Pentecost 4 B - Mark 4:35-41

Mark 4:35-41
It was Jesus’ idea to sail across the lake but it was the disciples who took him in the boat “just as he was.” It’s an odd thing to say but perhaps that explains why Jesus is sleeping in the stern while the disciples struggle to keep the boat from sinking. Just before setting out to sea Jesus was teaching all day. Before that he was hemmed in by crowds trying to touch him. He was “outed” as the “Son of God” by demonic spirits and at the same time accused by Pharisees of being in league with the devil. And to top it off his own mother told him to stop acting like a lunatic. No wonder he needed a nap. But “just as he was” is more than a reference to how he was at that moment. Jesus is the voice in the whirlwind “where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations” (Job 38:4) and yet he cannot keep his eyes open and sleeps like the dead in the center of a cyclone. He is weakened and wearied by wearing human flesh, not as a garment one can take off and send to the cleaners, but rather he fully dwells in real life flesh and blood, skin and bone, muscle and sinew, organs and beating heart. When the storm causes the disciple’s courage to melt away and they “stagger and reel like drunkards at their wit’s end” (Psalm 107:27) they wake him to question his motives and ability. “Don’t you care..?” means they need him to be more than “just as he was.” Hum? Maybe we do too? Perhaps we’d prefer a superman Jesus who swoops in to save us or a supermarket Jesus who provides for all our needs or a problem solving Jesus who resolves all our dilemmas. I’m not saying Jesus doesn’t save or provide or address dilemmas. Jesus stills the storm for the disciples and for us as well for He is a very present help in times of trouble. (Psalm 46) But an equal if not greater truth is that Jesus became just as we are so that we might become just as he is. Or better, maybe his being as we are allows us to be “just as we are”? Frail and foolish and yet filled with faith that on a good day might even still a storm or two for people who are perishing. 

Pentecost 4 B - 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

2 Corinthians 6:1-13
If the contentious Corinthians were not the proverbial “thorn” in Paul’s flesh they were certainly a pain in his you know what. And yet his heart “wide open” is willing to endure ridicule and rejection for the sake of these people puffed up with pride who have accepted the grace of God in vain. Not that Paul is without fault. Lord knows he can be arrogant and rude but in this case I believe he is genuine in his affection and his desire that the grace of God overcome the obstacle the Corinthian Christians have put in its way. That’s because the unity within the body of Christ is essential to the mission of the church. So it is with us when relationships within the body of Christ are strained and divisions and dissent cause us to close our hearts to one another. But if we recognize that today is the acceptable time, today is the day of salvation, then the temporal matters over which we argue lose their import and we are able to live the freedom found in the grace of God. That means we live today in the way we will when all things will be made new. There will be no divisions in the forever future. The vast multitude of every race and language will sing the same song and eat from the same table on the holy mountain and no one will be greater or less than anyone else. The church is meant to be a reflection of that future so that those outside the church will come to believe that the Lord has listened to them as well and the acceptable time is always now, the day of salvation always available.

Pentecost 4 B - Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32

Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32
Psalm 107 is a long song that details the troubles the people of God get into when they rebel against God’s commands. They wandered in desert wastelands, were imprisoned in darkness, afflicted with sickness and set adrift on stormy seas. But when they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow they cried out to the Lord and every time they did the Lord delivered them. We might not be set adrift on the sea but we experience times when we stagger and real like drunkards and all our skill is to no avail. When hope hangs on by a thread we cry out to the Lord in our distress and whether God stills the storm or us the truth is God is always present with steadfast love and wonderful works that are worthy of thanks and praise. 

Pentecost 4 B - Job 38:1-11

Job 38:1-11
After 37 chapters of complaining and fending off "un-friend" Fb advice Job finally gets his day in the celestial court although after God’s opening argument Job surrenders and cops a guilty plea; “Surely I’ve spoken of things too great for me to understand.” (Job 42:3) God’s “where were you when…” might mean the question “why did this happen to me?” is not even ours to ask. It certainly means God doesn’t have to answer our “why?” We, like Job, his wife and his friends, would prefer a more predictable process where we can explain and in that sense control what happens to us. At the very least being the cause of what happens to us means we have someone to blame and in a weird way there is some comfort in that. But when life refuses to play by any rules we can identify or codify we are tempted to complain bitterly like Job does while protesting his innocence, or hold onto our theologies more tightly like his friends do, or take Job’s wife’s advice and “curse God” (Job 2:9) and let faith die. But I think living “I have spoken of things too great for me to understand” allows us to face circumstances beyond our control with a faith that depends fully on the One who was there when the foundations of the earth were laid. And the reason we can live without question or answer is because the God revealed in the cross asked the question for us “My God! My God! Why have forsaken me?” and answered it in “It is finished.” That does not mean we live through sorrow and pain as a prelude to the hymn of heaven but rather that we sing the forever future song even if our “light and momentary troubles” (2 Corinthians 6:17 are heavy and drawn because we.believe God is present in both the suffering and the song.

Pentecost 3 B - Mark 4:26-34

Mark 4:26-34

I think explaining a parable is like repeating the punch line of a joke and asking “get it?” It never works quite as well because it loses the element of surprise. And so without explaining it I think a parable of the kingdom is like the kingdom in that it is plainly stated and yet remains hidden. It is fully visible in unselfish acts and deeds of kindness that sprout from hearts and minds animated by the wind of the Spirit especially when like a seed that sprouts it appears out of the dry soil of everyday lives. And yet a good bit of the time it is barely perceived in the same way we have a dream that upon waking lingers for a moment before being erased from our conscious memory. That is because our part is simply to participate in what already is. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We pray the reign of God come down wherever and whenever and for whatever reason God so chooses so that we can live it. That happens when human beings get caught up in the mystery of God’s acting out in our world and act and speak in ways that mimic what God does which is always about life and love. When we participate in what already is the branches of mercy are extended well beyond anything we could imagine or manufacture or explain. Surprise!

Easter 3 B - 2 Corinthians 5:6-17

2 Corinthians 5:6-17
Before you get overly concerned (and therefore less than confident) with “all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ” read on to verse 14. “The love of Christ urges us on….” When we are motivated by fear of punishment or desire for reward we do not live the life of love even if we are as obedient as is humanly possible. If your first thought upon reading that is I’m am trying to excuse disobedience you are still thinking in terms of judgment. There is no freedom in that dynamic and therefore no Gospel. Every religion invented by humanity works on the principle of reward for good behavior and punishment for bad. But if we regard Jesus “no longer from a human point of view” – the innocent One died for the guilty multitude - a new creature is born who loves for the sake of love, which is to say for the sake of God because God is love. Now there may eternal consequences for choosing to live otherwise (there are without doubt temporal consequences) but thinking that the sum total of the Christian life is to get to heaven or to avoid hell is equally damning because in the end it’s all about you and that means even an act of love is self-serving. So let’s leave the future in God’s hands and trust that in Christ everything has indeed been made new for only then can we be “always confident.”

Pentecost 3 B - Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15

Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15
Psalm 92 is a song for the Sabbath day but it is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord every day, morning, noon and night. Or as pop culture icon Spongebob Squarepants sang in Attitude of Gratitude. “Oh, I’ve got a whole new attitude, a life-time subscription to gratitude…I’m grateful for the life I am living, who knows how long I will have it...” Of course you can’t manufacture such an attitude but you do have the option to decide to live each moment as best you can considering each breath as a gift. Maybe that is how we continue to bear fruit even in our old age.

Pentecost 3 B - Ezekiel 17:22-24

Ezekiel 22:17-24

The prophet Ezekiel imagines the Lord as the One who provides shade and shelter and sustenance for all creatures great and small. More to the point, the Great I AM is not far off and removed but intimately involved in the process of planting the noble cedar that produces boughs and fruit. “I myself will take a sprig…” I will set it out...” I will break off a tender one…” I myself will plant it…” In the same way the trees of the field recognize their vitality is determined by the Great “I will accomplish it.” The tall and green tree is brought low and made dry even as the dry and low tree is made green and tall. Not as a preference but as God’s prerogative so that all will have to acknowledge God is master of seed and sun and soil and moisture. So we too acknowledge that we are planted and sustained by the life giving Lord who heals all our diseases and mends our broken bones.

Pentecost 2 B - Mark 3:20-35

Mark 3:20-35

So much for family values! It is clear from the scriptures that Jesus raised a ruckus. People have been trying to quiet him down ever since. It’s not hard to do. Jesus isn’t around to object to whatever we claim WWJD. Even the church has a vested interest in the status quo, especially where pensions and tax breaks for the clerical class are concerned. But Jesus was a radical in his time and upset everyone, even disciples who followed and his family who tried to understand. That’s because Jesus was living the limitless future in the far too constrained present where risking radical love gets you crucified. So how might we be brother and sister and mother to Jesus in our time? It might be by radical generosity or acting with more grace, thinking with less judgment, loving with fewer restrictions. That being said just getting push back for one’s beliefs is not proof that you and Jesus are on the same page. But if we transform lives like Jesus did – fishermen who become fearless preachers, tax collectors who stop cheating, women who are welcomed as leaders, or a Pharisee who born from above steps out of the shadows – you can bet eternity we are doing the will of God.

Pentecost 2 B - 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 is found in the occasional services book and is suggested for use in times of illness or when one is near death. I tried to read these words to a friend and colleague at Harris Hospital in July of 2007 a few days before he died. I don’t know what I was thinking. His “slight and momentary affliction” was neither slight nor momentary and witnessing his body wracked in pain mocked these words meant for comfort. As I began to sob uncontrollably Pastor Tom stopped me with a hand on my shoulder and despite the obvious pain he was enduring said, “It’s alright Phil. The gospel I’ve preached my whole life was good enough for me then and it’s good enough for me now. I’m not afraid. And when I get there I’ll mention your name.” I can never read these verses without thinking of that day and I’m grateful for the grace extended to me by one who was infinitely more courageous and faithful than I am which is why I’m glad Saint Tom intercedes for me even now though he might need to do more than mention my name. Just sayin. Then again Jesus is the One who did the heavy lifting for both St. Tom and me so that even our “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me” moments are ultimately slight and momentary. So I guess I'll see you when I get there, Tom. 

Pentecost Year B - Psalm 130

Psalm 130

I’ve kept the long night's watch for more than one morning and if your experience is the same as mine you know that the coming day you wait for is always too slow to dawn. That is the nature of waiting while one cries from the depths of sorrow or despair or guilt, or worse, shame. But the psalmist trusts that the sins that are continually accusing us are not counted by the Lord which is why waiting can be endured with the hope that with the light of each new day the sins of the past are erased from God’s memory. For with each new dawn the steadfast love of God is expressed in plenteous redemption which means there is no limit to the depths God will go to hear and answer our cry.

Pentecost Year B - Genesis 3:8-15

Genesis 3:8-15

The story of our beginning does not have to be literally true to tell the truth about us. We, like Adam and Eve, would not be satisfied with paradise as long as there was one tree we were not allowed to touch. And so they believed the lie and acted on it thinking that the One who created them and provided for them was too good to be true. We’ve been living the lie ever since trapped in self-serving ways that are self-destructive while blaming each other and everyone else when we are the ones who are responsible for our own folly. Of course when paradise was lost to the ones created in God’s image it was lost to God as well. But the mercy of God is this - when the first humans were cast out of the garden God went with them. 

The Feast of the Holy Trinity Year B - John 3:1-17

John 3:1-17

The truth of “God so loved the world…” is diminished when we add conditional clauses that limit the ability of the wind of the Spirit to blow wherever it chooses. In the same way we demean the sacrifice of “he gave his only Son” by insisting that the Spirit wind of God’s love must blow everywhere for everyone. We do not know the extent or the limitations of God’s mercy although to insist on a verbal confession of a personal relationship with Jesus and a particular way of being baptized would seem to usurp God’s ability to do whatever God pleases. The ironic twist is that in Jesus day it was religious people - Pharisees and Sadducees and teachers of the law- that failed to see what God was about. The good news for those of us who are blessed to believe and those who do not is that the wind of the Spirit blows where it will and if the cross is any indication of God’s intent it will be a mighty merciful wind indeed. 

The Feast of the Holy Trinity Year B - Romans 8:12-17

Romans 8:12-17

I will admit I’m in hock to the flesh and cannot conceive a payment plan that will get me out of debt anytime soon. Based on Paul’s struggle in the previous chapter “I do not understand what I do…” (7:15 ff) my guess is that Paul was paying down his debt his whole life as well. But putting to death the deeds of the body is not as much about freedom from the flesh as it is trusting that the cry “Abba! Father!” is heard no matter what. It’s like paying a mortgage on a house we get to live in as if it were our own even though the bank holds the note. But unlike human lenders the Lord doesn’t evict us if miss a payment and truth to be told the permanent dwelling is already deeded to us because of the down payment Jesus made on our behalf. So, yes, we are debtors but in debt forever to Christ and gladly so.

The Feast of the Holy Trinity Year B - Psalm 29

Psalm 29

Hills skipping and mountains bucking are not that pleasant when one is in close proximity. In the same way we prefer our forests leafy green as opposed to stripped bare. But the Lord enthroned above the flood is imagined by the psalmist in ways that strike terror into human hearts so that God’s glory is matched strength for strength with the little g gods who are compelled to ascribe to the Lord the glory due God’s name. For our part we count on God’s voice to be reduced to a whisper when our name is called so that the God who bursts forth in lightning blasts might bestow on us the blessing of peace. 

The Feast of the Holy Trinity Year B - Isaiah 6:1-8

Isaiah 6:1-8
The call story of the prophet Isaiah is filled with fanciful details that defy explanation. The hem of the Lord “high and lifted up” fills the temple which must mean the rest of the Lord is seated in the narthex? Why do the seraphim need wings to hide their faces and feet when they only need two to fly? And burning coals do serious damage to lips so that one might be willing to forgo forgiveness for lack of lip balm. All of that is to say the vision is like a dream and is full of bizarre imagery to elevate the high and lifted up Lord beyond this mortal coil and usher us into the mystery of God that is beyond knowing. “Woe is me!” is the proper thing to say in the sight of such power but maybe Isaiah should have held back his “Here am I. Send me” until he heard what follows. I’m sending you to people ever hearing but never understanding; ever seeing but never perceiving. Make their hearts dull, their ears heavy, their eyes shut until their cities are laid waste. To which the proper response would be, “Woe is me” if not for the faithfulness of the Lord high and lifted on the cross of Calvary.

The Feast of Pentecost Year B - John 15:26- 27 - 16:4 - 15

John 15:26-16:15

Pastor Kerstin Hedlund (Calvary intern and my former co-pastor) had a favorite phrase about preaching on a text like this. “I got nothing.” There are portions of the Gospel of John that are well loved and easily understood. This isn’t one of them. So how is the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement? The world, and that includes most of us, understands sin to be primarily about behavior but the Advocate knows sin is really about belief – or in this case lack of belief. Of course there is behavior that we can label “sinful” but all behavior begins with what one believes. But before you begin to think you can think your way out of behavior that is less than pure the Advocate Spirit convicts the world of thinking that righteousness – that is being at peace with God and oneself – can be accomplished apart from the work of the Christ. In the God so loved the world work of the only Son God reconciled the world to God’s self. (2 Corinthians 5:19) And the judgment that the Advocate announces is that “goodness is stronger the evil, love is stronger than hate. Light is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death…” (Desmond Tutu) The other thing Pastor Kerstin would say is “that’s all I got.” Amen.  

The Feast of Pentecost Year B - Romans 8:22-27

Romans 8:22-27

When inward groaning anticipates the cry of new birth the joy anticipated is the hope that endures even if the labor is long and difficult. Even in our weakness, when confused and conflicted our patience wears thin and we know not what to pray, God intercedes for us. Sighs too deep for words match our deepest need breath for breath so that fed by the first fruits of the Spirit our hearts are lifted from despair. In that way the future adoption that is the redemption of our mortal bodies can be known in the present even as a kick in the womb allows expectant parents to imagine the life of the new born they await. Here and not yet – that is the nature this pregnant pause before we know fully the full fruit of the eternal tomorrow.

The Feast of Pentecost Year B - Psalm 104:24-34

Psalm 104:24-34

Psalm 104:20 is the basis of the “Come Holy Spirit” prayer of the Cursillo movement. “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created and you shall renew the face of the earth…” The Spirit filled community (aka the church in all its various forms) is created by the coming of the Holy Spirit to renew whatever portion of the face of the earth on which it is planted. That means the heart kindled with love seeks to refresh the weary with refuge and replenish the hungry with good things even as we care for “all creatures great and small” and the habitats that support them. So the song we sing to the Lord as long as we live is best expressed when the words of our mouth are confirmed by the work of our hands. 

The Feast of Pentecost Year B - Acts 2:1-21

Acts 2:1-21

It is a lay reader's nightmare lesson and even those who wear the collar often tread lightly in the linguistic territory of “Phrygia and Pamphylia.” But then the confusion of language has spawned more trouble than mispronunciations and divisions that begin with the inability to understand what the other is saying are too often translated into the universal language of bigotry and violence. In whatever way we understand the historical Day of Pentecost the meaning could not be clearer. The lines of language that divide humanity were erased by the “Spirit poured out on all flesh.” Of course the language that was understood on that day was discounted as tongue tied drunkenness but there was a moment when the confusion of the Tower of Babel was reversed and suddenly every tongue was translated into the powerful deed of God that is the cross of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately it didn't take long for the universal language of mercy to be confused and confined and the ability to speak in tongues became more important than understanding what was said. But the Day of Pentecost was not about speaking in tongues. It was about declaring the powerful deeds of God in ways that people could understand no matter where they came from or what language they spoke. Pray God we speak that language again.

Easter 7 B - John 17:6-19

John 17:6-19

If you've read the other Gospels you might agree that John’s Jesus is less than human or if you won’t go that far you might acknowledge that no one in real life makes speeches like the Jesus in John. That doesn't mean it isn't true. It just means that John remembers a different Jesus than Matthew or Mark or the “orderly Gospel” historian Luke. But the purpose of John’s Gospel could not be more clearly stated. “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30) So all this “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together” makes as much sense as “I am the walrus goo goo g’joob”. (The Beatles) unless you understand that believing what cannot be fully understood, namely that the “in the beginning” Word became flesh and dwelt among us, means the beginning and the ending can be fully known in the present in such a way that the joy of the future is fully realized in the here and now. I know it might sound like a less melodic version of goo goo g'joob, but truth is if we could live today as if the forever tomorrow was already here our present might actually begin to look like future God has in mind.

Easter 7 B - 1 John 5:9-13

1 John 5:9-13

The trouble I have with texts like this is that they sound a lot like human testimony. There are those who are in and those who are out (eternally no less) based on what they believe. I wouldn't have so much trouble with that if God hadn't given the password to paradise to a human institution that can be bound to human testimony so far removed from what God is about as to be demonic. Can we say the Spanish Inquisition? Don’t get me wrong. I've bet my life on the testimony into which I was baptized. But if the testimony of God does not come to us except through the filter of the human institution we have to find ways to filter the human institution out of the testimony of God. That is why “we preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23) for if for the sake of love God gave up life I hope and pray that God won’t give up any life for the sake of love.

Easter 7 B - Psalm 1

Psalm 1

We know the counsel of the wicked is nothing but trouble and lingering in the way of sinners is a dead end street and the seat of the scornful is uncomfortable at best but we still listen and linger and pull up a chair. Even those who delight in the perfect law of the Lord - the counsel of love, the way of righteousness, and the mercy seat of peace - can find themselves listening and lingering and longing for that which in the end withers the soul and saps the spirit. But then the tree doesn't plant itself by streams of water and so we, too, depend on the One who creates and cultivates a right spirit within us – sometimes with refreshment and sometimes with reprimand - always intending to bring new life to dead limbs as the prosperity of hope enriches impoverished faith to meditate on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, whatever is excellent or praiseworthy…” (Philippians 4:8) 

Easter 7 B - Acts 1:15-17; 21-26

Acts 1:15-17; 21-26

I wonder if the church today would be okay with calling pastors, electing or appointing bishops, or even choosing the next pope in the same way that the eleven (or about 120 persons) choose the thirteenth disciple? The first thing the disciples did was to set some parameters. Whoever the next disciple was going to be had to have seen the same things the eleven remaining disciples saw. Jesus turning water into wine, Jesus stilling the storm, Jesus walking on water, Jesus giving sight to the blind, mobility to the lame, hearing to the deaf and life to the dead. But just as important was that they had witnessed Jesus’ way of being with the outcast and the excluded and the condemned. The woman weeping at his feet, the Samaritan woman at the well, the woman about to be stoned. The final qualification was that whoever was chosen had witnessed the inevitable and the unbelievable. You don’t do what Jesus did without getting crucified but then the Romans never saw the resurrection coming. The beauty of this disciple election is that even though the disciples rarely understood the things Jesus said and did they did understand that whoever God would choose to replace Judas needed to have seen and heard the same things that they had. So they vetted the candidates according to what made sense to them but then they let God do the choosing. I’m sure Joseph wondered why God preferred Matthias but then if he was truly qualified he wouldn't question the outcome. Since both were equally qualified it took the politics out of the process. Casting lots is not casting votes. It’s drawing straws. Or flipping a coin. Or rolling the dice. No matter because it takes us - or in this case the 120 persons - out of the process.

Easter 6 B - John 15:9-17

John 15:9-17

It is significant that this “status update” from servant to friend occurs in the Gospel of John. After all Jesus’ status was updated from mostly “Messiah” in the synoptic Gospels to “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) So the God of Sinai (fire and smoke on the mountain don’t come near lest ye die) is now revealed as the Word made friend. Since true friendship does not operate as a hierarchy Jesus’ statement is as radical as anything uttered in the scriptures. We are on a first name basis with the God whose name could not be spoken - lest ye die! The flip side of this new arrangement is that our continuing in the ways of our first parent’s garden rebellion is that much more damaging to ourselves and the God come near who is our friend. Friendship can only endure so much before the one whose heart is open to the other is hurt in such a way that the real benefit of friendship, “that my joy may be in you that your joy may be complete” is exhausted. Not that God abandons us but “I've got friends in low places” (Garth Brooks) is not nearly as friendly as it sounds and Jesus desires a relationship that blesses Jesus as much as it blesses us. Nothing blesses Jesus more than when you and I, and everybody else for that matter, friend each other in ways that go beyond “likes” on a page. Jesus’ joy can only be complete when our joy is. Which means my joy can only be complete when your joy is complete and your joy can only be complete when my joy is complete and that joy begins and ends with acting more friendly towards the One who chose to call us friends.

Easter 6 B - 1 John 5:1-6

1 John 5:1-6

The way faith conquers the world is not the way the world conquers. Despite the apparent militancy of “Onward Christian Soldiers” the way of faith “is not by might nor by power but by my Spirit, says the Lord.” (Zechariah 4:6) That is why the victory of faith often appears first as defeat. “We preach Christ crucified.” (1 Corinthians 1:23) But it is a “magnificent defeat” (Friederich Buechner) that the world cannot see or understand and which the world cannot ultimately overcome. “Were they to take our house, goods, fame, child or spouse; though life be wrenched away; they cannot win the day; the kingdom ours forever.” (Martin Luther) That faith conquers the world is not a panacea for the pain and suffering experienced when one is on the losing end of Luther’s list of things to be taken away. No. Faith is often pushed to the limit and indeed beyond. But though the blood lust of the wicked may hold the field today the final outcome has been predetermined and the faith that is tried in the here and now will triumph in the forever tomorrow. 

Easter 6 B - Acts 10:44-48

Acts 10:44-48

Acts chapter ten begins with God telling Peter that shellfish is now in season and he is free to eat whatever he wants. To which Peter replies, “Heaven forbid!” which is the proper response when one is tempted by all manner of culinary delights denied to law abiding Jews. But God insists that Peter sit down and dine and before you know it Peter is acting like Jesus and eating and drinking with tax collectors (aka Romans) and sinners (aka Gentiles). “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” is true for all manner of animals as well as people so that Peter, who often appears dumb as rock, suddenly perceives that God shows no favoritism which is shocking given the restricted relationship God demanded from the children of Israel. That is not to say the early church welcomed the new neighbors with open arms. Even Peter had to defend his Acts chapter 10 actions to James and John and the Jerusalem council. And if you believe Paul’s account in Galatians chapter 2 Peter went back to a kosher diet and “began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of the circumcision group”. When we make what is binding arbitrary (the law of love) and what is arbitrary binding (the love of law) we miss the point of this passage. I wonder what acts of God might astound us in this day and age so that we ask the question, “What is to prevent us from suspending the rules we have come to rely on and welcome the new thing God is doing?” Heaven knows.

Easter 6 B - Psalm 98

Psalm 98
A new song about marvelous things the Lord has done means before there was this song there were times that were less praiseworthy. Singing the rejoicing refrain is preceded by times of lament and righteousness revealed means there was a time when it was hidden. “You turned my wailing into dancing” is how Psalm 30 describes the reversal of fortune. At the dawn of that new day the long night is forgotten so that even the sound of the crashing sea and rushing rivers are in harmony with harps and trumpets and human voices. The good news for those still waiting for steadfast love and faithfulness to be revealed is that God gives us each other so that my new song can be heard in your time of silence and when life conspires to still the song in my heart perhaps you will be in a place to sing me into a marvelous new day. In that way the song never ends and at the same time is always new.

Easter 5 B - John 15:1-8

John 15:1-8

What choice does a branch attached a vine really have? It doesn't choose to grow and it can’t control what nutrients come to it. It just is. Which means all the branch can do is be attached to the vine. Maybe that is real point of the passage. To abide is more about the vine then the branch. so what if we were to think of abiding in Jesus like breathing? We do it every moment of our lives and hardly notice it until we can’t catch our breath which makes us very aware of how essential it is. When abiding in Jesus is a noun – a state of being instead of a state of doing – it describes who we are instead of what we do. Of course who we are determines what we do which is to say apart for Jesus we can do nothing.

Easter 5 B - 1 John 4:7-21

1 John 4:7-21

“Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” You would think the church could get this right since the command to love God and one another is the foundation of our faith. Some say the reason the church is in decline today is because those on the outside have finally figured out that the petty jealousies and judgmental attitudes that have come to characterize so many Christian communions are a direct contradiction of the teaching of Jesus. Individual Christians and whole communities elevate their particular doctrines or preferences to the denial of the one law that is in fact binding. Even Unitarians fight over doctrine for God’s sake!  But “the commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.” So what can we do that we have not done already? Maybe we should stop doing what we've been doing and learn the lesson of love so that “as he is, so we (will be) in this world. I know it is passé now but for all the hype around WWJD bracelets and bumper stickers but there was only one answer to the question What Would Jesus Do? LOVE.

Easter 7 B - Psalm 22:25-31

Psalm 22:25-31

Psalm 22 begins with a lament. “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” In the verses that follow human suffering is spelled out in detail. “My heart melts like wax within me… all my bones are out of joint… a band of dogs surround me… they pierce my hands and feet!“ Insults and mocking and spitting accompany the abuse heaped upon the one who cries out by day with no answer, at night with no rest. Yet this “man of constant sorrow” trusts that the God far off will come near and even if going down to the dust is his destiny praise will spring forth from the grave. Some might call that fool’s hope and be more inclined to go with Job’s wife’s advice to her long suffering (and constantly complaining) husband, “Curse God and die.” But then the people yet unborn would not know the sacred story of the God who came so near to humanity as to wear our flesh and die our death so that we might live God’s life.  And so we proclaim and so you believe, “The Lord has acted.” Thanks be to God.  

Easter 5 B - Acts 8:26-40

Acts 8:26-40

The Ethiopian eunuch was well respected in the court of Candice but in Jerusalem he was denied access to the temple of the faith he was so anxious to understand. Cut off from the people of God by race and circumstance he none-the-less worshiped the God whose holy word branded him unclean. (Deuteronomy 23:1) It’s no surprise then that one so excluded would be drawn to the suffering servant described by Isaiah and wonder if the word about “the prophet or someone else” might also be a word for him. So God sends Philip the Greek to evangelize the African official into the faith of Jesus the suffering Jew. Irony is not lost on the Lord. 

Easter 4 B - John 10:11-18

John 10:11-18

We had a Rambouillet lamb named Louie who grew up to be a sheep so tame as to be a nuisance. I’m not sure the Good Shepherd analogy works as well when the lamb won’t leave you alone and the hired hand is worn out by the constant bleating for treats. Then we tend to demand much from our Good Shepherd not the least of which is bleating for all manner of treats when we might be better without. But this text is about the Shepherd and not the sheep and whatever it is we do or say or need doesn't much matter as the Good Shepherd cares for us by both giving and withholding. Unfortunately we, like Louie, are often so tame to the way of faith as to be a nuisance to ourselves and everyone else for that matter. The good news is the Shepherd’s life laid down and picked up breaks through our “tameness” so that we come to know the Shepherd as intimately as the Shepherd know us.

Easter 4 B - 1 John 3:16-24

1 John 3:16-24

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.” (The Dalai Lama) Christians don’t have exclusive rights to acts of mercy and kindness but it is clearly in our religious DNA to perform them. So I’m not saying other faiths or traditions do any better just that Christians, perhaps more than others, should get this right since it is the defining character of the Christ. Far too often the church’s adherence to dogma has allowed it to justify the worst sort of practices. But then Jesus was “despised and rejected” (Isaiah 53) for a reason and while it was certainly for our sin it was as much for his – by that I mean he sinned against the powers that be by daring to be what God had always intended them to be. “I desire mercy not sacrifice.” (Hosea 6:6) That doesn't mean we are not to resist the things of the world that pollute our lives but rather that care for the widow and the orphan (James 1:27) precedes and (perhaps) defines the way one remains pure.

Easter 4 B - Psalm 23

Psalm 23

Our souls are restored when we are guided along right pathways even if it takes a rod and staff to keep us on the path to greener pastures and still waters. That’s because we can get lost in the shadow valleys of this world where the lines between right and wrong are obscured by selfish desire and sinful pride. Truth is our sight can adjust to low light and we grow accustomed to being less than we were meant to be and before you know it we can’t tell the difference between a green pasture and a desert. But the Lord like a shepherd does not abandon us to our wandering ways but prods us with the rod of the Law even as the staff of the Gospel frees us to live into peaceful places of soul refreshing rest.

Easter 4 B - Acts 4:5-12

Acts 4:5-12

The rooster can crow till the cows come home but the days of denying Jesus are over for Peter. When one is filled with the Holy Spirit there is no room for fear and so the Peter who formerly wept bitter tears is now the Peter who publicly stands on Christ the Cornerstone and declares what he previously denied. Of course Peter is seeing things in light of the resurrection which gives him a confidence he didn't have in the courtyard. We are not nearly as hard pressed as Peter to publicly declare something that in the end led to his imprisonment and crucifixion but we are called none-the-less to be public about our faith in the name by which we are saved. That doesn't mean we are called to stand on street corners with signs. But if we truly believe in the one name by which we are saved and if we honestly care about those we encounter we will seek ways to “do a good deed” that gives glory to the crucified and risen Lord. We love others so that others will love Christ. Bottom line - your mission field is the piece of the planet you inhabit. Time to get busy.

Easter 3 B - Luke 24:13-49

Luke 24:13-49

“Peace be with you” doesn't do the trick. “Look at my hands and feet” doesn't dispel disbelief. Even touch me and see doesn't get a “My Lord and my God!” But eat a piece of broiled fish and maybe the impossible will seem more plausible to doubting disciples. In the every day necessity of nourishment the crucified, dead and buried Messiah is accepted as really resurrected. It is the final and most intimate act of the incarnation that the One who rose beyond the boundaries of death and life entered this realm again to share a morsel with those still bound by mortality so that seeing would be believing. In that sense “have you anything here to eat?” might be the most grace filled words ever spoken by Jesus. 

Easter 3 B - 1 John 3:1-7

1 John 3:1-7

There is no way around it. Since we all sin we are all guilty of lawlessness even though in the love the Father has given us we are children of God now and when Jesus is revealed we will be like Him. That means even as children of God we do not abide in God or know God or see God by virtue of our rebellious nature. But then John will go on to say, “This is love: not that we loved God but that God loved us…” (1 John 4:10) So the ultimate consequence of our lawlessness is that God loves those who do not love in equal measure but who purify themselves with the hope that when we do see Him as He is Jesus will not see us as we are but what we were always meant to be. 

Easter 3 B - Psalm 4

Psalm 4

It is only when one stops loving illusions and living lies that one can see the wonders God desires to do for the faithful – and everyone else for that matter. Easier said than done. The trouble with illusions and lies is that they cleverly hide the truth so that even when we know the lie of the illusion is a sleight of hand we ask to see it again albeit more slowly this time. We are fascinated by a good trick and nothing is as tricky as a lie we live with so long that it feels so familiar it no longer appears to be an illusion. But one of the wonders God does for the faithful is to shatter the comfortable illusion with distress so that sooner or later one cries out for mercy. That is good news even if it feels less than that for while the truth is not as seductive as the illusion it gives one something living a lie cannot – a peaceful night’s rest where the truth of God’s love promises rest that is secure.

Easter 3 B - Acts 3:12-19

Acts 3:12-19

The scene that precedes Peter’s speech to “You Israelites” is the healing of the lame beggar at the temple gate. “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6) Now I’m sure there were some Israelites in the crowd who had not called out “crucify” and so they can hardly be held responsible for killing the “Author of life”. And even if Peter claims it as Gospel truth Pilate never intended to let the peasant preacher go free. Furthermore Peter and all the disciples deserted Jesus in his most desperate hour. But maybe Peter has forgotten his rejection of the Holy One in the courtyard. “I tell you I do not know the man!” Then again maybe being Holy Spirit anointed and preaching on Pentecost and becoming God’s agent for “lame man walking” means you forget the ways you acted in ignorance. No matter. The truth of the speech is that God will wipe the slate clean for deniers and betrayers and those who cry crucify because that is the nature of the God who desires “all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth”. (1 Timothy 2:4) So turn to the One who is continually turning towards you that your ways of denying and betraying and crying crucify might be wiped clean.

Easter 2 B - John 20:19-31

John 20:19-31

In the Gospel of John believing is seeing. We can speculate as to Thomas’s whereabouts that first day of the week but his absence is for our benefit as we who have no hope of seeing, let alone touching. nail scarred hands or spear pierced side are blessed by believing none-the-less. I don’t know if my “not seeing” believing is due to childhood indoctrination – my guess is I’ll be a cradle to grave Christian – or because the story continues to capture my imagination and stir my soul, but for whatever reason I have attached my life to Jesus and even when I fail to live the life in his name I trust Jesus’ life is somehow lived in mine. 

Easter 2 B - 1 John 1:1-2:5

1 John 1:1-2:5

Sin by its very nature is deceptive so that even when we confess our sins we can continue to walk in the darkness that masquerades as light. That is why posting the Ten Commandments on every street corner of the planet won’t get the job done in the same way that speed limit signs do little to curb speeding.  That’s because we tend to think of sin as behavior which means we can do something about it. In that sense the carrot on a stick of encouragement nor the scourge and rod of enforcement can cure our rebellious ways. For sin is far more devious and demonic so that while behaviors might be modified the root cause is not. To use the old language - we are by nature sinful and unclean – which means our orientation is rebellion and resistance to the relationship God desires to have with us. So what can we do? We confess that we do not want to be all that we were meant to be and trust that God’s mercy is more than able to break through the darkness that clouds our vision and not only ours but the darkness that engulfs the whole world. When attitudes change, not by threat or reward but the compelling love of Christ, the grip of sin will be loosened and we will walk more fully in the light of love which is a real relationship with God. 

Easter 2 B - Psalm 133

Psalm 133

In three short verses Psalm 133 states the obvious and makes me wonder why the church doesn't pursue unity with more purpose. Instead of pouring the precious oil of peace on each other we heap insults and draw theological lines in the sand staining the collar of our robes with division. You might expect this of the more strident traditions but even the Unitarians, or so I’m told, don’t always get along. Go figure. It could be that we make unity nearly impossible because we wrongly assume that unity can only happen we everyone agrees. But the psalm doesn't say or assume that. Unity is a willingness to live with and love one another despite differences of opinion. The fragrant extravagance of good and pleasant unity is the blessing that falls from heaven as unity is bestowed from above whenever it is understood from below as the very essence of what it means to claim Christ as Lord. How good and pleasant indeed.

Easter 2 B - Acts 4:23-37

Acts 4:23-37

When the believers were of one heart and mind there were no needy persons among them. When their hearts and minds went their own way members who withheld were struck down dead (Acts 5 - Ananias and Sapphira) and widows who spoke Greek were denied their portion of the distribution of food just because they spoke Greek. (Acts 6) The golden age of the Christian community didn't last very long as even those who witnessed the resurrected Christ in person went back to living as if he were still dead. To be fair they thought Jesus would come back long before they had to cash in their IRAs and truth is being of one heart and mind was not as easy as Luke made it out to be. That has been the story of the church ever since. When we are of one heart and mind we embody the Gospel that lives the future in the present where the hungry are fed and the homeless are housed and the poor are provided for and no one is in need because all are one. When one weeps all weep. When one rejoices all rejoice. But when our hearts and minds are far apart from one another we live as if Jesus is still in tomb and the only security we have is the security we can secure for ourselves which is no security at all.

The Resurrection of Our Lord Year B (the day after) Mark 16:1-8

Mark 16:1-8
It is a strange way to end a story when clearly the women who “said nothing to anyone” must have told something to someone. Then again all the Gospels agree that the reality of the resurrection was beyond the ability of the witnesses to comprehend. In the Gospel of Mark being seized by amazement and terror is the tongue tying factor. “Do not be alarmed” wasn't enough for the women walking away from the unbelievable so they kept their mouths shut not daring to ask if anyone else saw what they saw. But in the inevitable conversations that followed their tongues were loosened and they began to describe what had terrified and amazed them so. At some point a first century focus group decided Mark needed a better ending so they added verses 9-20 to include appearances and admonitions by Jesus along with speaking in tongues, miraculous healing, snake handling and the ability to drink deadly things without dying. Makes for a better movie don’t you know. Are we any different? We like our stories to dot the i’s and cross the t’s and tie up the loose ends, thank you very much. But this story is better when it’s left as it is to amaze and terrify. When we cast the resurrection in the ordinary we fail to live fully into the new reality that issues forth from an empty tomb. Death has been destroyed. Why do we fear it so much? Or more to the point. Since death has been destroyed in the forever and always why do we continue to allow it to define our reality in the here and now? I’m not saying there are easy solutions to the complex problems in our world. There is a reason God chooses a crucifixion as the world’s wakeup call. But when we either remain silent or on the flip side package the resurrection in family friendly focus group endings we miss completely the power of what happened when the young man dressed in white said, “He is not here.” God intended those who entered the reality of the “he is not here” empty tomb to come out radically changed. God is always waiting for the same thing to happen to us. If that did not terrify (and amaze) us so much maybe we’d really live it. Oh, wait, that got Jesus crucified, so… maybe I’ll just pick up a snake – a small one, please.

The Resurrection of Our Lord Year B - Mark 16:1-8

Mark 16:1-8

The Resurrection of Our Lord Year B - 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

“I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news…”is a recurring theme of the Corinthian correspondence. Divided loyalty (I follow Cephas, I follow Apollos, I follow Paul, I follow Christ) leads the Corinthians to argue over minor matters, treat the body of Christ with contempt by making a mockery of the unifying meal and neglect the greater gift of love in favor of flashier outward signs of tongues and puffed up spiritual pride. The good news reminder shouldn't be lost on us who have received and now stand in the story Paul proclaimed. The Christ who appeared to the long list of witnesses and lastly to Paul has appeared to us so that whenever death in all its many forms (including discord) threatens to destroy “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, whatever is excellent or praiseworthy” (Philippians 4:8) we say “NO” and hold firmly to the belief that life and love will have the last word. And reminded that the last word belongs to the life of Christ means every word belongs to Christ which clearly includes those we speak to one another.