The Resurrection of our Lord

Luke 24:1-11

In the Spring
I would come out to that place
with the stream flowing
fast clear through the narrows
of the mud
and snow choked stream
The sun would shine warm
and send light bouncing off the water
as it flowed
through the mud
and snow
the sun’s rays felt good
on my ice cold hands
as I enjoyed the beauty
of new life beginning

In the beginning God created all
and it was good
From nothingness came good
and beauty
and joy
tarnished by the desire of us all
to be gods
to run our little dominion
And we did
And we died
And Christ came
in our self appointed winter
confined not to the cold
and dead dungeons of our world
and sprang forth in light and life
to a world made new
As in the beginning
where life
in the midst of our dungeons
burst forth
sparkling in the waters that flow
through the mud and snow clogged narrows
of our soul
To bring us
Life

In the Breaking of the Bread

Three days gone, alone, we wander,
Have you seen our Lord?
We had hoped he would redeem us,
Him who we adored.

REFRAIN
How our hearts have burned within us
every time the Word is read;
Now we recognize the Savior
in the breaking of the bread.

All at once our eyes are opened,
Suddenly we see,
In the bread and wine and water
Christ for you and me.

REFRAIN

Jesus comes and stands among us
greeting us with peace.
Take him in your hands and hold him,
Touch him now and see.

REFRAIN

Not for bread alone we hunger,
Yet for every word;
When that peace and life is spoken
Jesus' voice is heard.

REFRAIN
Text and music by Jay Beech, ©2001.

You can find the song at: In the Breaking of the Bread

We continue to want to break heads, but Jesus calls us to break bread.

Sunday April 4th, Isaiah 65: 17 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. For the people of Jerusalem who were rebuilding the temple after the Babylon captivity, this was good news. The message brought hope. It soon turned to however to the same old same old. Today, 2500 years later we are still waiting for Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. And we, the rest of the world community, must ask ourselves, what part we play in the continuing tragic displays of inhumanity and violence in this region of the world. As we once again start the talks to move toward peace, the Israeli government flipped the current administration the bird and announced continued building in Palestinian territories, what wasn't announced was the need to force the Palestinian families out of their homes to do so. At the same time, Israel completed a $30 billion arms deal arranged with the Bush administration in the last days of his presidency. Make no mistake, not all the blame falls on the Israelis, were either major group of Palestinians in charge, though the players might change, the game would be the same. Throughout the scriptures there is God's dream that Jerusalem would be a delight and its people a joy. Money, Power, Politics and human hatred, perpetuated by arms deals, looking the other way, as well as the rhetoric of holocaust denial and vows to wipe Israel off the face of the map by the current leadership in Iran and Libya continue to work against the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We all continue to work against the God we worship through Christ, in Allah and in YHWH. What are all at war with mostly is the desire to play god, to eat of the tree, and to feel mighty having beaten up another kid in the play yard never noticing the tears streaming down our Fathers face. Father, forgive us, even though I am quite sure we are fully aware of what we are doing. Open our eyes to your grace as we recognize you in the breaking of the bread with one another. We continue to want to break heads, but Jesus calls us to break bread. It is only in the breaking of bread together, recognizing in one another our brother and sister that we can truly see our God, no matter what name we use. At this year’s Seder, where we usually close with "next year Jerusalem" let us close with, "next year, may there be peace in Jerusalem, Judea and on to the ends of the earth.

they can find their eyes opened in the breaking of the bread

Monday April 5th, Isaiah 65: 23 They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD. This is also the vision of the world in final vision in the book of Revelation. All things will be new. For now, we live in the mean time. It is mean as in “in between” and it is mean as in “nasty.” God calls us to keep our eye on the vision of God that they will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain. It is a call from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to stop the settlements in Palestinian territories, to stop the suicide bombings, to stop the rocket attacks, to stop the closing off of Palestinian movement to and from work, play, hospitals and families, to stop the rationing of water and the random violence. STOP DESTROYING THE LANDS AND THE PEOPLES OF GOD’S AFFECTION. If it is God’s vision that the wolf and the lamb can feed together, surely Israel and Palestinian leaders can talk to one another. And perhaps, just perhaps, they can find their eyes opened in the breaking of the bread

Now we recognize our savior, our brother, our sister, in the breaking of the bread,

Tuesday April 6th, Acts 10: 34 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. The very early church got the message of Jesus, and Peter here explains it well. God does not show favoritism. All too often what the world sees as politics or maintaining order, our Lord sees as fratricide. We are content with maintaining power through the breaking of the heads. Christ calls us to a different vision where in the breaking of the bread, we recognize one another as brothers and sisters and in the process see the risen Christ. It didn’t take long for the early followers of Jesus to move from being church to being “the church.” That is when the walls started to go up. You can see it in some of the later pastoral letters of Timothy and Titus, rules about who is in and who is out. Over the centuries we have gone back and forth from being marginally inclusive to being violently exclusive. For the most part, even the inclusive times tend to be mostly exclusive. It is always good to keep an eye on the prize, and the prize is the inclusiveness of God. Our biggest sin is that we are always putting asunder what God has joined together (thanks to Wm Sloane Coffin for that one). Now we recognize our savior, our brother, our sister, in the breaking of the bread, not meant to be exclusive communion practices but sitting down together in fellowship and true concern.

recognize one another in the breaking of the bread.

Wednesday April 7th, Acts 10: 39 "We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen--by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." We are the witnesses of everything he did. The pastor is not the witness, the evangelism committee is not the witness, the church building is not the witness, we, the people of God in every walk of life are the witnesses whom God has already chosen for the task. And what are we witnesses too? We are called to be witnesses of and participants in forgiveness, healing, turning from feelings of fratricide to fraternity. That is our job; that is what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ. We are the ones who offer forgiveness and hope and life and wholeness and the message of God’s love. We are the ones who call out violence when we see it, whether in the Tea party reaction to healthcare, which is really just fear and rage at the prospect of change (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/opinion/28rich.html?hp ) We all are the witnesses, the ones chosen by God. Our message is to be one of grace, forgiveness, and a calling of the lambs and lions among us to sit down together and recognize one another in the breaking of the bread.

All at once our eyes are opened, Suddenly we see

Thursday April 8th, Luke 24: 1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. OK, mission is over, Jesus is gone and now is it time to get on with life? It was an act of love and caring, but also an act of bringing to a conclusion, the final chapter the mission and ministry of Jesus. The only trouble was that it was not so final, the mission and ministry continues, only this time in us. We tend to see and hear only what we expect to see and hear. All those predictions and preparations went right over the disciple’s heads. They go over our heads also. We expect to see a world in trouble, we expect there to be war and food shortages in parts of the world, we expect to live in peace on this side of the ocean, which is why 911 hit us so hard, we expect the Mideast to be a place of violence and therefore feel the way to deal with it is to provide more military hardware. However, the Bush administrations $30 billion arms sale to Israel and $20 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia had more to do with profits than prophets. We expect certain things to continue and that is what we see and hear and perpetrate. God calls us to a new vision, a new reality. God calls us to a vision where Jerusalem will be a delight and its people a joy, a vision where the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, a vision where we as the children of God accept people from every nation who fear God and do what is right, a vision where the Christ can be raised and call us all to a new life and in it a new vision for the world. God calls us to open our souls to God’s vision for the world and to start to live it now. All at once our eyes are opened, Suddenly we see, In the bread and wine and water Christ for you and me.

Take him in your hands and hold him, Touch him now and see

Friday April 10th, Luke 24: 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8 Then they remembered his words. This is when they saw with new eyes and wide open mouths!!! They were still not sure of what was going on and what it all meant, they were lift with new eyes and wide open mouths. Today, most of us are still not sure of what was going on and what it all means. It is important to note that it was the women who heard this new message first, for it was the women, those marginalized by society in that day, who could most clearly hear the message as one of hope. All the teachings from Jesus began to form into a new reality that early morning, and these women, with mouths wide open, were the ones ready to receive it and share it with the rest of the world. This revelation begs the question then, who are the marginalized ones who can really hear this message of hope today? Are they the movers and shakers and the writers of books? Are they the ones who start sentences with, Last night God told me to tell you…? Are they the ones who start sentences with “those ….. People…. Muslims…. Terrorists…… Liberals….. Conservatives…… etc., etc., etc? Or is it the ones whose voices are not heard, the least, the lost and the lonely, the ones rejected by the power of the world? Jesus comes and stands among us greeting us with peace. Take him in your hands and hold him, Touch him now and see.

How our hearts have burned within us

Saturday April 11th, Luke 24: 9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened. We generally see and hear what we expect to see and hear. There was just enough curiosity in Peter to at least go and check it out for himself. Not much faith in Peter, the one who had confessed Jesus as Lord, but enough. What is enough faith in today’s world? In any sea of doubt there is always a speck of faith. That was enough to start the Church. The marginalized women who saw and believed, the doubting confessing Peter who had to sort of see for himself, the disciples hiding in the room when Jesus appeared to them and who were later still in the room when the one they called doubting Thomas returned. That was enough to start the church. If we were able to see beyond what is to what we are called to be, what could the church become? Look out over the horizon, just beyond what you can see, and now look inside you, inside your neighbor and see Christ and the church in a new way. How our hearts have burned within us every time the Word is read; Now we recognize the Savior in the breaking of the bread.

Less partisan than pointedly effective

I am a progressive and I have great respect for the GOP. The nation is served best not by one party or another, but by strong, and yes sometimes heated debate that hones differing points of view into legislation that in the long run is less partisan than pointedly effective and good policy for the nation. I applaud Sen. Graham and Corker for taking a stand against the tea stranglehold on their party and stepping up to the plate, I may not always agree with them on issues, but I sincerely respect their integrity. I pray that more senators, including our own Lisa from Alaska would be able to break free and once again play their part in crafting legislation that is best for all.

Sin As The Closet, Grace As Coming Out:

Rethinking Sin And Grace For LGBT People Today

Full article by Rev. Patrick S. Cheng, Ph.D

I believe that it is time to shift away from a legal model of sin (whether Biblical law or natural law) and towards a christological model of sin. Under this model, sin is defined not by Biblical law or natural law, but rather by our opposition, as Christians, to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. That is, sin is a mindset; it is a mode of existence that stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the good news of the Word made flesh. In other words, sin is a matter of deliberately turning one's back on what God has done for us in salvation history.

For example, let's begin with the doctrine of revelation. According to Christian theology, God reveals Godself most fully in the person of Jesus Christ. As such, it follows that sin is the closet, or the resistance to revealing ourselves fully to God and to others. Indeed, as feminist theologians have argued for decades, sin is not just a matter of pride and raising ourselves up too high, but it is also a matter of excess shame and hiding our true selves from others.

If sin is defined as the closet, then sinners are those people who use the institution of the church to deflect attention away from -- and cover up -- their own hidden sexual secrets and crimes, as we have seen repeatedly in the ugly sexual abuse crisis in the Roman Catholic Church. Sinners are also the closeted fundamentalist ministers and preachers who virulently condemn LGBT people on the one hand and yet engage in hidden same-sex activities on the other.

By contrast, grace is defined as what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, which is coming out. For Christians, God reveals Godself most fully in the incarnation. Whenever we come out as LGBT people, we also become the living embodiment of God's revelation of the Word made flesh. We are able to love others fully because we realize that we are first loved by God. And that, for me, is what the good news is all about.

Good Friday Poem

John 18:1-19:42

Who is this man
They cried
This one
--welcomed just three days ago
as the Messiah
the one who would bring peace to the nation
peace to the world
who is this man
who claims to be the Son of God
who would dare to tempt
the systems we have set in motion
we are
--they cried with a voice united
civilized people
we have our laws and order
--and our punishments for those
--who like our friend here
--choose
----(or are chosen)
----to be more than we have room for
this Jesus from Nazareth
hung up there
in pain and death
--just like any common
--------------(scapegoat)
------------------criminal
the King of Jews
with no kingdom of this world
and few to follow
Our
--------(law and order)
------------------Justice has a way
to keep things from getting
out-------------of----------------control
with anyone
------(God)
who would disrupt
this life of ours
who
-------is this Jesus of Nazareth
-------(Father)
that he should come here
where we have things
as we want them
-----------(forgive them)
and want nothing more
------(for they know not what they do)

Sunday of Passion

Luke 22:1-23:56

Hosanna! Hosanna!
to the one who comes in the name of the Lord
Hosanna to the one who comes to save us
we rejoice
yet sorrow that this one
the Song of God
the Lord most High
has come to this world
in which each one of us dips our bread
with this one
the Churst
and in this act of oneness
of family
we bring death
to our Lord
to our selves
we are all there shouting
Hosanna!
and Crucify Him!
in thought, word and deed
by what we have done
and by what we have left undone
yet not rejected, but loved
by the one we hung on the cross
Hosanna!

way out front

Sunday March 28th, Luke 19: 28After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30"Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.' “Jesus is always out ahead of us, leading us on the way and pointing us to where God has called us. There is no place, physically, mentally or emotionally we can go that Jesus has not already gone to prepare the way for us. Our sin often is less what we do wrong and more often what we hold back from doing right, or doing at all. Luther said to sin boldly but rejoice more boldly still. Take fear out of your life, move forward in trust and hope in what God is calling you to do, and where God is calling you to go. Know that Christ is already out ahead of you preparing the way, and when you fall, for surely you will, you can get up and dust off your knees and be on your way, forgiven and anticipating the adventure around the next corner.

Jerusalem rock concert

Monday March 29th, Luke 19: 35They brought it (the colt) to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." Who were these people. In Borg and Crossan’s book “the Last Week” they say it was the poor, the landless who had been manipulated off the family land by the wealthy. It was the hopeless and rejected who were looking for hope. They awaited Jesus on the East end of town as he came in from Bethany on the southeaster slops of the Mount of Olives. On the other end of town, from the west, Pilate came into town not on a donkey, a sign of peace, but on his stallion, army behind him, leather armor and weapons glistening in the sunlight. He was coming from his villa in the west, Caesarea Maritima on the coast of the Mediterranean. High on the staff that went before him was an eagle, the emblem of Caesar, who was known as the son of god and the prince of peace. Pilate also was cheered on his way. His crowd was the wealthy land owners, the well connected and those in power in the temple who served at the pleasure of the Caesar. Thus proving the old adage, the more things change, the more they remain the same.

do this in remembrance

Tuesday March 30th, Luke 22: 14 When it was time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, 15 and said, "You've no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering. 16 It's the last one I'll eat until we all eat it together in the kingdom of God."17 Taking the cup, he blessed it, then said, "Take this and pass it among you. 18 As for me, I'll not drink wine again until the kingdom of God arrives."19 Taking bread, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, given for you. Eat it in my memory."20 He did the same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you. The Passover, the celebration of freedom is the root of our communion service. It celebrates the freedom Christ brings from all that enslaves you, from all that holds you back and makes you afraid. Freedom from sin, both those committed and those many that fall under the heading of things left undone. The bread is not magic, the wine is not magic, the ceremony is not magic, their power comes when we realize that it is the sharing of them with God and with one another that is relational. Do this in remembrance of me, and when we remember in that way, it is not just thinking of the good old days, it is bringing it to life, to our life. It is remembering the way Jesus turned to the thief on the cross who asked to be remembered, and Jesus responded that on that day he would be with him in paradise. It is a remembering that is a call to action. When we gather for communion, God is there with us. When we eat out in a restraint with friends and family, God is there with us also. When we gather around the table at home with family, God is with us. In each setting we are called into a relationship with God who is present with us. In each setting we are called into a relationship with those who are present with us. Most importantly, through the miracle of God’s presence, in each setting we are called into relationship with those who are not with us and we are called into action as a child of God in this world to love one another as Jesus loved us. It is less a celebration of freedom from as it is a celebration of freedom for.

the violent nature of humanity

Wednesday March 31st, Luke 22: 41 He pulled away from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed, 42 "Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?" 43 At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. 44 He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face.45 He got up from prayer, went back to the disciples and found them asleep, drugged by grief. 46 He said, "What business do you have sleeping? Get up. Pray so you won't give in to temptation." Why did Jesus have to die? Was it to appease an angry god? Was it to atone for our sins for all time, the perfect sacrificial offering, which is also appeasing a blood thirsty god? Was it to show the way to obedience? Or was it the only thing humanity could, and still can, understand? Perhaps it has less to do with the violent nature of god than with the violent nature of humanity. Jesus died to show us that even death has no power over us. Jesus died to show is that confronting the systems of oppression in this world is what we are called to do. Jesus died to show us the gift and hope of new life that is manifest in the here and now. Jesus died to show the brutal lengths humanity will go to maintain control. Jesus died, for you, for me, and for those who will never in their life admit that Jesus is Lord.

Even in this

Thursday April 1st, Luke 22: 49 When those with him saw what was happening, they said, "Master, shall we fight?" 50 One of them took a swing at the Chief Priest's servant and cut off his right ear.51Jesus said, "Let them be. Even in this." Then, touching the servant's ear, he healed him. Even in this moment, Jesus shows us the way. There is no us and them. We are all called to be the children of God. We are all called to treat one another as our brother and sister in Christ. All of our weapons only help to reinforce the illusion of enemies. In the midst of the so called enemies, Jesus says, let them be, and then reaches down and heals. When will we see it? When will we live it?

Been there, done that!!!

Friday April 2nd, Luke 22: 59 About an hour later, someone else spoke up, really adamant: "He's got to have been with him! He's got "Galilean' written all over him."60 Peter said, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about." At that very moment, the last word hardly off his lips, a rooster crowed. 6 1Just then, the Master turned and looked at Peter. Peter remembered what the Master had said to him: "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." 62 He went out and cried and cried and cried. Been there, done that!!! Time and again, in one way or another I’ve been there and done that, and no doubt so have you. For us there is forgiveness and a call to be the church out in the world once again. For us there are fresh starts and the call to offer these fresh starts to others. Later we are reminded that Jesus restores Peter by asking him to “feed my sheep” three times. In the midst of our doubts, in the midst of our fear, Jesus restores us and calls upon us to “feed my sheep.” It is what the church does, it is what you and I are called to do.

He is dangerous

Saturday April 3rd, Luke 23: 1 Then they all took Jesus to Pilate 2 and began to bring up charges against him. They said, "We found this man undermining our law and order, forbidding taxes to be paid to Caesar, setting himself up as Messiah-King." 3 Pilate asked him, "Is this true that you're "King of the Jews’?” Those are your words, not mine," Jesus replied. 4 Pilate told the high priests and the accompanying crowd, "I find nothing wrong here. He seems harmless enough to me." 5 But they were vehement. "He's stirring up unrest among the people with his teaching, disturbing the peace everywhere, starting in Galilee and now all through Judea. He's a dangerous man, endangering the peace." Jesus IS a threat to our power and all the evil it manages to condone. As the powers strove to maintain their control and with it the money, all for very good and religiously justified reasons, Jesus was the one who pointed out the fallacy of what they were doing. As we strive for control and with it all the power and money it will bring, Jesus does the same. We have heard words of fear for the last year. Death panels, piled up debt, watch out, big government is taking away all your freedom, fear. Fear is the opposite of faith, and faith calls us to love one another, care for the least, lost and lonely and look to the future with hope. The old saying goes that when I gave a man a fish, they praised me as a saint, when I asked why the man had no fish they called me a communists. The modern version would be, when I gave someone free health care, I was called a saint. When I worked for health care for all, I was called the “N” word and the “F” word and spat upon. The more things change, the more they remain the same. Jesus died so that we could be free. Not free from, but free for the task of not only caring for the least lost and lonely, but putting systems in place so that in the world there are fewer least lost and lonely that fall through the cracks and need to be cared for.

The Annunciation of our Lord

Luke 1:26-46

The young and innocent one
wondered at the hearing of the words
---- (Greetings)
that thundered from on high
and yet so close
she could almost reach out
--- and touch
------ the messenger
---------- Gabriel
words that announced to the world
a new time
a new life
that would come to all people
---- (you who are highly favored)
through the womb
of this one
innocent one
called Mary
though the world did not know
and the people did not know
and those in power did not know
and even Mary did not know
still
all
all that is
all that was
all that will be
would be changed
by the message
to this one innocent one
---- (the Lord)
that a child shall be born
and they shall call
---- (is)
his name
---- (with you)
Jesus

John 12: 1-8

5th Sunday in Lent

In the midst of time spent together
Aroma filled the air
The sweetness drifting into every corner
Filling every nostril and lung
And out into the world.
Wasteful!
Just imagine what we
(I)
could do with that
for a slight fee for handling
all legit of course
I could help some people
And you will
Those in need
The least, lost and lonely
Will be there always
The simple creation of our greed
But their care is less about helping them overcome our greed
And more about our need
To worship
In praise and deed
Worship drives us to the streets
Where the justice work drives us back to worship
And the streets
And worship
Round and round until they blur into one
And the sweet fragrance once again fills the air

relationship with community

Sunday March 21st, Philippians 3: all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness. All religion has rules and religion all too often is made up of too many rules. There are moves to put the Ten Commandments in the courthouses and the right judges on the bench while at the same time, to remove “In God we Trust” from our bills. We want everyone in the congregation to agree with us on all the important things, and the unimportant ones also while at the same time wishing them their freedom to be in relationship with God on their own without going through an intermediately. Radio hacks want people to leave churches that preach social Justice when it is at the heart of Jesus’ teachings and even a part of his own LDS faith. When all is said and done, what we are after is not religion at all, but control. Paul reminds us that the religion of rules is not where it is at, not what is important. What is important is being in a relationship with Jesus and building relationships with one another. Some of those rules might be good and some might be bad, but in the end they really don’t matter all that much. What matters is a relationship with God and a community of support.

no need to grovel

Monday March 22nd, Philippians 3: 10-11 Give up all that inferior stuff and learn to know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. Christ is not after all that groveling and poor me stuff. When God created all that exist, God said it was good. That pronouncement of good was as much a part of creation as was the sea and stars and the land we walk upon. God pronounced it good and you can count on that. All that inferior stuff we tend to hoard in our lives is just a form of security because we can’t quite convince ourselves that the goodness of God is for us also. If you can’t throw away that security blanket of stuff, at least recognize it for what it is. More time with God and less time on the boats, cars, kitchens and baths will make those boats, cars, kitchens and baths more enjoyable. Using them for the work of the kingdom is even better.

way out front

Tuesday March 23rd, Isaiah 43: 16 This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, 17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: 18 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? God is way ahead of us. We tend to look on what has been and then where we are. And then from that perspective we judge others on our perception of what was. God looks ahead to what could be and then calls us into that future. Why else would some of the Old Testament “heroes” be chosen? From Abraham right on down to Jesus and on to Paul, most of them wouldn’t pass the mustard in today’s world. But God sees us in a different light, God’s light. If Paul, the persecutor of the church can go on to be its greatest preacher, what do you think God has in store for you if you give that future half a chance? So stop looking back for inspiration, rather look up to God, Pray to God, Listen to God and then act in faith. If it is wrong, God will let you know. Oh, one more thing, never do this alone, without a faith community of support, you off on the wrong foot before you start.

dive deeper

Wednesday March 24th, John 12: 1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Lazarus reclining at the feet of Jesus is a model for ministry, as is what happens next. All the children of God are called to minister to others, and then allow ourselves to be ministered to. Jesus teachings were about building relationships with God, and announcing behold the kingdom is near, God is near, sit down, kneel down and listen. Once in a while, Jesus allowed time to rejuvenate and just be with friends. This is also a good model for the church, help build relationships with God and with one another and by all means, take time just being with friends. When we get busy with the business of church we tend to miss the point of church. That is when we start to worry about who is going to sit where and who is going to do what and in the process, miss the moment. On the other hand, not having some order and organization results in chaos, so the next time you are at church, remember to just be among friends. And then when an opportunity comes to serve, do that too, it will give those who always get stuck with the job a break, a much needed break to be able to enjoy worship and friends, it will also help you dive deeper into the community by being a part not just an observer. If you are not quite sure what you are doing, that is OK, you may just invent a new way. Spend time at Jesus feet, and volunteer so others can do the same.

fragrance

Thursday March 25th, John 12: 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. One of the visions I get from this text is the whole house being filled with Mary’s adoration and worship. What a wonderful description of what worship should be. Let the whole house of God be filled with the fragrance of your worship. Let the whole life before you be filled with the fragrance of your worship. I am not talking about a little incense here, which too often results in forcing the allergy prone to flee worship and not come back, but rather let there be such love and adoration that the very atmosphere and the lives that live therein are changed. Let the very breath of God fill your lungs and tickle your senses and then share that experience, that fragrance of life with others. Then leave that place, go out, and serve with the fragrance of worship still in heart.

you have come down to the lakeshore

Friday March 26th, John 12: 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. I once tried to get permission to use two different songs in worship. “For the Love of it All” by Peter, Paul and Mary in our worship service, and “You have come down to the lakeshore,” at another church I was preaching at. After three phone calls and one faxed letter I received letter giving me permission to use the non-hymnal song “For the Love of it All” as long as I wanted in worship at no charge. After four weeks of phone calls, $30 and counting in fees for a one-time use, I never quite managed to make all the connections and permissions I needed to use the song you have come down to the lakeshore in worship at another church. You may find the same experience buying items from a church supply catalogue verses a general use catalogue. Even common everyday things cost considerably more through a church supply catalogue. Sometimes I am afraid; this church stuff gets focused way too much on big business. Judas was focused on the business side of things. What he said was true, the money could have been used more efficiently. Like most temptations, it was not a call to do something wrong, it was a call to do something good for the wrong reasons. Caring for the poor is a calling we all have even if Glenn Beck tells us we are wrong. It is the caring for the poor to the exclusion of caring for our worship, which quickly becomes caring for the poor so we can skim a little off the top, that is the problem.

more into it

Saturday March 27th, John 12: 7 "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." The two points of worship are all wrapped up in this phrase. We are called to love God and love others. Our worship informs our service and our service informs our worship. Liberation theology calls it “praxis.” Service without reflection and worship is just activism. Worship without the urge to go out and serve is just Sunday morning entertainment; you might as well just stay home and watch the game. Too often we end up with couch potato worshipers. There once was a father and his young son who after shaking hands with the preacher following worship had a conversation while walking to the car. The father said, “Well, I’m not going back there, the church was hot, the pews were hard, the preacher was boring and the choir was off key.” The young son replied, “Gee Dad, I didn’t think it was bad for a dime!” Sometimes in order to get more out of worship we just have to put more into it.

Turn yourself and your pastor in

Glenn Beck recently told his listeners to leave any church that teaches social justice, and to report its pastor to church authorities. A quick search on the net shows that those churches that teach social justice include: Lutheran, Methodists, Catholic, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Baptists and many evangelicals. My search is by no means complete and I am sure there are many others who also teach social justice as a central part of Jesus' message. If you are one of these faiths, Sojourners has created a venue for reporting yourself to Glenn Beck. I did not find "social justice" on the LDS web site (Glenn Beck's faith) but if any LDS friends out there are aware of social justice being part of their teachings, please let me know.

click here to turn yourself in

Lutheran Web Radio

We were down for a while but now Christ Our Savior Lutheran Web Radio is up and running again.

Christ Our Savior Lutheran Web Radio

Glenn Beck to Jesus: Drop Dead

Glenn Beck's desire to detach social justice from the Gospel is a subtle move to detach care for the poor from the Gospel. But a church without the poor, and a church without a desire for a just social world for all, is not the church. At least not the church of Jesus Christ.

Who was, by the way, poor.

James Martin, SJ

full article by James Martin, SJ in America Magazine

Leave the church?

Glenn Beck is urging his listeners to leave the church if they preach social justice.  I wonder what he does with most of the Bible?  Mary's song.. the beatitudes, love your neighbor, first shall be last, that which you do onto the least of these..Amos, I have come to bind up the broken hearted, proclaim liberty, sight to the blind, and the year of the Lord's favor....  etc. etc. etc.    It would make the Bible a lot lighter to carry around. 

Perhaps we should urge our listeners not to listen to Glenn Beck!!!!

full article:

Opening Litany, Psalm 32

Pastor: Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed I say is the one whose sin the LORD does not count and in whose spirit is no deceit.

Congregation: When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me and my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Pastor: Therefore let everyone who is Godly pray while you may be found; for surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not cause harm.

Congregation: You are our hiding place O Lord and you will protect us from trouble and surround our lives with songs of deliverance.


Pastor: I will instruct you and teach you in the way of the Lord, I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Live free, knowing you are a forgiven child of God.

Congregation: When we lose sight of You O Lord many are our woes. But the LORD's unfailing love surrounds all who trusts in the Lord. Therefore we will Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, we will sing and praise the Lord’s name with an upright heart!

4th Sunday in Lent

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

Rejoice
let the trumpets sound in the heavens
Rejoice
at the return of the one lost
don’t ask at the why
or where
for this one was gone
lost in the gods of this world
sucked down
and running all the way
on his own
until by the gift of God
the bottom was seen
the momentum was stopped
and the face turned
Rejoice
not at what has been
but what will be
for the one who was lost
has been snatched from the jaws of death
by the God of love
Rejoice

the relationship is once again made whole

Sunday March 14th, Psalm 32: Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. To someone who is burdened down with guilt, sometimes even without being aware of it, the gift of forgiveness is the gift of life itself. To someone who is not burdened down with guilt, the gift of forgiveness can be that which motivates you to keep moving forward in this life. To someone who is not burdened down with guilt and doesn’t feel they particularly need forgiveness, forgiveness is essential, especially for their lack of taking life seriously enough to even live it fully. I feel more are burdened down today by not being burdened down with guilt than are burdened down by being burdened down with guilt. Perhaps the rebellion to the Lord we must first confess is our lack of being burdened by guilt or even all that concerned, for our calloused way of living the unexamined life. For the ills in our lives and the ills in this world it is all too easy to blame someone else and never take the responsibility for what we have done or left undone. What we lose in the process is the joy that comes with knowing our guilt is gone, forgiveness is ours, the relationship is once again made whole.

Transitions from death to life

Monday March 15th, Joshua 5: 10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan. After 40 years in the wilderness and the “men of war that came forth out of Egypt, perished, because they did not hearken the voice of the Lord,” a new beginning was about to take place. All the men born in the wilderness were circumcised at Gilgal and after a time of healing, all celebrated the Passover, the deliverance from bondage, the meal of freedom. No longer did the Lord hand feed them the manna, but instead they were able to experience gift of a new life that lay before them. Transitions from death to life, from bondage to freedom, from what was to what will be, are times of celebration. Worship is a celebration of those transitions. Worship is the recognition and celebration of God in your life and the call to move on in the freedom to be and live as a child of God.

cause for a celebration

Tuesday March 16th, 2 Corinthians 5: 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Walking with Christ is walking in the light of possibility. A new creation means we will do our best to discover what God has in the plans in this life for us. Sometime we fall, all of us. We fall into that first of all temptation to be like god, take a big bite of knowledge and power and the desire to be like god, and walk our own way thank you very much. After a while, most of us find the same thing Adam and Eve found, shame. There is what William Bradshaw calls healthy shame that pushes us back to what we should have be doing in the first place, and there is toxic shame that simply tells us that we are a bad person (Healing the Shame that Binds You). For the toxic shame, Christ offers forgiveness and a welcome to New Life. For the healthy shame, forgiveness is already known by the person receiving it, as is the New Life in Christ which is part of everyday life. Either way, it is cause for a celebration.

be reconciled

Wednesday March 17th, 2 Corinthians 5: God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. How do people find out about all this Good News in Christ? For some it truly may be so simple as singing “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so” when they were young, but for most I suspect it is “Jesus loves me this I know for God’s People show me so.” Most of the time it is the people of God, living out their lives as the called, falling, failing, forgiven and joyful people of God that show others of God's love. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, most of us don’t spend most of our time showing others God’s love. If we are with God, in relationship with God, it just happens. It is not the canned programs, the memorized verses, the testimonies and stories, it is the real life, changed life living that tells others of God’s love. Remember, one out of a hundred read the Bible, ninety nine out of a hundred read the people who read the Bible. Sometimes it is amazing God’s love gets through, but then again, that’s the way God’s love has always gotten through.

looking for a party

Thursday March 18th, Luke 15: "There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, 'Father, I want right now what's coming to me.'12-16 "So the father divided the property between them. It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. One of the common Bible study techniques is to ask, “who are you in this story and why.” Though most of us in the church might not readily identify with the younger son, in many ways we are. There are the times when we are truly running away, spending time far from God’s kingdom, and many, including myself, have done just that at various points in our lives. I am also sure many of us can point to the times in our lives when we were or are busy taking the many glorious gifts God has given us and running out to spend time, energy and money away from God. But then there are the times when we are the older brother. Spending our time and talents on what we want instead of what God wants for us and insisting it is Gods idea. The danger of going to the far country is getting lost and not finding your way back. The danger of not going to the far country is not even knowing you are lost or need to find your way back. Either way, the old man is scanning the horizon just to get a glimpse of our face. He wants to throw a party for us and would really like us all to be there.

foot in mouth

Friday March 19^th, Luke 15: 20-21 "When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.'  22-24 "But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast!  I like the “Message” translation of this passage.  The father wasn’t listening!!  The rehearsed plea smacked more of scam than repentance, just like most of our confessions in worship.  The father was after repentance, change in life, turning around, and if the wayward one was not quite ready, perhaps a bit more grace would bring it about.  In real life I have a hard time following in the father’s footsteps. I always seem to be putting my foot in my mouth before I realize how far afield I have wandered.  But then in real life, the trip from the pig pen to the banquet table can take years and years, and sometimes there are several round tips.  It is good to keep the vision of the grace filled banquet before us.  It helps us focus less on the insincere repentance we have all brought forth from time to time in our lives, and our insincere repentance for waiting so long to accept this banquet of grace.  As for me, I am still scanning the horizon for others, and sometimes what comes over the hill looks an awful lot like me.

celebrate

Saturday March 20th, Luke 15: 28-30 "The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. The son said, 'Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!' 31-32 "His father said, 'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!'" We are the church, the body of our Lord, we are all God’s children and we have been restored. And we want everyone else to be restored just like us. The older brother in this third parable of lost and found is the church. In all three stories about the lost being found in Luke 15 end in rejoicing. We are called as the church to party hardy. There is a reason for the words, “we had to celebrate.” There is no other option for God, and we are called to have no other option for ourselves than to celebrate. Our tendency all too often is to focus on whether the other has repented enough, and it has more to do with our sinfulness than on the prodigal’s. Our sin is to want the returning, the repentant, to grovel a bit more, be repentant a bit more while God wants a party. We are far too busy putting on a good front to have a good time. Remember, we are the church, the body of our Lord, we are all God’s children and we have been both restored ourselves, and called to party hardy at the restoration of others.

Cuccinelli asks colleges to rescind policies protecting gay state employees

Good old Virginia, Attorney general now states that the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including 'sexual orientation,' 'gender identity,' 'gender expression,' or like classification as a protected class within its non-discrimination policy absent specific authorization from the General Assembly

Full article in the Washington Post: 

Iraq Opens Up to Foreign Oil Majors

Well, maybe now Bush/Cheney can declare success in Iraq, but at the cost of how many children of God having their lives destroyed.  That which you do onto the least of these my brothers and sisters, you do onto me....

BP Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. took the best deal they could get in Iraq last year when they won the largest oil contracts since addam Hussein was toppled in 2003. Oil companies may wait a long time to get a better one.

Parliamentary elections may produce a weak or unstable government incapable of tendering new oil contracts, said Samuel Ciszuk, a London-based analyst at IHS Global Insight. He said he does expect the 10 technical-services contracts won by Exxon, BP and 20 other companies to be honored.

"One thing that's fairly certain is there won't be a strong coalition, so it may take time for the next government to get its act together," Ciszuk said in a telephone interview.

"Bottlenecks could hold up production increases" if no government forms by June.

Western producers haven't had access to oil fields in southern Iraq since 1972, when the country nationalized production including concessions owned by the companies now known as BP, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon.

Full article in Business week 

Cleric issues anti-terror fatwa

A leading Islamic scholar has issued a fatwa in Britain condemning "terrorists" as the enemies of Islam, in a bid to deter young Muslims from extremism.

Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri, head of the Minhaj ul-Quran religious and educational organisation, said suicide bombers were destined for hell as he released his 600-page edict in London on Tuesday.

"They can't claim that their suicide bombings are martyrdom operations and that they become the heroes of the Muslim Umma [the wider Muslim community], no, they become heroes of hellfire, and they are leading towards hellfire," he said.

"There is no place for any martyrdom and their act is never, ever to be considered Jihad," he said.


'No place in Islam'

At a news conference, ul-Qadri said Islam was a religion of peace that promotes beauty, "betterment", goodness and "negates all form of mischief and strife".

"Terrorism is terrorism, violence is violence and it has no place in Islamic teaching and no justification can be provided for it, or any kind of excuses or ifs or buts," he said.

Full article in Al Jazeera

Blackwater RNC Fundraiser: RNC Will Hold Fundraising Meeting At Contractor's Compound

There are some things that just do not need much of an explanation, and this is one of them. Lest some take me wrong, I am not opposed to Republicans, or conservatives, or liberals, but the current Republican party has taken such a hard right over the last 30 years into the land of Tea that in its current form it is of little use despite the power over public opinion it sways through control of so much of the media and judiciary. Then comes an article like this and it is like the kid pointing out that the emperor has no clothes.

The Republican National Committee plans to hold an April fundraiser at a Moyock, N.C. compound owned by the military contracting firm formerly known as Blackwater, Politico reports.

According to an RNC fundraising document uncovered on Wednesday, RNC "Young Eagles" -- party major donors under 40 -- will meet at the facility in the spring.

Also on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) has written a letter to the Justice Department asking for an investigation of Raytheon's alleged use of the Blackwater subsidiary, Paravant, for a contract in Afghanistan.

Link to full article

Come on, we all know what fertilizer is.

the theme for this Sunday is the fertilization of the fig tree. We all know what was placed around ti to fertilize it. In life we are handed a lot of crap. Some of it we work very hard to earn, some of it simply befalls us. If we stuff it away in a closet and refuse to deal with it, it stinks. When we bring it out in the open and deal with it with prayer, God, and surrounded by the supportive body of Christ, it turns from a stinking pile of shit, to the fertilizer that helps promote growth. Some may be offended by the word, but we all know what it is when we step in it. If your life smells bad, it is most likely because you are either unaware of what you have stepped in or are thinking you are better at hiding it that everyone else in the whole world. Once you become aware of what is stinking up your life (which sometimes takes the community) then you can deal with it through prayer and help. When you do that, you grow, when you don't, you stink.

3rd Sunday in Lent (2)

Luke 13:1-9

I don’t feel good
I hurt
and in looking for a why
I find
a them evil has befallen
and I grin
with the assumed connection of
they’ll get theirs
and I feel better somehow
for now
and then I must search again
for a someone
who
in their pain
makes my hurt
less
for now
then through the foggy mist
of my prayer dreams
I hear a voice of God
calling me to repent
calling me to hurt
for the them
calling me to forgiveness
calling me to love
in the midst of my hurt
and feel for the first time
my pain truly disappearing
I think
but I don’t have time to worry about that now
someone needs me.

3rd Sunday in Lent

Luke 13:1-9

It’s so easy to look
And see the pain
In the world out there
That’s not all that sane

And say to ourselves
It must be God’s will
That evil has come
And yet still

I just don’t know why
Some suffer so much
Didn’t they follow God’s plan
Or his commandments and such

Christ tell us No
And never does say
Why the evil’s on them
Why it happens this way

Then the word comes to us
The word to repent
Don’t worry about them
See how your own life is bent

The fig tree grows
So green and so tall
But without bearing fruit
Some say it will fall

the road ahead has a lot of shit

Sunday March 7th, 1 Corinthians 10: 1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Baptism is not fire insurance; it is a calling, a relationship and a grafting into body of Christ. Baptism is not a solo event, as you are grafted unto the body of Christ; you are grafted into a connection, a relationship, with all the other parts of the Body of Christ. The generation that crossed through wilderness, including Moses, did not enter the promise land. What entered into the promise was a new creation, a new relationship. When we enter the promise land, it too is a new creation for us singularly and for us as a part of the body made new in Christ. As the baptized the children of God, we may not know where we are going, the road ahead has many twists and turns and a lot of shit, but there is one guarantee about this journey, we are never alone. God has promised to walk with us and re-graft us to that body whenever we fall, or are knocked off by that Wiley one we often refer to as life.

a little shit is just what we need to grow

Monday March 8th, 1 Corinthians 10 : 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. This was a popular fridge magnet a while back among some of my evangelical friends. The bumper sticker theology was shortened to, “God never gives you more than you can bear.” In listening to them however it often seemed as if they were talking about someone else, not themselves, a common problem of evangelicals. Reality from a personal perspective is often different. Sometimes it seems as if God’s idea of what we can bear and our idea of what we can bear are miles apart. Life pushes us sometimes. When it does, at least know that you are not alone. Luther is purported as having thrown an inkwell at the devil one day and yelling, “I have been baptized.” I don’t suggest throwing inkwells, even if you could find one. But you can claim your baptism in less messy ways. Claim it. Remember your baptism in the midst of the calamities of life and hang on. You are not alone, ever!!!! Look to the Gospel, sometimes a little shit in our lives is just what we need to grow.

God's gifts into worthless shit

Tuesday March 9th, Isaiah 55: 1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Ouch, the conservatives who always insist on putting the word earned in front of Grace are not going to like this text. But then, the reality is that most of us spend the majority of God’s gifts on the most ungodly things. Gifts include not only our money, but our time, our mental energy, our dedication. Most of our spending goes to fill the hole left in our soul by not spending our gifts on God stuff. I have chosen to not make it to church often so I will buy a snow machine, cabin, trip, car, house, etc, etc, etc,….. I must have the American dream in order to be fulfilled because I have rejected the very thing that will fill me, gathering with the body of Christ and being a part of the body of Christ. Most wars, fights, angers, spending sprees, and therapies are about trying to fill the holes in lives by people who feel powerless because they have put all their energy, money, time and God's gifts into worthless shit. Without all that spending on the wrong stuff, this world could feed and nourish everyone. Just think of a world where everyone can contribute to the positive in life. God does, and simply calls us to participate.

turn to the Lord in the midst of the shit

Wednesday March 10th, Isaiah 55: 6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. Even the most evil person, is a child of God, if not in our eyes, at least in God’s eyes. Anyone can come across as evil if they are self centered enough or sometimes, just different. Throw some power and money behind the difference and you have real trouble, and if motivated sufficiently by the Wiley one, money. God’s calling is to turn to the Lord in the midst of the shit in your life. God will not only show mercy, but show you how to show mercy. Mercy is how we learn to properly fill the holes in our lives and show mercy to others. Without God, we are just kind of vacant, which others refer to as potholes.

why do I smell shit

Thursday March 11th, Luke 13: 1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. We all seem to be concerned about how someone else might be a little bit worse than we are. We think it makes us look and feel good. Look God, over there, as we take the opportunity to do our own little dastardly deed. It doesn’t work however. We all know that, but we do it anyway. Jesus turns the focus from what others are doing wrong; to what we could be doing that is right. The shit we most often see in others is what we most often are stepping in. Why did we start that war anyway? Is it really their fault or are we just trying to hide the smell in our turf?

use the shit for fertilizer

Friday March 12th, Luke 13: 6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ What are the good fruits we should be busy producing? Is it swords into plowshares or binding up the broken hearted? Is it release for the captives or proclaiming the year of the Lord’s jubilee? Or perhaps is it showing kindness, mercy and forgiveness for all, is it practicing forgiveness? When we want to judge others, remember that our own fruit bearing deserves the ax most the time, and those difficulties, the shit in our lives may be God’s way of letting our own antics fertilize our life so it can grow. Perhaps learning justice and mercy is a better way to go.

bury the shit and bear fruit

Saturday March 13th, Luke 13:8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ “God’s response to all this chop ‘em down mentality, is to get some fertilizer, and not the artificial stuff either, real honest to goodness organic shit the way God intended. God’s response to our lack of fruitfulness is to offer nurture for our souls, often from the very crap we try to give others. Instead of throwing around a bunch of BS, perhaps we should put it to good use and bury it, let our own human made difficulties in life offer the substance needed to grow through God’s grace. Then maybe things could grow and bear fruit. When life hands you a bunch of shit, don’t hang onto it, bury it, use it, and let what God has given you bear fruit.

Psalm 63 litany

Pastor: O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water and jobs are scarce.

Congregation: We have seen you when we gather in the sanctuary and there we beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, our lips will forever glorify you.

Pastor: I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

Congregation: When we gather as a people we find our souls, the spirit of God within us, will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; our spirits rise with singing lips and mouths that praise you.

Pastor: In the still of the night I remember you; my thoughts are of you through the watches of the night.

Congregation: Because you are our help, we will sing in the comfort and protection of your mighty wings. Our spirits are drawn to your Glory and Grace and your right hand upholds us and makes our spirits soar.