"Life In His Name" Sermon for Easter 2C 4/11/2010

"Life In His Name"

Sermon for 4/11/2010
Easter 2C

John 20:19-31; Psalm 150

Doubting Thomas.... Poor Thomas gets such a bad rap. We read this Gospel story each year on the Second Sunday of the Easter season.  Whenever I hear this story, the moniker "Doubting Thomas" comes to mind.  Poor, Poor Thomas.  One question, one request, and he is forever labeled a doubter.   

This passage begins on the evening of the Resurrection, and then finishes up a week later.  It provides two accounts of the disciples encountering the resurrected Jesus.  It's an important passage within the Gospel of John, and Thomas' doubt tends to be the focus.  I prefer to see Thomas as an Inquirer.  He asks a question that is important.  He wants evidence of Jesus' resurrection.  He's a good scientist, and wants data before he proves the theory correct.[1]   

Do you like to ask questions?  Craig in his children's sermon last week invited the children to ask tough questions, and boy did they ever!  Questions are a good thing.  Questions help us to understand what is going on and make good decisions based on what we learn.  Questions help us receive answers, or at least help us to ask further questions.   

In today's text, Thomas is stating his question in a request to see the wounds of Jesus in order to help him believe in the Resurrection.  For whatever reason he was absent from the rest of the community when Jesus appeared the night of the Resurrection.  A week goes by, and Jesus appears to the community of disciples again, and this time Thomas is present.  Jesus sought him out to help him believe. [2]  Jesus pursued him to provide the answers to the questions he had.  When Jesus shows up, Thomas changes from one with questions to one with answers.  Through Jesus' providing Thomas with evidence and answers to his question, he is able to believe.  That was Jesus' purpose.  He showed up that night to help Thomas believe.  Jesus invites him, "Do not doubt, but believe." (John 20:27)

Thomas does believe.  One of the most important parts of this whole passage comes next.  Thomas provides a confession of believe in the Risen Christ.  Thomas proclaims, "My Lord and My God."  This is HUGE.  Thomas gets it.  He understands.  His questions have been answered, and it has changed his life.  "MY Lord and MY God!"  Thomas has new life through his confession of Christ Jesus as Lord and God.  Thomas is no longer a doubter, but the first person to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and God in John's Gospel.[3]  What a significant thing to be remembered for.   

When Thomas proclaims Jesus as Lord and God, he is hearkening back to the beginning of John.  Remember the prologue to John that we heard at Christmas.  John 1 says, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God." (Jn 1:1)  "The word became flesh and lived among us." (Jn. 1:14)  Now we hear the connection between Jesus as the Word of God proclaimed for the whole community to hear.[4]  Not only is Jesus the Word that became flesh and lived among us, but as John 20 tells us, "Through believing, you may have life in his name."  The Gospel has come full circle, and the circle of life now extends to us as well.  We can have life in Christ's name, when he is our Lord and God.   

The Gospel writer tells us that the signs done in the presence of the disciples are written so we may come to believe in Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God (vs. 31).  Not just Thomas, but all of us.  The community of disciples were present those days when Jesus appeared, and this passage is clear that the witness and proclamation extends to the whole community.  Belief isn't end of the journey here, either.  Belief leads to life--Life in Christ's name.   

Life in Christ's name.  What does that look like?  What does life mean after the resurrection? We receive one clue to what life means in Jesus' blessing in this passage.  "Peace be with you." (Vs. 21) Shalom: Peace, wholeness, completeness, health.  The peace that Jesus bestows on the gathered community in this passage is complete, whole peace.  Peace that only Jesus fully gives.  Peace gives life, but just not any life.  Resurrected life.  Life anew.  Life in Christ's name. 

The other evening, Steve and I watched a movie that documents an important story of new life in our world's history in the last 100 years. [See blog post for 4/9/10]. We saw "Schindler's List."  For those who might not be familiar with this 1993 Oscar award-winner, it's based on the life of Oskar Schindler.  He was raised as a German catholic who moved from Czechoslovakia to Poland to run a factory during World War 2.  In Krakow, he employed Jews in his factory.  Though he was technically a Nazi, he befriended the Jews and worked keep them in his factory in order to save them from death.  Schindler's List documented the names of 1200 Jews that he saved during the war from the Shoah, the Holocaust.  He resurrected them, if you will, by placing their names on the list of workers and giving them a chance at a new life after the war.  Schindler bribed, blackmailed, persuaded, and paid off Nazi officials to keep his workers in his factory, and at the end of the war, he sent them off as Free Jews with 3 yards of fabric and vodka to sell for money to start their new lives.  He amassed a fortune and spent every last Reichmark saving their lives.  He fled to Argentina completely broke at the end of the war.  The Schindler Jews, as they are know, were so appreciative of him saving their lives, that they supported him financially. 

Itzhak Stern, Schindler's Jewish Accountant, assisted with the business and typed the List of names of the Jews.  Once he realizes what Schindler was doing, he exclaimed, "The List is an absolute good.  The List is life."  Numerous survivors have recounted via video and written documents about the good that Oskar Schindler did through his list.  He was not perfect, but he risked his life for the sake of others.  He provided peace for these Jews--peace from the war--food and health care for their sick bodies----shelter from the storm raging around them--peace and wholeness for them during the worst of times.  The List was Life--New life.  Today decedents from the list number 7000. (http://www.auschwitz.dk/Schindlerslist.htm) 

Today, April 11^th, is Yom HaShoah--the International Day of Remembrance for the Holocaust.  A day we pause and remember all those lost around our world because of genocide.  And a day we pause and give thanks for those, like Oskar Schindler, who did what they could to provide life and peace from the death around them.   

One of my favorite scenes from the movie was when Schindler, near the very end of the war, reminds the Rabbi that it is almost sundown on Friday and it is time for him to begin preparing for the Sabbath.  The Rabbi gathers the wine and leads the community in the prayers of their faith, giving thanks and remembering all God had done and was doing in their midst.  The voices of the community in prayer are heard as candles are lit.  The sign of God's presence is revealed through the light, and they proclaim what they believe. 

Doesn't Thomas do the same for us today?  Thomas, no longer the doubter, is now the proclaimer.  "My Lord and My God."  He names the sign of God's presence in our midst.  Just as Jesus gave peace, shalom, to the gathered community and gave new life through his resurrection, Schindler gave peace to his Jews through their jobs in his factory, and gave them a new chance at life through the list.   

In the Gospel passage, Jesus is there with the community.  We get so focused on Thomas that we easily loose sight of the community around him.  The disciples are gathered.  Nowhere does it indicate it was only the 11--I believe it was a much larger group. [5]  The peace and life that Christ breathed into the disciples extends to us through the gathered community.  Christ gives us peace and sends us out to share the good news of God living with us.  New life comes from death.  The Word has become flesh and indeed, STILL lives among us.   

We practice this faith as a community and live into it together.  We live out life in Christ's name each time we celebrate and worship as a community.  We live out life in Christ's name each time we speak peace to one another.  We live out life in Christ's name every time we bring a child forward for Baptism.  This morning we proclaimed our belief in God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together and shared together as a community in Winston's Baptism.  We mark this step in his faith journey and live out life in Christ's name together.   

[Photo by David Cherveny of RMC's Easter Sunrise Service at Oakwood Cemetary, Raleigh NC, 4/4/10]
Last Sunday we celebrated life in Christ's name.  We proclaimed, "The Lord is risen" while the birds chirped and the sun rose.  Next Sunday we will celebrate life in Christ's name.  We will celebrate another baptism, and share together in the Lord's Supper.  We will gather as a community to eat and drink and remember Christ, and live out life together in Christ's name through the Sacraments.  Two Sundays from now, on April 25th we will gather to celebrate the Confirmation of our youth as they proclaim their own faith and mark the next step in their faith journey.  We will be here celebrating with them and living together into life in Christ's name.   

Each time we gather as a faith community to worship, pray, study, learn, make music, eat, or spend time together, we are living life in Christ's name.  We are practicing shalom, God's peace, and enacting it in our world.  The more we practice living life in Christ's name with His peace and the Spirit in us, the more we can share it.  We are taking it with us from this place to wherever we go from here--work, school, home.  We are sharing Christ's life and peace with everyone we meet.  Christ gave the gathered community His peace and then sent them out with the Spirit to a world longing to hear and see and know Christ's peace.  Christ gives US peace and sends US out with the Spirit to a world longing to hear and see and know his peace.   We live life together in his name and we must share it with those around us.   May we share Christ's peace and live life in his name today and always.  Amen.

[1] Martin E. Marty, "Theological Perspective on John 20:19-31" in Feasting on The Word (Year C,Vol. 2) eds. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) 396.
[2] Gail O'Day, "John" in New Interpreter's Bible, Vol IX (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995) 849-850.
[3] Gregory A. Robbins, "Exegitical Perspective on John 20:19-31" in Feasting on The Word (Year C,Vol. 2) eds. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) 401. Gerald Sloyan, John. Interpretation Series (Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1998) 226.
[4] Gail O'Day, "John" in New Interpreter's Bible, Vol IX (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995) 850.
[5] Gail O'Day, "John" in New Interpreter's Bible, Vol IX (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995) 846.

Favorite Easter Tradition

Easter traditions run deep in many families and churches... as a Moravian growing up, my favorite Easter tradition was cleaning graves and putting out flowers in God's Acre (A Moravian Graveyard) in Old Salem.  Though I haven't gone for years now, I love spending Saturdays in Old Salem, walking among my Moravian forefathers and foremothers.  Jessica Jones for North Carolina Public Radio had this piece on NPR, which is a great clip about this tradition this week:

The weblink is: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125554714&ft=1&f=10

Worshiping in the graveyard at sunrise may seem strange to some, but it is our reliving of the Easter story when the women disciples (Luke 24:1-12) went to the tomb early on the first day of the week (Sunday) to find the tomb empty.  "The Lord is Risen. The Lord is Risen, Indeed!" The plain, matching headstones remind us of equality in death.  Cleaning the graves reminds us of the women going to prepare the body of Christ.  Putting out fresh flowers remind us that He is not here, He is alive.  The beautiful, fresh flowers are an important part of Easter--they remind us that Hope Lives--Christ is Risen! 

(This is New Philadelphia Moravian Church's God's Acre, but Old Salem looks very similar at Easter!)

"Refuge Under God's Wing" Sermon for Lent 2C 2/28/2010

Lent 2C 2/28/10

Luke 13:31-35, Psalm 27

"Refuge Under God's Wing"

Noah the pigeon.The story from today's children's message really touched my heart this week. Now, I'm not usually one to read chain emails beginning to end, but I opened the email the other day, and found myself laughing out loud because it illustrated the passage from Luke's Gospel that we heard this morning so well. It made it even more powerful when I found it to be a true story and not an urban legend. A pigeon taking adopted bunny-children under her wing and raising them as her own.

We can all, I believe, relate to the feeling this story evokes--warmth and comfort that is found in a motherly hug. Nurturing touches that fold us in and make us feel safe and warm. For some of us this came from our mothers or grandmothers, and for others someone else special in our lives provided this feeling. Hopefully all of us can relate to this feeling from childhood. How nice it would be to curl up under Noah's wing and snuggle knowing we are safe and warm.

As we look at the Gospel passage for today, we find Jesus on his final approach to Jerusalem. This passage is probably not as familiar as many of Luke's stories, but it's interesting. It offers a behind-the-scenes look at a conversation Jesus is having with those close to him.[1] In this entire chapter he's talking about the Kingdom of God that he is working to bring about on earth. The parables that come before it help us to understand the Kingdom of God, with the final verse in the section prior being the familiar sign of the Kingdom: "Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last” (Luke 13:30). The Kingdom of God theme continues into this passage. We know he is headed to his death, and the time is drawing closer, so we hear this passage with the cross looming in the background. He's trying to make sure his followers understand the work God has for them to do once he is gone to bring about God's Kingdom on earth. He's getting his final details in order to be prepared for Holy Week.

Anytime Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God, we can assume that the leaders in power are unhappy about it. The first shall be last and the last shall be first does not make many friends with those in power. Herod is no exception. He is Herod Antipas, the son of Herod from the Nativity story, and he's Tetrarch of the Galilee region.[2] The Roman emperor did not allow kings to rule under them, but king was basically the function he held. He had heard rumors about Jesus and was not happy. Jesus got wind of this unhappiness, and made a comment to his followers. Jesus said, "Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work."(Luke 13:32) Calling Herod a fox was an insult, and we can be sure that Jesus chose this word carefully. This scene reminds me of video footage I've seen of the Lords in the British House yelling back and forth across the aisle hurling names and insults at one another with sly smirks on their faces. Foxes were seen as sly and cunning creatures who were destructive. They were dangerous, predatory, and evil.[3] Foxes were not helpful in creating the Kingdom of God that Jesus was enacting.

Then Jesus moves into a lament over Jerusalem and his followers--those who believe in His Father in heaven. He uses the image of a hen gathering her chicks under her wing. He says, "How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!" (Luke 13:34b) This lament drew my interest as I've thought about this passage. Why a hen? What does this mean? And what is the invitation here for us?

My experience with hens and chickens is limited. I'm a city-girl, and didn't grow up with chickens around me. My main experience with chickens came from my summers working at Old Salem in Winston-Salem.[4] Old Salem is the living history museum depicting Moravian life during the 1700 and 1800s. If you visited years ago, you may remember the chicken coop in the backyard of the Single Brothers House. I spent many summer days working in that yard in costume in their Historic Trades program during High School. We often had folks asking about the chickens that lived in the coop. My favorite question that came up was, "Are those real chickens?" I was amazed how many times we got asked that one, and I knew enough to answer correctly. Smells like a chicken--Sounds like a chicken--looks like a chicken--yep. Believe me, it was a learned skill to smile and simply answer "yes", while in my head I was thinking, "NO, silly, they're animatronics from Disney World."

With that as my only real experience, I have spent some time this week trying to understand real chickens--the kind you don't find at Disney World. Hens are caregivers. They nurture their chicks and teach them how to survive in their new world. Hens show their chicks how to find food and water, where to sleep, and what to do in case a fox threatens the chicken coop. While chicks are learning, they follow their mama around learning all they can. And when something threatens, or they want to feel safe and warm, under mom's wing is the best place to be!

Jesus was a master storyteller and chose images to use specifically. The hen and chicks image is a powerful one for discipleship. Hens are nurturing and meek. They will stand their ground in the face of danger, and do their best to protect their chicks, but in a hen versus a fox fight, we know who will win. After all, Good Friday looms ahead of us.

The Old Testament does provide images of being under a wing of protection, and Jesus draws form these images to describe God's nurturing love. From the Psalms:
Psalm 17:8 says, "Guard me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings."
Psalm 36:7 says, "How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings."

God demonstrates love for all by inviting us to gather under the wings for protection and safety. Refuge is found under God's wings. God nurtures all those who gather in the wing's shadow, and we are all invited. We can tell from Jesus' comment that some have not joined the party under God's wing. But everyone is invited, just as Psalm 36 reminded us.

On a farm in Georgia in 2007 an interesting thing happened.[5] One particular hen demonstrated God's welcoming embrace and nurturing spirit. There were three new mama hens on this farm. Two of the mama hens were tragically carried off and left all their young behind to fend for themselves. The remaining hen demonstrated Godly love. Though hens normally will not accept chicks from other mamas since their own are enough work to care for, she took on the chicks from the other hens despite having 16 chicks to care for on her own. She ended up with 42 chicks in total. As the farmer George Turner describes, "This led to amusing sights like her running over somewhere to scratch, followed by a streaming hoard of little feather balls. And then, when she stood still, when they were still small they would ALL try to get under her for protection. There of course was not enough room.... Some got the entrepreneurial spirit and climbed on her back!"[6]

God invites all of us to gather under the wing in safety, security, and love, and unlike the hen, there is room for all of us under there!

Besides soaking up God's love, spending time in the refuge of God's wing prepares us as well. It is often while we experience God's love that we are called to follow Jesus. This conversation in Luke took place on the road to Jerusalem--the road that led to the cross, death, and ultimately, resurrection--new, eternal life. We cannot forget the context. Under the refuge of God's wing is where we can learn how to be a follower of Jesus. But at some point the chicks grow up and must leave the coop for the journey ahead. The hen can only hope that the lessons about life have been learned. Jesus invites us under the wing, but Luke’s Gospel also tells us of Jesus’ invitation to follow Him. He says in Luke 9: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23) This is ultimately how God's Kingdom is on earth as it is in heaven--when we follow Jesus' example and work to bring about God's Kingdom here. As one author points out, "Jesus intends to stand firm in the face of the fox, not in order to win the political or military fight (hens rarely, if ever win such fights), but to show that in the long run, "some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last".[7] This was why Herod was upset in the first place, and Herod believed he got the last word. At least he thought he did. Then Jesus finished his work on the third day. The tomb was empty and the last became first.

Like Jesus himself, Lent invites us to both rest in the refuge of God's wing, and take up our cross and follow the journey to Jerusalem. It's an invitation for everyone--each of us must decide. God's wing is an open invitation. Where do you find refuge and how do you answer the call to follow in the ways of God's Kingdom? The invitation is there. May we all join in together in saying in the end, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” (Luke 13:35).

Our next hymn this morning is “I am Jesus Little Lamb” found on page 723. This traditional Moravian Hymn is an alternative translation to the very popular hymn “Jesus Makes My Heart Rejoice.” As we sing this hymn this morning, I invite you to sing is as a prayer. Much like the image of being under God’s wing, The Scripture is full of lamb imagery to describe our relationship with God.  May we all accept the invitation to be Jesus’ Little Lamb.

[1]William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, Rev. Ed. The Daily Study Bible Series.  (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975) 185.

[2]Leslie J. Hoppe, "Exegetical Perspective" for "Second Sunday in Lent: Luke 13:31-35" in Feasting On The Word (Year C, Vol. 2) ed. by David Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) 69.

[3]R. Alan Culpepper, "Luke" in The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. IX (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995) 281, 282.

[4] www.oldsalem.org

[5]http://www.thwink.org/sustain/work/bios/GeorgeTurner.htm

[6] http://www.thwink.org/sustain/work/bios/GeorgeTurner.htm Emphasis is Turners.

[7]Jill Crainshaw, "Preaching the Lesson" for "Second Sunday in Lent" in Lectionary Homiletics (vol. XXI, No. 2, February-March 2010) 36. (Referencing Luke 13:30).

"The Journey Ahead" Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday/Last Sunday in Epiphany Year C-2/14/10

Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday (Last Sunday in Epiphany-Year C)

Exodus 34:28-35; Luke 9:28-43

"The Journey Ahead"
2/14/2010

I went walking the other day.  It was one of our recent deceptively beautiful days--sunny and gorgeous, and bitter cold with the wind chill.  The sun drew me out, but the cold reminded me that winter is still here for the moment.  Since I didn't have my ipod with me, I walked in the quiet.  It allowed me to notice all that was going on around me despite the stillness.  As I thought and looked and noticed, I decided this is probably one of my favorite times of the year... if you know me, cold is not something I'm a big fan of.  But as I looked beyond the cold, I saw it.  Hope.  Transformation.  

(Photo from http://neighborhoodnature.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/)

Right there in the dirt.  Flower bulbs poised to show their glory.  Green stalks poking out of the dirt making their first appearances in the sun.  Right there on the tree branches.  Tree branches shedding their winter death and peaking out ever so slightly with new growth.  Right there in the birds and squirrels out scavenging for food because new little ones are on the way soon.  The earth is just poised on the brink of new life.  There is hope of spring--I don't care what the groundhog says.  Winter doesn't get the last word--THANKFULLY!!  

It isn't coincidence that Transfiguration Sunday and the verge of Spring coincide.  They both give us a picture of change that is happening all around us--transformation is in the air.  Luke's account of the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain details how Jesus was changed before the disciples' very eyes.  He looked different, and a voice from heaven claimed Jesus and invited those present and those hearing the story to listen to him. (Luke 9:35).  From this point in the story, Jesus heads to Jerusalem and Holy Week--the Garden of Gethsemane, arrest, the cross, and death.  We are about to enter this time in our church year when these events are the focus.  But even as we enter Lent this coming week on Ash Wednesday, we do so with the knowledge that death doesn't get the final word.  After Lent comes Easter.  The cross leads to the tomb, and then the tomb is found empty.  There is life after death.  We are all in the process of transformation that proclaims Resurrection--Life after death--Hope.  It's quite a journey, and it all starts again on Wednesday! 

The traditional readings for Transfiguration Sunday include both the Luke reading and the Exodus reading that we heard today.  This passage from Exodus would have come to mind immediately when the followers of Jesus heard the story of the Transfiguration.  There are many parallels to the passage that I won't go into here, but I imagine you noticed many of them as you heard the two read together this morning.

How do we imagine this scene where Moses is on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments?  This scene has been portrayed in a number of ways.  A simple Google search will show how some have imagined it.  If you have ever seen images of the Michelangelo sculpture of Moses[1], the horns on his forehead come from this passage. Some older translations describe Moses' glow as him having horns.[2]  More contemporary translations match today's reading of his face being aglow.  I love the image of Moses coming down with his face aglow from his time with God.  What would it be like to spend such intense time with God and be in God's presence such that your face glowed when others saw you afterward?

As I explored the Exodus passage of scripture this week, I found something I thought was very interesting, especially given that we are facing the season of Lent.  Did you notice the opening line in the Exodus story today?  This line is not considered a part of the lectionary passage for today.  One of the things we were taught in school, though, is that a passage isn't written alone. It is part of a larger narrative, so we can consider what comes before and after the text we are exploring.   So as I looked at Exodus, I notice that Moses spends forty days and nights with God.  Verse 28 reads, "He was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments" (Exodus 34:28, NRSV).  In fact, Moses spends 40 days and nights with God two different times in Exodus (Exodus 24:18, NRSV).  He understood the importance of spending quality time in God's presence.

Forty days is a long time—it’s almost a 10^th of the year.  Forty is a number in Judaism that means a long time and also means fullness.   It's the "amount of time it takes to accomplish a specific purpose." [3]Forty days allows for new habits to form--to take root and grow changing our ways and patterns.  For Moses, forty days and nights where what it took to hear God's commandments, record them, and be ready to return to the Israelites to relay the message.  It's a significant number in Scripture and draws our minds to other instances where we find the number forty.  Remember Noah and the ark and their 40 days of rain.  The Israelites wandered in the desert 40 years.  Kings Saul, David, and Solomon ruled 40 years.  Eli was a judge for 40 years.  Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days wile he was tempted.  After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples for 40 days. 

For the early church, the tradition continued.  The 40 days before Easter were a time of preparation for baptisms that would then happen on Easter.  This was an important part of the preparation for new believers to get to know what it meant to live as Christians.  They used the time to transform their old ways into new ways of being believers.  By 1191 the Pope declared the 40 days of Lent to be an official season of the church year, and marked Ash Wednesday as the beginning point.  Just as I saw flower bulbs starting to show through the dirt on my walk the other day, the word Lent meant spring and originally comes from the word meaning long because the days are getting longer as spring approaches.[4]  The plants are beginning to live new lives, and we have the same opportunity. 

Lent, for us today, is a 40-day season that serves as a time for reflection and repentance before the Resurrection.  We often associate it with somber, minor keys.  One way to look at this is that for reflection and repentance we must look inside ourselves and examine who we are. Ash Wednesday offers us this opportunity as we acknowledge our own mortality through the dust.  This reflection is difficult for many and uncomfortable for most.  But that is also where transformation and change can take place.  Transformation is often difficult, but it is worth it in the end.  Transformation, after all, is what God is all about in our world--transforming death into new life. 

When Steve and I visited Monticello in Charlottesville, VA this past October, we witnessed transformation in process.  Underneath a cellar overhang there were Monarch butterflies transforming.  The chrysalis' were hanging there, and we could see one that was almost ready to hatch.  The wings were visible through the clear covering.  

And many monarchs, having just finished their own transformations, filled the gardens.  It was so beautiful to see these butterflies going through the difficult process of transformation, but we know in the end it is worth their efforts to change from caterpillar to butterfly.  This is the reason butterflies are representative of the resurrection.  Lent is like the time the caterpillar spends inside the chrysalis--internal change is happening, but the transformation of Easter is worth all the work that Lent brings.  New life is the result, and what a beautiful transformation it is. 

The journey ahead brings us Ash Wednesday, Lent, Holy Week, and ultimately Easter.  It also brings us an invitation.  An invitation to journey with the story of our faith.  An invitation to live into the rhythm of the church year.  An invitation for transformation through intentional time with God.  An invitation for a journey with God to see where God is working in and around us.  It has been said that Moravians are Easter People.  We don’t let Easter sneak up on us because we live into these practices that prepare us for the Big Event—Easter morning!  Through the years we have done the hard work of Lent well, have lived into Holy Week through worship and our Holy Week readings of the Gospel texts.  We appreciate Easter more, because we have prepared our hearts and minds ahead of time.  May we continue this tradition and live into Lent.  Through this time, I wonder how our faces might glow if we embrace these next 40 days with intentionality.  I wonder how we might see those around us glow when they have spent time with God over these next 40 days.

Many times people choose to give up something, often a favorite food, during Lent to remind us of our hungering after God.  This is good and can be an effective teacher during these 40 days.  But what if we instead choose a new habit to undertake during the next 40 days--something that will encourage us in the journey ahead.  Or maybe giving up one thing and adding something else works well for some of us.  Through both, God can work to help transform our living with God.  Maybe we are led to focus on gratitude during Lent, and spend time daily writing a thank you note to someone who has touched our lives or start a list of all the things we're grateful for.  Maybe we are led to focus on prayer, and spend time in conversation with God and Moravians from around the world by praying the Daily Text during Lent.  Maybe we are led to focus on music, and read a hymn a day and use the words as our prayer.  Maybe we are led to visit neighbors or strangers we have yet to get to know.  The possibilities are endless.  How is God leading you to transform your life during Lent?

Moses was led to a mountain for 40 days and Jesus spent 40 days living in a desert.  Maybe that is our calling for this time, but maybe it is not.  We are busy and living goes on.  But maybe, on this journey ahead, we can find time to seek the holy in the ordinary.  We can open our eyes and see where God is, and spend time with God in the places of our daily lives.   Poet Ann Weems talks about this in her collection of poetry for Lent and Easter entitled, "Kneeling in Jerusalem."  I offer her prayer, "Holy in the Ordinary" as a closing prayer this morning.  May we all find God's invitation for us during these next 40 days, and may we all share the glow of being in God's presence.

"Holy is the time and holy is this place, 
and there are holy things that must be said.


"Let us say to one another what our soul whispers...
O Holy One, cast your tents among us;
come into our ordinary lives and bless the living!"[5]
Amen.

[1] http://www.lib-art.com/artgallery/13974-moses-michelangelo-buonarroti.html

[2] Wallace Eugene March, "Exegetical Perspective on Exodus 34:29-35" for Transfiguration Sunday in Feasting On The Word, Year C Volume 1 (Advent Through Transfiguration) edited by David L. Bartlett and Diana Butler Bass (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009) 439.

 [3] Delia Halverson, Children's Activities for the Christian Year (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2004) 47.

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent

[5] Ann Weems, "The Holy In The Ordinary" in Kneeling In Jerusalem (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1992)13.

"The Outpouring of God's Spirit" Pentecost Sermon 5/31/09

Sermon 5/31/09 "The Outpouring of God's Spirit"
Pentecost, Year B
Acts 2:1-21; John 15:26-27

Have you ever been at a point in your life when you just wanted to hear a word from God? Maybe it was years ago or maybe it's today. Maybe you were looking for guidance to help make a difficult decision or maybe you were seeking comfort in the midst of pain, peace in the midst of strife, wholeness in the midst of dis-ease. Maybe it wasn't that it you wanted to hear from God, but that you NEEDED that word from God? A word, any word would set the mind at ease that God is speaking, that indeed God is present. God has not forgotten about us. When doubts creep in and the lack of audible words from God is overwhelming, many of us, I believe, long to hear God speak a word, any word to fill the void we are feeling and make God's presence known in our midst. Silence is not something that many of us are comfortable with these days--I'm guilty of it myself. I'll turn on the TV or radio just to have some background noise as I read or play a game or even clean the house. Silence can be deafening--especially silence from God.

When it comes to our longing to hear God speak, what may differ about that word for us is how we would like God to deliver it. We've been talking in our Velvet Elvis Conversation Group the past couple of weeks about that exact idea, as many of us have questions and thoughts related to what we want to hear God say and how we want to hear it spoken--be it booming thunder, a whisper in the wind, or maybe a word from a stranger. Some of us long for the burning bush along I-40 as we drive to work, so that we, like Moses, turn our heads, stop alongside the road, and take notice. Some of us would prefer the bright, flashing neon signs of Time Square, where God spells out the message on the marquee and makes it so bright we can't miss it even if we wanted to.

The more I've thought about hearing God speak and our desire for a word from the Lord this past week, I've come to wonder if it is actually our true desire to hear a word from God, or if it is more that we desire to just know God is present. It's likely that we can handle the silence, as long as we know God is there, because often silence could mean something is wrong or God is not listening. We want assurance that we are not forgotten or alone. We matter and are noticed by our great Creator, and we are loved. I remember a retreat I attended in high school where I had an experience of feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit so strongly that it was undeniable, though there was no word from God that came with it. It was a warm, peaceful, calm moment that I truly do not have words adequate to describe. To this day I hold that experience in the back of my head and heart because it offers me that assurance that I matter to God, and God is present in my life.

For those followers of Jesus who gathered 50 days after Jesus was resurrected from the dead, Pentecost was just that experience that some of us seek--where God's presence was undeniable as it flashed brightly across the Time Square-style marquee inside a room in Jerusalem. These disciples are the same ones who gathered together in fear just after the resurrection because they didn't understand what was happening. They wanted a word or sign that things were going to be ok--God was still with them. On Pentecost, God's presence in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was so bright and powerful that even those outside the room took notice, stopped what they were doing to go see, and were amazed! It was a theophany, an experience of the presence of God--not unlike Moses' burning bush or Jesus' baptism when the dove descended and the voice of God sounded through the thunder. God was clearly present and at work, and the world took notice.

There are a few significant details to this important passage in Acts. As we think about God's Spirit being poured out into the world, we notice that the tongues of fire land "on each of them" as it says in Acts 2:3 and "all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit" in verse 4. The Holy Spirit was given to everyone --the whole community was the beneficiary--and no one was excluded. Also as we think about hearing God speak, we notice that the event inside was such a big deal that those outside were even included and came to join in the festivities. They were called to the Holy Spirit's Welcome party by hearing their own native languages being spoken. If we were wandering the streets of Moscow or Beijing and heard English being spoken loudly inside a building we were passing by, we very well might take notice and stop what we're doing to listen to what's going on. The list of places that are noted in the passage is important as well. A glance at a map showing where these locations are will show how spread out the regions are. They cover all around the Mediterranean Sea, north into Europe, south into Africa, and most of the Middle East. It symbolically and literally represented the whole known world that was present to experience the outpouring of the Spirit. There is no mistaking that the Spirit came for everyone, not just those few who fit into the room that day.

The writer of Acts is careful to note this theophany of God because it was an important event. Some call Pentecost the birthday of the church. It certainly was the full fulfillment of God's coming into the world. Pentecost is not an isolated event, like we sometimes mistakenly think, but is part of the Lent and Easter journey. God began to fulfill the promise of coming into the world through a manger and a baby and later a cross and empty tomb. But as we think back to Christmas, the shepherds were local residents. The magi were from the east, but they were few in number, and we don't hear about what happened after they saw the baby and went home a different way. Jesus lived and taught in a relatively small area of the world, and though he had affected the whole world since his birth, his physical location during his life was limited. The empty tomb was discovered by only a few at most. Here at Pentecost, we receive indication that the message of Jesus is finally being broadcast to the whole world though the work of the Holy Spirit.

Peter's speech in the second half of our Scripture text this week takes the message of Pentecost one step further--just in case anyone is still feeling left out from the outpouring of the Spirit. Peter reminds the listeners that the Holy Spirit is fulfilling the prophet Joel's words from long ago. "God declares that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit and they shall prophesy." (Acts 2:17-18 NRSV) Men, women, young, old, slave, and free--everyone is included. The Spirit of the Lord is poured out for everyone, and God is present for everyone.

But what about those of us who maybe aren't in a place today to affirm that God is present, speaking, and at work around us? What about that deafening silence where we long to hear a word from the Lord? It is in times like these that proclaiming God's Spirit was poured out for the whole world on Pentecost can become so important. It gives us a Scriptural place to pause and rest for a moment while we wait for our word from the Lord. It also gives us the reassurance that God has been, is, and indeed will be faithful. The radical inclusiveness of Pentecost gives me hope that we will all feel God's presence and hear that much desired word from the Lord at some point--just maybe not in our own timing.

I had preacher Barbara Brown Taylor's book, When God is Silent recommended to me this past week, so I read it as I prepared for today's message. This small book left me with much to ponder, and at one point she references Fred Craddock, another well-known preacher. He said, "The voice of God in Jesus was not a shout. In him, the revelation of God comes to us as a whisper." She goes on to say, "In order to catch it, we must hush, lean forward, and trust that what we hear is the voice of God." [1] I believe this is where being part of a community of believers becomes so valuable. It is in the listening together and sharing with one another that we confirm and affirm where we collectively hear God whispering through the Spirit's interactions with our lives. We can use one another to test the messages we are discerning and barely hearing through the silence, and understand what God is saying.

I remember standing on the top of the mountain at Laurel Ridge one cold fall evening with a group of college friends after a night hike. It was so beautiful and clear that we felt we needed to stop and pause and notice the beauty of God's creation around us. We huddled in prayer because it just felt right to pray at that moment. As we said, "Amen" and looked up at the stars, we all saw the most beautiful, brightest shooting star that, to this day, I have ever seen. We all gasped as we got goose bumps. At that moment we all agreed that it was the exclamation point that God placed on our prayer and the assurance of God's presence with us on that mountain. Our small community discernment helped us to see God's presence through the silence.

Barbara Brown Taylor also offered an analogy that I found helpful, as I have pondered silence from God. She likened it to an eclipse of the sun. [2] During an eclipse, it is not the sun that moves, but instead is something that comes between the sun and us. God doesn't change, but sometimes there are things that get in the way that block out the rays of the sun, and prevent us from feeling the warmth on our faces. Being in community with believers is a place where we can seek out and remove the stuff that blocks the sun in order to help us feel the warmth on our faces and the words in our hearts.

Also, maybe the silence we hear from God is purposeful. Maybe the silence is there to draw us into the mystery that is God. It draws us into a place that we would never have journeyed had the noise surrounded us. Taylor suggests, "The possibility that silence is as much a sign of God's presence as of God's absence--that divine silence is not a vacuum to be filled but a mystery to be entered into, unarmed by words and undistracted by noise." [3] I believe it is in these times that community can be there for us to just sit in the silence and keep us company as we journey deeper into the mystery of God. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do for someone is to just be present where no words are required or needed.

So on this Pentecost Sunday, I invite us to join in the conversation that started all those years ago in Jerusalem. The outpoured Spirit of God is loose in this world and this energy cannot be contained! Let us continue to listen together, share together, sit in silence together, gather together, and see and proclaim the Spirit's work in this place and throughout the world. Will you join me as we live out our own Pentecost and listen for a word from the Lord together? I hope so! Amen.

[1] Barbara Brown Taylor, When God is Silent (Chicago, IL: Cowley Publications, 1997) 57.
[2] Barbara Brown Taylor, When God is Silent (Chicago, IL: Cowley Publications, 1997) 73. She was referencing Martin Bubel's The Eclipse of God.
[3] Barbara Brown Taylor, When God is Silent (Chicago, IL: Cowley Publications, 1997) 118.

"Just Breathe!" Sermon for 4/19/09 [Easter 2B]"

Easter 2B Sermon for 4/19/09 "Just Breathe!"
John 20:19-31 (Preaching Text)
Acts 4:32-35; Genesis 2:4-7

What inspires you? Where do you get your inspiration? I saw a video the other day on the Web that inspired me. In fact there are lots of inspiring videos available today, thanks to the power of the Internet. In this particular video, we meet Donna Rock who has trained her dog to do obedience and run agility courses. [1] They've won many national championships and ribbons over the past nine years. Yet, Donna has no arms. She uses her legs and feet for everything and has since birth. It was inspiring to watch all she and her dog can do together--they make such a great team. Her hard work and perseverance inspires me that anything is possible and we all have something to share with the world.

Or maybe you've caught a clip of the latest sensation from "Britain's Got Talent". On this British forerunner to American Idol, 47 year old, unemployed, somewhat homely Susan Boyle wowed the judges last Saturday, with her song, "I Dreamed A Dream," from Les Miserable.[2] She left the judges, including Simon Cowell, wide-eyed and speechless, which anyone who has seen American Idol knows is difficult to do. The clip of her singing has been all over TV and YouTube in the past week, and inspires me that all people have some type of talent or gift deep within us that is just bursting to get out and be shared. If you haven't caught these videos yet, I'll include links in my blog for you to check them out.[3]

Or maybe you felt inspired by participating in the Easter Sunrise service last week or a previous Easter dawn. Maybe you could relate to the women who first went to the tomb and discovered Jesus had risen from the dead. They were then told to go share the Good News with the other disciples. Jesus called them to use their gifts to share with others. Maybe you're one of the ones so inspired that you left last Sunday's worship and had a different, better spring in your step this week. Your outlook on life has changed because of Easter. Easter has made a difference and the whole world is taking notice. Can you relate? Are you inspired like the disciples were on Easter, all those many years ago?

I certainly felt inspired in Oakwood last Sunday morning as we gathered to celebrate Jesus' triumph over the grave. Did you hear when the birds started chirping and the 2 lone Geese honking overhead joined the chorus, all while we professed our faith in the Risen Lord? The trees and flowers were in full bloom to greet Jesus. I wonder if it is even possible to NOT be inspired by the beauty and celebration of close to 300 Christians gathering in worship as instruments proclaimed in song and nature echoed the joy, "The Lord is Risen. The Lord is Risen, INDEED!"

The Easter event is meant to be inspiring. Jesus, I believe, wanted folks to leave the Garden feeling inspired. He sent the women off to tell others about the good news that He had risen from the dead. Jesus wanted all of His followers to be inspired to continue on in His mission of love.

Some of you might be asking yourself, "How might one know Jesus wanted to inspire us?" Well, let's look back at today's passage again. There is a detail that might easily get overlooked in the Gospel reading. John tells us in Chapter 20:21-22, "Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.' 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" (NRSV). He breathed on them... Jesus opened his resurrected mouth and breathed on the disciples. Our first thought might be something like, "Ewwww, talk about 3-day old morning breath! Ugh."

Breathing on the disciples might seem strange, or not even be worth a glance, until we look more closely at what breathing means. The ancient Latin word, spirare, "to breath into" is where our word inspiration comes from. Jesus was in fact, inspiring the disciples by breathing into them.[4] I believe the words "breathed on" were intentionally used in the original Greek as well. It is the only time enefusesen "breathed on" is used in the New Testament. It is only used a few times in the Old Testament Septuagint [Greek translation of the OT] as well--most notably in Genesis 2. The writer of John's Gospel is drawing a direct connection to Genesis 2:7 when God breathes into Adam and gives him life. Genesis 2:7 says, "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being." (NRSV)

God's breath brought life to the human body in Genesis, just like Jesus, who is God-with-us, breathed on the disciples to give them new life. They became new, inspired creations. Resurrection was passed along to the disciples to empower and inspire them to go out and share Christ's love. Through Jesus' resurrection, new life is breathed into the disciples to inspire them discover their talents and gifts and go share those with the world. He breathed into them, so they could go breathe his life into the whole world to fill the world with God's inspiring love. Jesus' breath inspired action and change in positive ways.

I invite you each to take a breath right now. Breathe deeply. Close your eyes for a moment and feel the air as it fills and then leaves your lungs. Try it again. Just Breathe. Do you feel any different? There really is something to all these deep-breathing exercises we are encouraged to try... whether it involves conquering fears, reducing anger, or sharing love. I was talking with Cathy Hamner, our Music Director, the other day and she shared how she has been encouraged to use deep breathing exercises with her son Zach when they take him on outings because it helps him maintain better self-control. Cathy commented that she found it also helps her maintain control and peace when times can be stressful. I know in my own life, I find myself needing to pause and take a deep breath every once in a while, just to clear my head and find Christ's peace again. I came across an article this week in the Washington Post where a researcher affirms, "Traditional spiritual practices such as prayer and breath control can alter the neural connections of the brain, leading to "'long-lasting states of unity, peacefulness and love.'" [5] Breathing deeply can help us feel more peaceful and changes the brain in positive ways. Breathe... just breathe. Breathe in new life from Christ. Breathe in Christ's inspiration.

Speaking of breathing, have you ever heard a reference to the term "Caesar's breath"?[6] I find the whole idea interesting, even inspiring. It's the idea that the air Caesar once breathed is still around today. We know from physics that matter is never created nor destroyed--it can only change. So that means that the same molecules of air that Caesar once breathed are still around today, likely floating in the air we are breathing right now. In fact, I found one website that say there is a 99% statistical likelihood that you just breathed in some of the molecules from Julia Caesar's breath.[7] Take a deep breath. If Caesar's molecules are still around, then we can also assert that Jesus' breathe is still present. Just Breathe. You have likely just inhaled Jesus' breath. Do you feel inspired, empowered, or full of new life? Anyone feeling resurrected this morning? We are breathing in the Resurrection, the new creation, the breath of God. Be inspired. Just Breath!

We are new creations filled with the breath of Christ inspiring us to share this resurrection power and love with the world as we take the message from the garden and empty tomb to the room where the disciples gathered on the night of the resurrection and now to this place. Do you feel inspired? Do you feel different now that Jesus has breathed into each of us? Are you ready to head out of the Garden or leave the room where the early disciples gathered and share the Good News of Easter? We each have gifts and talents that God can use. We can help inspire others and share God's love. During this Easter season, how are you inspired?

Or maybe you are in a place today where it is difficult to feel inspired? Or you just can't seem to take the deep breath needed to be propelled forward in Christ's name? If so, let us help. This where being part of a community of disciples becomes vitally important. Just as the first disciples had gathered together in fear and confusion, not sure what to do until Christ breathed on them, we are here together, breathing together, being inspired together, to go serve together. Because some from this community are in Mississippi today, each one of us is serving there this week as supporters and "back-home helpers" for the Mission team that left yesterday. They are serving there, and we are here lifting them in prayer and supporting them in their efforts as a crucial part of the team. We are also raising awareness that problems still exist in Mississippi and people still need recovery help. We are a community inspired to help.

Christ's breath fills this place even when some of us are not ready to take the next step... The Spirit brings peace and comfort and will provide the inspiration to act in the right time. After all, Easter is a season of 50 days, not a singular day event in the church year. Sometimes inspiration takes a bit of time to appear or we need time to understand the message that Christ shares. It's ok, we're here together being inspired together.

Just like we are all serving in our own supportive way for those in Mississippi, sometimes our service comes through spreading the word back home. Love and support come in different forms, and I believe its good to share good news and inspiration as people receive love and care when they are in need. My suitemate at Meredith is truly an inspiration to me, and I want to share the message of how the Spirit is breathing new life into others through Naomi and her team from Doctors Without Boarders. Naomi wanted to go into the medical field, and went into the UNC-Chapel Hill nursing program after she graduated from Meredith (the same one Paul Couch did), with the hopes to serve overseas somewhere that really needed her. Well, I received an email this past week with updates from her time in Nigeria, West Africa. She has been inspired to use her gifts and follow her dream, and is serving as a nurse supervisor with Doctors Without Borders.[8] She is currently helping coordinate Meningitis vaccinations for many thousands in Nigeria. These Nigerians are in remote villages where the outbreak of Meningitis is immanent, if not already there. These villages, where death is literally knocking on their doorstep, are often only accessible by driving up dry riverbeds in 4x4s. Doctors without Borders is working tirelessly, often 16-hour workdays, for days on end to hopefully vaccinate 4-5 million people in that region, all while trying to stay ahead of the virus and rainy season that comes in May, which will make efforts and transportation very difficult. Naomi is using her giftedness with nursing and her compassion for people to breathe new life into these Nigerians with a single shot each. Inspired living.

Just breathe. We may not all be called to the bush in Nigeria to give shots or even to Mississippi, but we can share the news of what is going on. Also, there is work to be done here, because God has new life to breathe into the Triangle too. Let us all live inspired lives. Just breathe and see where Christ leads. Just Breathe!

[1] http://www.wwltv.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=343716&shu=1
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
[3] livingonemmausave.blogspot.com
[4] John Killinger, Sermon "The Everlasting Breath of Jesus" http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/killinger_4803.htm October 17, 2004. Also: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=inspire&db=luna
[5] Michael Gerson, "A Searcher with Faith in Mind" in Op/Ed (Washington Post, 4/15/09, A19) accessed via web on 4/15/09 at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/14/AR2009041401879.html . In the article he discusses Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman's new book "How God Changes Your Brain". Quote is from Andrew Newberg.
[6] John Killinger, Sermon "The Everlasting Breath of Jesus" http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/killinger_4803.htm October 17, 2004. Also, a sermon by Lehoma Goode given at Duke Divinity School, then referenced by Fran Saylor in her sermon on John 20:19-31 from 4/30/05. See also: http://www.vendian.org/envelope/dir2/breath.html and http://www.stat.psu.edu/~tph/f01/stat100.2/Lecture35/
[7] http://www.hk-phy.org/articles/caesar/caesar_e.html (This is not the original website I found but it does give the math to show it is highly likely!)
[8] http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=3520&cat=field-news&ref=home-center

"Whatever You Do, Don't TIPTOE!" (6/15/08, Proper 6A/Ordinary 11A/Pentecost +5)

“Whatever you do, don’t TIPTOE!”
Proper 6A/Ordinary 11A/Pentecost +5
Sermon from 6/15/08
Matthew 9:35-10:8
Holly Springs Moravian Church


I was checking out the Holly Springs website the other day, as I do periodically, to keep up with what’s going on back here, and I was taken down memory road as I looked at Eric Terry’s photos that are posted on there, especially the ones from the Easter Sunrise service this past year. I remember a few years ago driving down Holly Springs Road with NO cars in sight, at some too-early-to-be-counted hour, in complete darkness, arriving in that field ready to see the sun shine. I have great memories of standing there, with my Holly Springs family, as we waited together for the Sun to PEAK out over the horizon and celebrate Easter!

We are a resurrection people. We believe in life after death and Jesus being raised from the tomb. (show DARKNESS EASTER PHOTO on screen) We are the ones who pilgrimage to a graveyard (or field) on Easter morning, before dawn in the cold darkness of death that lingers from Good Friday, (EASTER PHOTO 1-People) to watch and wait for the sun to rise as we proclaim to the whole world, “The Lord is risen. The Lord is risen, INDEED!” (EASTER PHOTO 2-Cross) We believe that God has power over death and that new beginnings are possible.

And yet, we live in a world that needs to hear that hope is here and love arrived in a manger over 2000 years ago, and through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, God has shown that God does indeed care for us and love us.

I spent this past week at a church conference at Princeton University in New Jersey and was fortunate to hear one of my favorite authors and speakers, Shane Claiborne. In his book, The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical, he takes a look at Scripture and life and has managed to totally change my understanding of how I can live out God’s love in the world today. (If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it, but buckle your seatbelt, hang on, and get ready for an awesome journey!) He writes, “For even if the whole world believes in resurrection, little would change until we began to practice it. We can believe in CPR, but people will remain dead until someone breathes new life into them. And we can tell there world that there is life after death, but the world really seems to be wondering if there is life before death.” (Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution {Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006} 150).

Life before death. An interesting idea and all. But what does that look like? Shane quotes his college professor as saying, “All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don’t tiptoe.” (The Irresistible Revolution, page 225). We hear Matthew’s words today to the disciples in Jesus’ time and they remind me of this same idea. Jesus has gathered a few of his students together to teach them and then send them out to show the world there is life before death. To me this passage in Matthew’s Gospel sounds strikingly similar to the professor’s words. We hear Jesus’ command: “Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons.” (Mt. 10:7-8, the Message). Show life to those in need, share love, and whatever you do, don’t TIPTOE!

The disciples were given the power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. The power from Christ Jesus was passed to His disciples, and we are continuing that work as Christ’s hands and feet in our world today to do the same work here as His student’s today.

So what does it look like today, if we are following in Jesus’ footsteps by bringing life before death into our own neighborhoods? I believe it looks like relationships that we build with the folks around us that don’t stay on the surface but get into each other’s “stuff” and help work together to make life better.

A lady I know has been struggling to make ends meet for months, and at this point is so far in over her head that she can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. The mortgage crisis has hit hard, and for this single working mother of a 10-year-old son, homelessness is knocking on the doorstep. She has been so depressed that she often can’t get out of bed in the morning, which makes working to keep the house that much more difficult. Recently, a couple of business men from our community came over, sat down with her, and helped to create a plan of action to tackle the problems and work together to make it happen. They used their gifts for understanding finances and business to help her see light in her situation. Her son said afterwards, “Mom, I know that God really does love us.” She now knows that God’s love is real, because these disciples came into the neighborhood and raised her from the dead. There is life before death.

One translation of the Scripture we read this morning says, “cleanse the leapers,” but I haven’t seen anyone with leprosy around here, so does that lessen the tasks we are called to? Bono, one of today’s great prophets and the lead singer for the Irish band U2, asks, “Is AIDS the new leprosy?” (quoted in multiple source) I don’t know about you, but I believe so. Who are the ones in our neighborhoods that society has deemed, “Unclean” or “Untouchable” who need to know of God’s loving touch? Folks with HIV/AIDS, additions, and debt? Folks without houses, jobs, or food? By forming relationships with folks, we get to show love through hugs, handshakes, and high-fives. We also get to walk alongside each other on the journey of life, using our gifts and skills to help where we can when their lives seem diseased or dis-eased.

We might hear the Gospel text speaking to us: “As we go, today, following Jesus on our journey, openly proclaim with your actions the good news, “Christ’s kingdom is near!” Have compassion and show grace and love as you work to bring balance and wholeness. Bring hope back to life for those who are beaten down and in despair. Remove the stains and dirt from those who are dis-eased around you. Drive away the breaths of greed, superiority, and consumerism that pervade our society. You all have been given to in abundance. Share that abundance.” And whatever you do, don’t TIPTOE—but show that there really is such thing as life before death.