A little Late Night Jesus

A little Late Night Jesus on the Narrative Lectionary "Thy Will Be Done"

10w for June 2nd, Trusting Forgiener P2.

The following is a 10 minute worship for June 2nd, Trusting Forgiener P2. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Healer" by Dakota Road from the CD "Break These Chains" which can be purchased HERE

Poem for 2nd Sunday in Pentecost Luke 7:1-17

The small child places the feather in the stream

watching it float down the rough seas

and the log jams of leaves

imagining the perils at each turn

and the maneuvering of the crew

as they bring the ship around

with each new dip and swirl

in the foot wide seas

and she knows

she knows what can and can’t be done

what is and what is not real

but does not limiter herself to these

she knows instead the power of believing

beyond the realms of the reality

of this world

into a world ruled by love

the love of God, which says

be healed

be whole

Opening litany based on Psalm 96

Psalm 96:1-13

 

Pastor: Sing to the LORD a new song; let all the people of the earth sing a new song unto the Lord. 

Congregation: We will sing praises to the Lord and proclaim the salvation of the Lord all our days.  We will proclaim the glory of the Lord to all the nations and the Lord’s marvelous deeds to all peoples. 

Pastor: For the Lord is great and worthy of praise above all gods.

Congregation: Our idols in this world are only that, just idols, but the Lord God created the heavens and the earth.  Splendor, Majesty and Glory surround the presence of the Lord. 

Pastor: Let all the peoples in all the nations of the earth ascribe to the Lord the glory and honor due the name of the Lord of all creation. 

Congregation: We will worship the Lord with praise and say to all people, “The Lord Reigns” For the justice of the Lord will be established over all the earth. 

Pastor: Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad, let the sea resound and all that is in it.  Let the fields be jubilant and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

Congregation: Let all creation rejoice before the Lord who comes to judge the earth and all people with righteousness and loving kindness.  

including

Sunday June 2^nd, 1 Kings 17: 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks.  Wherever we go in life, God is already there ahead of us.  Wherever we are called in ministry, God is already there ahead of us setting the stage. As the children of God, we are not so much sent out to bring the word of God as we are called out to witness the word of God at work. Sometimes we religious types get all hyped up about what we have done in the name of God.  We sometimes get all jazzed about how many came forward for an altar call or how many do or don’t attend a worship service, but in the end, it is not about us.   It is at those times we forget that God has already been there, done that, and is calling us as witnesses and ministers out there.  The next time something wonderful happens in ministry, know that you are just the witness of what God has already done.  Your job is to provide the logistical support in the aftermath and thank the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, Mary and Martha and all the hosts of saints from the beginning of time for including you in this gift of the God life.   

where we live

Monday June 3^rd, 1 Kings 17: 13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.  We have as a nation learned not to trust, and for seemingly good reasons.  When I grew up, my parents and I were going somewhere one day and for some reason that has since slipped from my memory, we decided to lock the house.  Try as we might, no one could remember where the key was, or if we even had one.  The car keys were never hard to find, they were in the ignition.  Even after my parents retired off the farm and moved to town, the house was never locked.  That kind of trust is born out of knowing relationships.  It is the stuff of small rural communities. It was those same relationships that caused the Lutheran church service in that small town to start late one Sunday.  My father was not in church when it was time to start, and being a small town, everyone knew he was in town and therefore would be in church.  When it was time for worship to start, most of the people were outside wondering if they should go look for my father before church started.  He was not the minister, just an old retired farmer who was always in church.  There was a sigh of relief and a shuffling back into church when he came walking down the hill.  He had been up at the Catholic Church for the pancake breakfast and got talking to one of the other retired farmers in town and forgot the time.  Somehow, I think God is calling us to try to build those kinds of trusting, and intimately relational communities where we live and within our churches.  

gracious circle

Tuesday June 4^th, 1 Kings 17: 22 The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!"  24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth."  At that time and place, a woman who had lost her husband and then lost her son, was without family and without hope.  Elijah lived with her, graciously received help from her and in return brought her hope. Help and Hope always seem to go hand in hand.  Elijah brought her the word of God which was hope.  Now in this story Elijah returns to her, her son.  The act brings her not only her son, but hope.  Bringing hope to the hopeless is a much needed ministry in our day and age.  Graciously receiving what others give and graciously giving to others is part of the process, doing it in the name of and in the calling by God is what completes this gracious circle.  What would it take to bring that kind of hope to someone in need in your community?

pre-conversion

Wednesday June 5^th, Galatians 1:  13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.  Today, the pre-conversion Paul would have been known as a member of the religious right.  He had right on his side, he had the power of politics on his side, he had knowledge of scripture on his side, and he knew how to use it for his own and his political affiliation’s self-interest.  He was ready at a moment’s notice and without further thought to the risk of life and limb (especially if it was someone else’s life and limb) to protect the word of God.  The only trouble is that back then, and through the ages down to today, the main thing the word of God needs protecting from, are those who wish to protect the word of God from others.  Today we call them the Piety Police or the Religious Right.  We too live at a time when it is not so much a conflict between Christians, Muslims and Jews, but rather between fundamentalists Christians, Muslims and Jews and people of faith who wish only to live their lives in decency and respect for the many ways God comes to us.  

start living

Thursday June 6^th, Galatians 1: 15 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles,  Sooner or later in life we all come face to face with grace.  It is always there, but there are those times when it will just not hide in the background and we are forced to face grace straight on.  Sometimes we get to experience it in our lives and in turn learn to live graceful lives.  At other times even though grace stares us full in the face, we find ways of explaining it away and ignoring it.  Sooner or later when we get to the pearly gates and realize all those people we looked down on are there too, gracefully welcoming us in, we realize that it is grace that lets us all in.  What we missed in life was the joy that comes from graceful living.  The calling is to start living gracefully now and enjoy the process for eternity.

build a world

Friday June 7^th, Luke 7: 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."  Fear not, in spite of living in a society that has the means to care for the widow and orphan but not the heart for it, fear not.  Fear not to care for the widow and orphan in spite of living in a society that has not the heart to bring an end to endless war but rather feeds off the money that flows in the process of constantly preparing for it.  Fear not, in spite of living in a society that has the means, but not the heart to bring an end to poverty.  Fear not, in spite of living in a society that has the means but not the heart to provide medical care for all.  Fear not, in spite of living in a society that has not the heart to find out why so many are living in our jails instead of being content with simply building more jails.  Fear not, in spite of living in a world that seeks the fast buck over the faithful walk.  Fear not, the Lord is with you and has ordained to act on his behalf to help build a world where the least, the lost and the lonely fear not.  

with us

Saturday June 8^th, Luke 7: 14 Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.  16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people."  Jesus didn’t stop abortion or gay marriage, he didn’t privatize education or help build bigger fences at our borders, he didn’t try to stack supreme courts or school boards, he didn’t fight communism or try to shove democracy down someone’s throat at the point of a gun, he simple had compassion and helped someone in need.  They saw him as a prophet, we know him as Emmanuel, God with us.  

MEMORIAL DAY PRAYER by William Sloane Coffin, Jr.

Gracious God, whose own Son's term of service to humanity was so full that its brevity was no distress, we call to mind on this Memorial Sunday those who will not grow old as we are left to grow old, those whose lives were too brief for us but long enough, perhaps, for thee. Forgive us that they died so young because we were too unimaginative, too imperious, too indifferent, or just too late to think of better ways than warfare to conduct the business of the world. Gratefully, we remember the generosity that prompted them to share the last of their rations, the last pair of dry socks, to share in the course of one hour in the foxhole more than most of us care to share with one another in a lifetime. And we recall the courage that made more than one of them fall on the grenade there was no time to throw back.

Grant, O God, that they may not have died in vain. May we draw new vigor from past tragedy. Buttress our instincts for peace, sorely beleaguered. Save us from justifications invented to make us look noble, grand and righteous and from blanket solutions to messy, detailed problems. Give us the vision to see that those nations that gave the most to their generals and least to their poor were, throughout all history, the first to fall. Most of all, give us the vision to see that the world is now too dangerous for anything but truth, too small for anything but love. Through Jesus Christ our Savior, who became what we are to make us what he is. Amen.

When are we going to let them know?

From David Hayward (www.nakedpastor.com)

http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/nakedpastor/files/2013/05/god-as-a-woman-550x550.jpg

10w for May 31st, the visit of Mary to Elizabeth.

The following is a 10 minute worship for May 31st, the visit of Mary to Elizabeth. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Magnificat" by Todd Agnew from the CD "Do You See What I See" which can be purchased HERE

10w for May26th, The Holy Trinity

The following is a 10 minute worship for May26th, The Holy Trinity. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Holy, Holy, Holy" by The Rarely Herd from the CD "Bluegrass Gospel" which can be purchased HERE

a little Holy Trinity conversation with Sharon

Poem based on The Holy Trinity John 16:12-15

The Spirit comes silently into our hearts

bringing love

bringing life

and pointing to the one who brought us life

Jesus the Christ

The Living God

In our desires to be the center

and our desires to turn inward

wrapping ourselves up in ever smaller packages

fearing that if we are not the center

there will be no center

in our emptiness

longing to find that to which we can cling

The Spirit comes

and points to the Christ

the one who walked with us

the one who lived with us

the one who was us

and died like us

only to live and bring life

This is the one to whom the Spirit points

simply

quietly

that we may know God’s love for us

and burst forth in new life

new creation

Opening litany based on Psalm 8

Praise - Psalm 8 Starts with " How Majestic is YourName":

Pastor: You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have brought forth praise which silences the foe and the avenger and calls us to live as one.

Congregation: When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what are we that you are mindful of us, who are we that you care for us? 

Pastor: You made humanity a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned us with glory and honor. You call us to lovingly care for the works of your hands and lay all that we have at Your feet O Lord.

Congregation: You call us to care for all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and all that swims the paths of the seas. We will therefore lovingly care for this world you have created for us.
 
The Psalm continues with singing "How Majestic is Your Name" one more time.

Live Life

Sunday May 26^th Proverbs 8: Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice? ² On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; ³ beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out: ⁴ “To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live. Not hidden on the side of the road, not hidden in the far reaches of the mind, Wisdom, God, stands at the cross roads and in the major intersections of life and confronts us with the power of God. Wisdom confronts us to live life, the gift given to us by God.  Live life, in the fullness of what God has called us to do and to be.  Live your life in a way that ennobles the whole vast drama of life for all humanity and all life. Live your life in a way that brings life to all you come in contact with in this world, whether directly or in spirit.  Live Life out in the open as God has called you to Live Life, in capital letters.  Live Life.   

created to love

Monday May 27^th, Proverbs 8:  ²² The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago. ²³ Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. We were created in the image of God, with the breath of life within us. In the image of God in our ability to show love.  In the image of God in our ability to show caring.  In the image of God in our ability to create and co-create with the God who created us.  In the image of God in our ability to be the presence of the Living Lord in this world.  But that is not all, we are also given free will which means we can hate, be cruel, self-centered, and violent.  But we were not created for those things, but only to love.  Your turn to choose. 

in Christ

Tuesday May 28^th, Romans 5:1  Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  Justified, made right, put in a right relationship, recreated, born again, all this and more through the work of faith.  It is not our faith however that brings this about, but the faith of Christ, the actor, not you and I, the acted upon.  Through Christ we are a New Creation.  Through Christ, God looks upon us once again and cries, “Yes, it is good.”  In Christ, we see the goodness of God shining through.  In Christ, we know all the mysteries of Heaven we can know.  In Christ, we are given the ability to know we are in Christ.  In Christ we have our being.  

half-baked idea

Wednesday May 29^th, Romans 5: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.  Life does not always go smoothly.  There are dips and bumps on the road of life for us all.  When you meet someone who possesses that something we call “character,” it is not because the road has gone smooth for them; it is because they have learned to handle the bumps by holding fast to the loving hand of God.  They live their life knowing that there are bumps in this journey for everyone.  Character comes not from smooth sailing, but knowing the presence of God in the beauty of a calm sunset, and knowing that God is always near in the violence of the storm.  Lack of character and a façade of callousness is what comes from thinking you can go it in this world all alone, without the loving hand of God. A Christian is not any better than anyone else, they just have some half-baked idea who to thank, and they do so often.  

what is going on!?!

Thursday May 30^th, Romans 5: In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! A life well lived is one where you can say, “Look how God has been with me through the bumps, dips and ditches, I can’t wait to see what is next.”  If you have ever tried to read the Bible you probably know of those boring parts of scripture with the long list of names, most of which you cannot pronounce.  These sections are the writers way of saying, “look how God has been with all generations through all the bumps, dips and ditches they have been through, just imagine what God has in store for you, yahoo.”  When you get to these sections in the Bible, you have permission to skip over all those names and say, “look how God has been faithful for all these generations, surely God will be faithful to me also.”  Then close your eyes, hold out your arms in praise, and soak in the love of God and the presence of God poured out upon you.  A good “Hallelujah, Praise the Lord” would be in order about now.  Say it loud so the neighbors wonder what is going on.

stiff wind

Friday May 31^st,  John 16:  "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when (s)he, the Spirit of truth, comes, (s)he will guide you into all truth.  I always thought the Greek word for the Holy Spirit was a feminine noun.  When the Spirit comes to us, she will guide us in all truth, not knowledge, not wealth, not power, but in truth.  And in that truth we are sent into the world to serve one another. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is not for narcissistic astaticism, but rather, as was shown in the book of Acts, a good stiff wind at our backs as we go out into all the world to be the love of Christ active in this world.  That wind blowing us out into the world with the message of God’s love and grace is the Spirit and her name is Holy.  

live it!

Saturday June 1^st, John 16: He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.  As you are drawn into a relationship with someone, you are drawn into the intimate knowledge of their likes and dislikes, feelings and hopes, their dreams and fears as well as all their hidden gifts.  The Spirit brings us into an intimate relationship with the God of Creation, shown to us in the work of Jesus the Christ.  It is in that relationship that life has meaning.  It is the New Creation, Yes!!!  It is Good!!!  It is you!!!! Now go live it!!! And know you are never alone.  

Animated video for Pentecost

The following is a 10 minute worship for May19th, the Day of Pentecost, NL. You can listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "The Church Song" by the Jay Beech Band from the CD "One Body Alive" which can be purchased HERE
 

The following is a 10 minute worship for May19th, the Day of Pentecost. You can  listen on the flash player below. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "the Spirit Intercedes for us" by Dakota Road from the CD "All Are Welcome" which can be purchased HERE

Poem for Pentecost John 14:8-27

We have seen the Lord

not high in the Heavens above

but right here in our midst

living among us

living within us

            and within those who do not know

            they are loved

We have seen the Lord

in the eyes of a child

the eyes of a foe

and we are not afraid

for we live in the presence of the Lord

surrounded by the Spirit

filled with the peace of Christ

and called to reach out

to let others know of this love

(Peace)

calling toward the peace of Christ

that is within them

God created and said it was good

as the children of God

We see

good

God

in all that

and in all who

surrounds us

living as the children of God

Knowing

we are never alone

(Peace )

Opening Litany based on Psalm 104:24-34

Worship Leader: Lord, In your wisdom you have made all thing in this world.  The earth, the heavens, the skies and the seas are full of your riches.

Congregation: As I look out over the vastness of the seas alone, I am in awe at their magnificence and magnitude. They are filled with life, known and unknown are a place where creatures large and small play.  

Worship Leader: All of life is dependent upon You O Lord and you supply for their needs at the right time.

Congregation: When you give O Lord, there is more than enough for all to live and eat well, with abundance left over. 

Worship Leader: In your absence is anxiety and fear.  In your absence is scarcity and want, with abundance for some and starvation for others. 

Congregation: But when you spirit moves in this world, life is created.  Life for ourselves, and life for the whole world.  For you make all things new.

Worship Leader: May the glory of the Lord be forever and may the Lord look upon this creation and smile.

Congregation:  I will sing to the Lord all my life; singing praises to my God as long as I live and ask only that my thoughts be pleasing to the Lord, and bring me joy.  

Oh, Look... A bird

Sunday May 19^th, Genesis 11: 1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.  3 They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." Give a kid a new toy and they play with it and play with their friends using this new toy.  Give most adults a new toy and they try to take over the world.  This story is a repeat of the garden story of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Humanity once again tries to take over the god spot.  No longer content with using the building materials God had given them to provide shelter and help for one another, they are now making their own bricks and using tar to stick them together to build an edifice to themselves.  Making something new from the tools God has given you is not a bad thing, it has given us many wonderful gifts and tools and wonders and part of the creating process God has gifted us with.  It is why our young men and women are driven to go to school, learn, graduate and hopefully make the world a better place, but we all know that all too often our love for our toys has outstripped our ethics on how to use them.  Here is where the church as a collection of the children of God is called to step in and bring humanity into the conversation.  This is where we are called to bring the message that the gifts from God, sometimes known as our toys should help us work for the good of the whole kingdom of God, not against it.  The 24/7 news cycle draws us into the latest tragedy and informs us to be afraid, be very afraid.  The defense industry, both personal and corporate, compels us to spend more to arm ourselves and retreat back into our personal lives in front of the TV news. It is sad really, men and women of good will, and the children of God in the pews have largely been silenced by the call for personal greed over public need.  Keep your eye on the king….. Oh look at that shinny new thing… dom.

reverse Babel

Monday May 20^th, Genesis 11:  5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."  8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.  Sitting around the campfire, the child asks, “why do some people talk so we can’t understand them?”  The question prompts this story.  On the one hand it is just a story, on the other hand, like most stories in the Bible, it is a glimpse into the heart of humanity.  Humanity wasn’t ready to get together and try to solve the world’s problems.  Humanity then, as now, was just a bit too immature.  Humanity was as a child, too focused inward upon itself.  The melt downs and bubbling ups and the Boston bombings of terror or the Texan explosions of greed show that things have changed little.  Pentecost is a move to change that. Rather than looking inward for our personal gain, Pentecost sends us out into the world to be the hands and feet of God in the world.  It reverses Babel.  Now if only our maturity would catch up.  

I believe in God and all that but

Tuesday May 21^st, Acts 2: When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building.  Try as we might, there is no way to control or predict the work of the spirit.  It is as the wind.  As the wind it has no real beginning, it has no real end, it is just their and stirs things up for the good. This is the beginning of the great reversal of Babel, and once again, humanity is not in control, God is.  Where is the spirit blowing in your community, nation, workplace or life this day?  What limits do we foolishly try to place on the wind in our lives?  Who do we foolishly try to cast as being outside the community of faith?  Who do we foolishly try to cast as being inside the community of faith?  How do we try to harness the wind as our personal lord and savior and as a badge to judge others?  All too often the church has not only participated in, but promoted attempts at harnessing the wind instead of celebrating it.  As a culture we are still reeling from that dime store novel theology of the left behind series with its vision of who is out and who is in.  When people in conversation say, “I believe in God and all that but………”  The “but” of their objections to faith are usually not objections to faith at all, they are objections to the way the church has acted in this world.  All too often what the church as done has been to attempt to harness the wind.  The “I believe in God and all that” part of the conversation is the work of the spirit.  

build those bridges

Wednesday May 22^nd, Acts 2: This is what the prophet Joel announced would happen: "In the Last Days," God says, "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters; Your young men will see visions, your old men dream dreams.  In the last days the Spirit would not be confined to the usual but will explode in the unusual.  It is usually the old who have visions and the young who have dreams and the spirit brings the great reversal.  It is usually the ones in the church who have the vision of what the family of God should be and the young outside the walls who dream of what the church could be.  God will move wherever and through whomever God wishes.  It has always been that way and any attempts by humanity to wrest that control from God have failed starting with that tree in the garden up to today.  Most of human history has been efforts to subtly control and stifle the Spirit for personal gain.  It never worked, but we felt in charge trying to make it work.  God however spends all of human history getting us to build bridges outward instead of towers upward.  The Spirit urges us to build those bridges to where we often feel the spirit is not, only to find when we do get there that the spirit has been waiting a long time and has set a few fires of her own while waiting for us to show up.  The first step is to look beyond ourselves and see God alive and active in the world out there. The second step is to fan the flames not douse them with dogma.   

All we need to know

Thursday May 23^rd, John 14: 8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.  We can speculate all we want about the nature of God.  All we need to know of God is what we have seen in Jesus’ message, Jesus’ teachings, Jesus’ grace and God’s act of salvation for all creation through that grace.  As humanity matures, we see more and more the wonder more and more at the grace of God in the actions of Jesus.  In spite of the attempts to control the message over the centuries, it is a comfort for many and a call to all.  

narcissistic gamblers

Friday May 24^th, John 14: 12"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.  I have often heard this message to justify the view of God as the magic vending machine in the sky.  We ask, that is we ask properly and while attending the right church and believing the right doctrine and voting the right way, and bingo, we get what we want from Jesus.  Put in your prayers, pull the lever and Jesus does your bidding.  If you don’t get the answer you want it is because you do not believe properly, belong to the right church, give enough money, vote the right way etc. and the list goes on. This theology is a shell game however and the only thing that works is the illusion that you are in control and the grace of a loving God who doesn't zap you for playing those stupid games once again.  It is not as if the scripture isn't full of examples of this type of narcissistic gamblers fallacy.  The point of prayer is not so much asking for what we want, but asking from the deep need within for a healthy relationship with God.  What we find when we seek that God relationship is that what we ask for is God’s plan all along.  

half-baked

Saturday May 25^th, John 14: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.  The difference between these two statements is that those who love Jesus will keep his word and those who do not love Jesus will not keep his words.  We often take the leap and assume that the second group, those who do not love Jesus, are not loved by God and that God does not dwell in them.  But the scripture does not say that. That is our hang-up for which we need forgiveness. The difference is not whether “they” are loved or whether God dwells within them, the difference is whether “they” are aware of God’s love dwelling in them or not.  Those who do not love God may be missing out in the joy and comfort of knowing God is with them, but they are not missing out on God being with them.  That is just the rest of us trying to be judgmental.  A Christian is no better than anyone else, they just have some half-baked idea who to thank.  

Mothers in Arms

Criticism of the corruption of Mothers Day has become as much a cliché as the holiday itself. Most people believe that Mother's Day started out as a private celebration of women's family roles and relations. We took Mom breakfast in bed to thank her for all the meals she made us. We picked her a bouquet of flowers to symbolize her personal, unpaid services. We tried to fix in our memory those precious moments of her knitting sweaters or sitting at our bedside, all the while focusing on her devotion to her family and ignoring her broader social ties, interests and political concerns.

Today, many complain, the personal element in this celebration has been lost. Mother's Day is just another occasion to make money. It is the busiest day of the year for restaurants, and the week that precedes it is the single-best for florists. The real meaning of Mother's Day is gone.

Such lamentation about the holiday's degradation reflect a misunderstanding of its history. It was the education of Mother's Day to sentimentalism and private family relations that made it so vulnerable to commercial exploitation.

The 19th century forerunners of our modern holiday were called mothers' days, not Mother's Day. The plural is significant: They celebrated the extension of women's moral concerns beyond the home. They commemorated mothers' civic roles and services to the nation, not their private roles and personal services to the family. The women who organized the first mothers' days believed motherhood was a political force that should be mobilized on behalf of the entire community, not merely an expression of a fundamental instinct that led them to lavish all their time and attention on their children.

full article at: http://www.stephaniecoontz.com/articles/article5.htm

10w for May 18th, the Vigil of Pentecost

The following is a 10 minute worship for May 18th, the Vigil of Pentecost. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Love Can Break Through" by Dakota Road from the CD "Love Can Break Through" which can be purchased HERE

Poem for May 18th, John 7:37-39 The Vigil of Pentecost

we are guided by the light

the light of Christ

the light of love

the love of God

be still and know

be still and hear

be still and let the spirit work in you

in me

be still and let the Love of God

more than dwell

            but live

be still

and know of the love that created the word

and suffered to give

            life

be still and know of the love of God

            in the silence of the night

            the noise of the children

            the beauty of the sunset

            the hand of the neighbor

be still and know

the love of God will find a way to break in

and the God of Creation will love

10w for May14th, St. Matthias, Apostle.

The following is a 10 minute worship for May14th, St. Matthias, Apostle. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "Because You are Chosen" by John Michael Talbot from the CD "The Heart of the Shepherd" which can be purchased HERE

Poem for May 14th, St. Matthias, Apostle Luke 6:12-16

Chosen

among the many

twelve who would be there in a special way

twelve

who would help to lead the world

from nowhere

from powerlessness

help to lead the world

with it’s great armies

and nations

and people

who live separate lives

lives

in pain

lives

in need

of the one who chose twelve

just twelve

with no particular greatness

except

being chosen by Christ

who brought salvation

by choosing

you and me!

10w for May 12th, One in Christ, E7NL

The following is a 10 minute worship for May 12th, One in Christ, E7NL. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "Please Join our Email List." The Song for the day is "In Christ there is no East or West" by Leo Kottke from the CD "Instrumentals, the best of the Capitol Years" which can be purchased HERE

10w for May 12th, My love in them, E7.

The following is a 10 minute worship for May 12th, My love in them, E7. You can either listen on the flash player below or download it to your favorite music program to sync with your mp3 player by clicking on "DOWNLOAD" or play it on your smartphone's music player by clicking PLAY. You now also have the option of receiving these notices each week and on festival days by signing up for the 10W constant contact email list on the right side of the 10W blog where it says "One Love" by Bob Marley and the Wailers from the CD "Marley" which can be purchased HERE

Poem for 7th Sunday of Easter John 17:20-26

Call us dear Lord

that we may all be one

One in love

One in your name

One in prayer

Pray for us Lord

that we may all be you children

Unique, but one

Whole and part of the whole

Individual persons

each loved

and gathered around your table

One family

Divided through our own efforts

but united in you

Fill us with the love of God

that we

in spite of ourselves

may love

That we

in spite of ourselves

may gather

That we

in spite of ourselves

may pray

That we

in spite of ourselves

and because of your love

may pray

---- gather

--------worship

------------ together

as one

in You

Amen