed.  Perhaps we remember living in the tombs when we were so depressed and death felt like such a real option.  Perhaps we remember those failed bargains with God because our choice was not the best choice and we paid the consequences.  And perhaps we remember times when we hardened our hearts and insisted on doing it our own way and turned our back on God for a while.  So often the problem or challenge facing us is as big as a lion and we see ourselves quivering in fear like a mouse.  But I think that the beauty of the story is that Jesus crossed the lake and found the demoniac, was not afraid of the demoniac and had the power and authority to heal the demoniac.  What crossroad are you standing at today?  The best choice is the Jesus road.  He’s there and will bless.  Don’t be afraid.

The people of God said, “AMEN!”

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