Easter 4 A - John 10:1-10

John 10:1-10
“With you, O Lord” is one of my favorite songs from the Taize community in France. “With you, O Lord, is life in all its fullness and in your light we shall see true light.” There comes a moment in the repeated singing of this simple phrase when the song is more true for me than all the things that tend to diminish the abundant sufficiency of  “with you, O Lord.” By that I mean the seeking after vain illusions where life is measured by one’s possessions or accomplishments or status and on the flip side the devaluation of life that inevitably follows such seeking. Or life in that lonely place where putting on a happy face and keeping busy hides the deep pain or shame or sorrow that despite the practiced skill in hiding it from others is somehow always present with you.  The thief that comes only to steal and kill and destroy does so by deception. The reason it works so well is because we are so good at it ourselves. All this less than sufficient life comes at the expense of significant relationships, most notably the one where “with you O Lord is life in all its fullness”. The good news is that the One who came that “they might have life and have it abundantly” continues to open the gate and call out our names.  Sometimes in ways we can recognize and respond to and other times when reaching the bottom the only way out is up we determine to do that which we’ve always known was in our best interest. No matter how it happens this abundant life is measured not by possessions but by peace. That peace within when even all around is not anticipates the day when life in all its fullness won’t only be experienced in moments of Spirit gifted clarity or conscience but in the fullness of forever. In the meantime there are places we can go to enter the place of peace in the present. A warm embrace, an act of kindness, forgiveness asked for and received or the sound of laughter or a song in the sanctuary sung again and again and again until it is as true as your heart always knew it was meant to  be.

Easter 4 A - Acts 2:42-47

Acts 2:42

In the first days of the church everyone got along so well they spent “much time together” at temple and table and shared all their possessions without complaining or comparing contributions to the common pot. The people of Jerusalem looked upon them kindly and with glad and generous hearts the church grew by leaps and bounds and everyone lived happily ever after. It would be nice if it were so but then this would be just another fairy tale with a make believe happy ending. Instead this is a story of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary times who overcame incredible odds. Persecution from without and divisions from within followed quickly and the letters of Paul detail the cultural and religious difficulties of grafting Gentiles onto the Jewish vine. The faith we profess survived because of their devotion, despite overwhelming difficulty, to the story of Jesus that they were willing to die for, the community challenged to model the message by loving each other deeply from the heart, the meal that was the center of worship and daily prayer for all people. When these four marks of the faith are forgotten or neglected the church inevitably loses its way. We find ourselves in an extraordinary time where the church is called to embody the word as the early church did. To be devoted to the simple truth of the Gospel, “God so loved the world…”; to the fellowship where when one suffers all suffer and when one rejoices all rejoice; to the communal gathering that celebrates the feast of the future in the present, and to a life of prayer that translates hearts that love into hands that serve. I don’t know if that means we’ll increase in numbers day by day but I am confident we will make a difference in the world and maybe that’s more important than filling pews with people.

Easter 3 A - Luke 24:13-49

Luke 24:13-49

“We had hoped…” is how Cleopas and his friend express the deep disappointment at what could have been but wasn’t. To have come so close to realizing the dream, all Jerusalem shouting as Zion’s King entered the city, just as Zechariah prophesied, made it all the more difficult. Jesus of Nazareth, the mighty prophet, cleared the temple of corruption, shut up Pharisees and Sadducees and the self-righteous big wigs with clever answers to tricky questions, and in word and deed set the city on edge with expectation. But people in power don’t give up that easily and while Jesus might speak mightily it turns out he’s a pushover and his followers are no match for a coup accomplished in the middle of the night. They woke to find the one who would redeem Israel already condemned and nailed to a Roman cross along with all their hopes for Zion. Heads hung in sorrow, Cleopas and his friend headed home to Emmaus only to meet a clueless stranger who turns out to know more about the story than they do. Hearts burning within them, they don’t want the conversation to end and pressing him to stay sit down to dinner. But then the stranger does something oddly familiar and before they can say a word Jesus vanishes into the breaking and blessing and passing of bread. Take and eat suddenly means more to them than it did on Thursday night and without waiting for morning they rush back to join the chorus, “The Lord has risen!” Maybe this is the best story for us as we commune during stay at home orders. Jesus disappeared into the bread to reappear in the upper room where the disciples were hiding. In the same way Jesus reappears when watching on line we hear the familiar words… in the night in which he was betrayed… and then turn to commune each other knowing that the same thing is happening in “upper rooms” all over the metroplex or indeed the world. In the oddly familiar Jesus appears to us at table wherever we are when bread broken is a sign of the promise fulfilled and anticipated. Jesus appears to us when walking together in our neighborhoods “Lo I am with you always” makes our hearts burn within us because it is truer than we can ask or imagine or believe.  And in the “necessary suffering” that we are experiencing the God far off has come near so that all suffering and sorrow and yes, even death itself, might one day disappear.

Easter 2 A - John 20:19-31

John 20:19-31

There are those who say faith dare not doubt while others claim faith without doubt is no faith at all. I’m not sure I care to enter the debate. Thomas had good reason to wonder at this word, “We have seen the Lord!” and as the ten weren’t blessed until they had seen I’m willing to give Thomas the benefit of the doubt. Truth is there are times when I wonder at this word and question whether everything written is the Gospel truth. I don’t think that is as much a function of doubting as it is the product of the God given ability to think critically. God is not threatened by our questions and does not punish us for asking them.  Touch and see was what Thomas needed to do and touch and see is what Jesus offered him. And what seems like Jesus rebuking Thomas, “have you believed because you have seen me?”  is really an encouragement to those of us who given the opportunity would do anything to “trade places with Thomas and touch those ruined hands.” (Friederich Buechner – Peculiar Treasures) So we who live by faith and not by sight are free to question and in whatever way doubt and faith intersect find the place where the life of believing lives comfortably with questions.

Easter 2 A - 1 Peter 1:3-9

1 Peter 1:3-9
There is a tendency in the Christian tradition towards stoicism, as in the proverbial British “stiff upper lip” or the Norwegian mantra “det kan bli verre”. (It could be worse) So while I agree that various trials can be seen as tests there are times, such as the one we are enduring now, when one is simply tired and could care less if faith is proved less precious than gold or not. “It is what it is” only works for so long and eventually “My God why have you forsaken me” is a more appropriate response to the trouble that multiplies with every passing day. But it is precisely during uncertain and anxious times such as these that we are called to rejoice in and rely on the living hope that is kept for us and not by us. Kept for us and not by us this inheritance of hope is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. That means in practical terms we can live through a difficult day or week or month or even, God forbid, a year, and not add to the weight of our troubles by blaming the failure of faith. The difficulty we face in this time of quarantine is that we were created for community where we support, encourage and embrace one another with the love of God. So while we have become more creative in order to remain connected truth to be told I am longing for more than a virtual hug. 

Easter 2 A - Acts 2:14, 22-32

Acts 2:14, 22-32

The first Sunday after Easter is often referred to as low Sunday by those in the pastor profession. It is the day when the church pews and parking spaces of the every week faithful are not occupied by the twice a year faithful. Of course this year is different and this "low Sunday" will look just like Easter 2020. On the other hand our ability to do virtual church might mean that those who are not in the habit of coming to church every week might watch church every week in their PJ's. Who knows? Either way Peter’s Pentecost sermon addressed to those who were hearing the story of salvation for the very first time is a fitting text for the first Sunday after Easter 2020. It was impossible for death to hold him in its power is how Peter puts it and I can’t imagine a more powerful message for a world held captive by the power of Covid-19. Resurrection is not a one time event or a once a year celebration with lilies and trumpets and choirs singing the Hallelujah chorus. No. It happens every day when you open your eyes and wake from sleep and thank God for the gift of another day And in a similar way it is a one time eternal event when from the sleep of death you open your eyes and see the One who death could not hold in it's power.

The Feast of the Resurrection Year A - Matthew 28:1-10



Matthew 28:1-10
Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!”  Really? The first word of the resurrection is “hello”? Of course it was said with an exclamation point and I’m guessing a pretty big smile, even so “Surprise!” might have been more fitting for the occasion. After all the two Marys expected to find a dead friend and instead are met by an earthquake and an angel and a very much alive Jesus. There is no way to prepare for that and I’m surprised they didn’t respond like the guards and faint dead away at the sound of his voice. But maybe in the familiar salutation the crucified and resurrected Jesus was not so surprising. That’s true for those of us who have been schooled in this story from birth and cannot remember a time when we didn’t consider belief in the resurrection a matter of life and death. But for an ever increasing segment of our society this Sunday will come and go without so much as an Alleluia. That’s not to say the sale of Peeps and Chocolate bunnies will suffer but the real meaning of the day, at least the gathering that has defined Easter for you and me, has largely been lost. We can lament that fact, especially as it relates to our children, or blame someone, especially those who are not like us, or repackage the message in ever more creative ways, or preserve the status quo until the last one left turns out the lights. But then maybe the ancient story still has some life left in it and what turned the world upside down in the first century can shake up the twenty-first as well. It was not form or creed or convention that convinced people a crucified peasant preacher refused to stay dead and revealed the love of God for all creation. It was the conviction of two women who took hold of his feet and worshiped and then told the story to anyone who would listen, even disciples locked behind closed doors. As it was then so it is now. The first word of the resurrection is “Hello!”

The Feast of the Resurrection Year A - Colossians 3:1-11

Colossians 3:1-11
Paul’s resurrection perspective “if you have been raised with Christ” might be better understood as “since” you have been raised…” Of course the laundry list of behaviors and attitudes to be put to death reads like the “Thou shall not” the law demanded but could not accomplish, even with the threat of God’s wrath raining down on the disobedient, but I think that misses the point of these passages. Being raised with Christ is a done deal. “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in (Jesus), and through him to be reconciled to all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:19, 20) In the new reality of the resurrection all the old ways of being have no place. Even the divisions of race and creed and culture have been erased. That’s because the earthly ways all hearken back to the disobedience in the garden where wanting to be “like” God meant we became less than human. Dwelling on earthly things that have been put to death is to prefer life in the grave which makes no sense. Since we have been raised with Christ our humanity has been restored and getting rid of earthly things is not to escape wrath but to embrace grace and therefore not a measure of self discipline but the exercise of true freedom. 

The Feast of the Resurrection Year A - Psalm 118

Psalm 118

Re-posted from Easter Year C 20101

On the morning of May 25th 2000 I was sitting in my brother’s backyard in Chicago drinking way too much coffee and nervously waiting for inspiration. Months before I had promised my dad I’d write a song for my grandmother’s memorial service. At that point all I had was “I hope” which was how Grandma Heinze described faith in Jesus. Not “I hope” as in “I wish” but “I hope” as in “I know.” So with grandma’s faith in Jesus on my mind I waited impatiently for a song that was scheduled to be sung that afternoon. And then I remembered a funeral the week before where I spoke the words of Psalm 118. “There are shouts of exaltation in the tents of the righteous for the strong arm of the Lord has triumphed" and within ten minutes I had three verses and a chorus in the key of E and a few hours later “Our Hope” was sung as promised. Of all the parts of the funeral liturgy Psalm 118, appointed to be read at the graveside, seems to fly in the face of reason. When it is obvious that our loved one has fallen and is not getting up again we claim that “I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord.” But that is the way of faith where the stone the builders rejected becomes the cornerstone of “I hope.” Defeat is victory, loss is gain, and sorrow is prelude to joy. While it seems like the truth of “I hope” comes to us as suddenly as it did to me in my brother’s backyard the truth is the only thing sudden about it is that it is the end of waiting. It took Martha sometime to learn the song of Jesus but when she did she sang it with everything she had for her best friend, Jesus. And so like Timothy whose faith first lived in his grandmother Lois the faith of Martha is sung every Easter at Calvary Lutheran, Richland Hills, TX in three verses and a chorus in the key of E.

The Feast of the Resurrection Year A - Acts 10:34-43

Acts 10:34-43

“I truly understand that God shows no partiality…” It is as radical a statement as a Jew can make, even one who has been hanging out with the wrong crowd for three years. God showing partiality was precious to this people for they were set apart by a law and a land and out of all the nations of the earth they alone were God’s own. But now Peter has the audacity to proclaim God has opened the exclusive country club to anyone in any nation and has waived the application fee. The trouble I have with this text is that Peter (or Luke working off the transcript of Peter’s Pentecost sermon) just redefines God’s partiality. God appeared, not to everyone, but chose witnesses who ate and drank with Jesus and is partial to those who believe their testimony and fear God and do what is acceptable. And further, if Paul’s recollection of Peter’s progress in not showing partiality is accurate Peter himself pulls back from eating and drinking with Gentiles because James’s “people” exert partiality pressure. Even the first century church wasn’t completely convinced that God shows “no partiality” only that God was no longer limited to a single nation. Of course partiality is precious to the church of our day as well and we define what is acceptable to God by our doctrine and practice even excluding brothers and sisters who believe in Jesus because their way of believing is less than Orthodox or Pentecostal or Calvinist or Lutheran or whatever. But if the chosen people were so wrong about God that they killed the anointed One filled with the Holy Spirit by hanging him on a tree maybe our vision is partial as well. What if the cross really does mean God shows no partiality, period, end of sentence? I know the stakes are high and eternal futures are on the line, but if we believed that God shows no partiality we wouldn’t either and without rewriting the rules I think that might be acceptable to God.

Passion Sunday Year A - Matthew 26:14-27:66

Matthew 26:14-27:66

The passion narrative according to Matthew begins with a plot to betray. Conspiracy theorists not withstanding there is no need to speculate on what motivates Judas. He is after all human and motivated by the same demon that possesses the entire race. Judas seeks to turn his intimate knowledge of the prophet into profit. Matthew is the only Gospel that records Judas’s regret and even though he finds no satisfaction in returning ill gotten gain Matthew wants us to know Judas was sorry. Maybe when you betray a close friend, even if it doesn’t lead to crucifixion, nothing short of dying will do, and so his tragic end seems to him the only way to pay, though given the chance Jesus who forgave his enemies surely would have offered the same consideration to one with whom he shared a meal. I hope that when the forever feast happens in the eternal future there will be a place at the table for the one who weakened by greed treated his friend with such contempt. Not because I am some sort of bleeding heart liberal who desperately desires all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4) but because if I am honest with myself (and by extension those of you who are reading this) I am more like Judas than Jesus and my only hope is that he will not treat me with the same contempt I have treated him.

Passion Sunday Year A - Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:5-11

Though he was in every way God, Christ Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be exploited, but emptied himself of power and taking on the form of a servant was himself exploited by the cross. Emptying oneself of power does not come naturally to us for we are inclined to hang onto every shred of power we can cling to, even in the current Covid-19 pandemic which clearly exposes the illusion of power. The virus is an invisible "bug" and it has turned our world upside down. But those who won't give up personal "power" by Spring breaking or gathering for Covid-19 parties, or worse, claiming that the "church" is exempt from stay at home orders or social distancing because of first amendment rights or special spiritual status act as if nothing has changed and they can do whatever they like. It is the height of hubris. The apostle Paul exhorts his Philippian “partners in the Gospel” and by extension we who read these words to do the opposite and have the mind of Christ. Jesus emptied himself of the kind of power the world would cling to and picked up the cross which in the end was the power of God no one anticipated or indeed, understood. In what appears to be defeat, love conquers hate; light banishes darkness; life destroys death. All because Christ Jesus let go of being God in order to pick up our humanity. Which means the mind of Christ is the mind of God and that is good news indeed.

Passion Sunday Year A - Psalm 31

Psalm 31:9-16

Even well meaning, close friends have come to dread asking the psalmist weak with sorrow, consumed by anguish, “how are you?” The answer is always the same. “Not good.” Derided by neighbors, abandoned by friends, surrounded by enemies, as useless as a broken pot, the psalmist is forgotten as one long dead. And then after venting a laundry list of lament there is the word that denies despair the final say and brings some measure of comfort and not a little bit of hope to the psalmist’s desperate existence. But. But I trust in you. Why? Because my times are in your hands. Not the hands of my enemies, even if they manage to take my life. Not the hands of neighbors or friends to whom I have become an object of derision and dread. Not the hands of the sickness that saps my strength or the grief that grips my heart. Not Covid-19 or the current and looming economic crisis. No. I trust in you for my life is in the hands of your unfailing love that will not abandon me or flee from me in all my distress. Of course the faith that leads the psalmist to declare “But I trust in you” also allows for “But hurry up and help me, O Lord!” Yes. Hurry and help us, O Lord.