You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ There Ought To Be A Title ...but Jesus said, Don't Tell Anyone! ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ A Relentless and Indefatigably Kind Canaanite Sage Changes Everything ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Four Things You Can't See In English ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Repast on the Grass ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
Dear
Jesus-following people of God,
When I was a
pastor serving in suburban Philadelphia, in the summer, a lot of folks left
town—either going down to the beach or up to the mountains. In the summer, traffic eased, life slowed
down, and in and around Philadelphia, it was sweltering hot. It was cool in the mountains and breezy by
the sea, which is why for more than 250 years, Philadelphians made a summer
escape! …I wonder if that was when
summer vacations started?
During the summer,
in the lectionary, Jesus is traveling, too.
He travels back and forth across the Sea of Galilee, he encounters
storms, he stops for picnics, he seeks out quiet places to pray, he visits
friends, and all along the way he helps and heals people.
It’s in the
summertime that we witness some of Jesus’ most famous ministry moments. Feeding thousands by the sea, walking on
water, praying, fighting demons, healing the sick, the lame, and the
blind. In the summertime …Jesus is busy—showing
us the Kingdom of God!
Jesus doesn’t
imitate the Kingdom of God—he demonstrates the Kingdom of God. And he asks believers to follow him—not
playing the Kingdom of God—but demonstrating it. Feeding people at picnics, not being afraid
of the water, speaking good news to the people we meet, caring for those who
are hurt or wounded, offering words of grace, welcome, and encouragement.
Vacation is a time
of re-creation; I suppose, much the same way that Jesus’ summer in the
lectionary is about transformation—where people become more than those who simply
watch and see what Jesus is doing, but are converted to the work of the Kingdom
of God. …Which begs the question—what
are you doing on your summer vacation?
In just a few
short weeks, school will have begun, we’ll be reminded about regular calendar
commitments and be back to normal routines.
But perhaps this re-entry to regular life will come with the reminders
of what we’ve witnessed—of the natural world, seeing friends and family,
keeping safe from storms, relaxing on the water, enjoying picnics and backyard
barbecues …and Jesus—sharing, loving, directing, and converting us.
Hopefully, you’ve seen or had an experience of Jesus making a difference in someone’s life—maybe your own! Hopefully, you have stories to share with friends and neighbors, about how God is transforming your experience of the world. Hopefully, you’ll be adding your voice to chorus of those who are speaking about God’s love through Jesus.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading, the sermon entitled,
“ Five of Seven ...and a Bonus! ”
and the Affirmation of Faith and the Prayers of the People, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Wheat and Weeds ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Jesus ...and The Butterfly Effect ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Jesus Among the Burdened ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Would the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Everything the Lord Has Spoken We Will Do ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ The Knowledge of God Rather Than Burnt Offerings ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the third scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ How Many Licks Does It Take to Get to the Tootsie Roll Center of a Tootsie Pop? ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Pentecost Is Not Just a Day ...Pentecost Is a Way of Life! ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
Dear Love People,
John’s
gospel reminds us about Jesus’ purpose:
“ Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. ” John 13:1
Jesus’ love
…is his legacy.
We know
that the Easter story is the story of God’s love—the extent to which God loves
us—in that God raises Jesus, and we believe God raises us. …That’s at least part of it! The other part is Jesus’ love, and his loving
us through to the end.
When we
love …we emulate Jesus. Jesus, both
loved us and was God’s love. When we
love, we become what Jesus was and we are also God’s love.
Easter …is
about resurrecting Love.
The Apostle
Paul, writing in response to reports of bickering and infighting among
believers in Corinth said that if one doesn’t have love, one is a noisy gong
and a clanging cymbal, that if one doesn’t have love, one has nothing. …Easter has to do with Love.
I think Love
is sometimes one of the things or ideas that gets lost as we often focus mostly
on “believing in Jesus. We want so badly
to be delivered to salvation and heaven we try and make it transactional. “Yes Lord, I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). If “believing” can punch our ticket, then, “we
believe!” So, while we busy ourselves in
believing, the things that Jesus did in loving people, gets moved to the back
burner. Easter …is about resurrecting
Love.
Jesus,
knowing the Love of God …changes the world by loving it!
Jesus
doesn’t change the world; the Love of God …changes the world. Jesus allowed God’s Love to flow through
him. When we Love …it happens, too. This isn’t about semantics; its
actionable. When we choose Love it
activates and transforms—us …and others.
As Paul
testifies, “Love never ends.” We don’t
get “finished,” it’s not “completed,” Love and life never end. It’s not a thought in our head, or a trust,
or a knowing …it’s a doing thing—Love.
Love is doing something.
In our
world of “might makes right,” Love is out of place, out of step, out of
practice. Love …lifts up. Love …doesn’t insist on its own way, isn’t
arrogant or rude …Love is patient and kind.
I believe
our world can use this …Love. Jesus-people
can provide it. I believe others can,
too; but for Jesus-people, it’s clear, isn’t it? It’s supposed to be written in our DNA.
Love
People: Easter should be an empty tomb filled with Love …in each of us! …And our job is giving it away! Unlike possessions or wealth, we will never
run out of it! Love never ends and Love
won’t fail. With the love of God already
in us …neither do we.
Love is Jesus’
legacy. It must also be ours.
Dear People Loved by God,
The world’s a hot mess right now. That’s probably putting it mildly. There’s no question it’s HOT—climate data
shows decisively that 2015-2025 was the hottest time on record in the history
of the planet! And, do you know anyone
who would disagree with the assessment that the world’s a mess?
This isn’t the first time people have thought
that the world was “messy.”
In fact, we know from reading our bibles that
this whole dust-up in Jerusalem with Jesus came about because even “back then” religious
people looked at the world and saw it was a mess.
We know that wasn’t even the first time religious
people had disagreements about the state of the world and worldly power; we
know too many times since then, people have disagreed over politics or religion,
or both—resulting in mess, after mess, after mess—including violence and
destruction of life and property.
Yet we know that God is undeterred! We know that God saw the world in chaos and
darkness—a mess—and declared, “let there be light.” We know that our future began in those first moments
of God discerning and assessing, and we know that God still holds the future,
and our future, and because of Jesus …Love wins.
My colleague Jan Edmiston, the recently retired
General Presbyter for the Presbytery of Charlotte, wrote recently about experiencing
a pastor leading a traumatized congregation in prayer: “O God, love us through
this,” the pastor prayed. …Jan believes deeply
that God has loved us …when we feel it, and especially when we don’t!
“O
God, love us through this.”
There’s a lot about our world that’s deeply
disturbing. Human beings aren’t perfect. Despite our best efforts, we lose our cool,
shout unkind words, say mean things, react defensively, our frustration often gives
way to anger and resentment, our patience caves in and impulse rules our hearts. If not, sometimes we just make mistakes. And in a world where we truly rely on one
another for just about everything we need, this is bound create messiness.
Praying for God to love us through …well, we
might be better off if we started there!
God …who loves us enough to send us Jesus. And Jesus, who loves us enough, to …well …be
the exemplar of that love in Jerusalem. Jesus
lets the world administer its messiness; and God, once more, solves chaos and
darkness with resurrection glory—calling the world back from chaos, again.
“O God, love us through this”—whether its
something that you’ve said or done, or heard others say or do, or if you’re
just exasperated by the ways the world is or has become—is a prayer that
reminds us that Easter’s coming and has already happened.
And …Love wins.
You are the Beloved of
God. When you feel it; and even when you
don’t.
Dear People of Light,
Just a short time ago, we were talking about how
Jesus makes US the “light of the world,” when he declares that we are “salt of
the earth and light of the world.” And
in a “flash” …it’s become Lent.
In fact, by the time you’re reading this, we’re sunk,
nearly two Sundays deep into Lent!
You know the darkness does not overcome the light
…but in Lent, the darkness appears to be winning—with Jesus walking toward
Jerusalem and soon to be crucified, to die, and be buried. In fact, when this happens, doesn’t the
darkness win?
Ask Pilate, who I think leaves Jerusalem that
year thinking that he’s solved this Jesus-problem by putting him to death, even
though Pilate was never convinced Jesus was the problem!
Lent isn’t a story about the darkness
winning. I know you know this.
But like the darkness not overcoming the light, as
we hear our story, as we read our story, it sure seems as if the world gets one
over on Jesus.
Lent is not a story about how bad we are and how
much we need to repent for. Lent is our
reminder that despite what seems to be happening, God isn’t losing! Despite the fact that Jesus is arrested,
tried before the religious leaders, tried before the civil authorities, and put
to death …God is busy writing another ending.
The story God is writing is that God’s great love
for us isn’t thwarted.
God loves us all the way through who we are and
whatever we have done, or what’s been done to us or through us. God loves us all the way! So that when the crowds cry death, when
Pilate can’t find any way around it, when the hammers fall, and the nails
pierce, when breaths fade, and his body slumps, when his side is breached, when
he is dead, and the stone is rolled—God is busy writing another ending.
Love wins.
The light is the forever reminder.
Even when the darkness thinks
it has the upper hand—even when we think the darkness has the upper hand! It’s God’s hand, with a pen in hand, writing
about love.
You are the beloved of God. …NOT the bad of God.
Dear People Fishers (…at least, that’s what Jesus
promises to make us, as his followers),
Jesus is the light of the world, but the world is
still dark.
The darkness does not overcome the light, but at
times, even for days …I wonder.
And now in these glad epiphany days of light and
revelation after the birth of Jesus, we will soon turn toward the season of
Lent. We are just celebrating the birth
of Christ …and now our attention and focus turn toward his death. …It doesn’t seem fair.
Lent is a time—it seems—in which we may think we are
preparing to observe the darkness winning.
Jesus, in his final days of living as a human being on earth, is
arrested, beaten, mocked, and murdered; Jesus dies. Lent is the season in which Christians
prepare to observe these realities once again, to remind ourselves of the
story, to be witnesses to God’s activity once again, to be able to tell the
story that love wins. But unlike
Christmas, Easter, or Pentecost, it’s not a celebration.
Lent is also a season for following Jesus.
“When Jesus heard that John had been arrested ...he left Nazareth and ...began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:12-17)
Grace, I suppose.
Jesus reminds us that repentance is the right reaction to the kingdom of
heaven; and Lent is a season of penitence.
Following Jesus means turning toward God, turning our back to the ways
of the world, and proclaiming what we know to be true—Jesus Christ is the light
of the world and is walking on the road to the kingdom of heaven. We know, following Jesus, leads us to God’s
promised kingdom.
Even when the world seems dark. …Especially when the world seems dark.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday; this year, on
February 18th. Lent lasts 40
days, ending on Easter. We spend that
time reading, praying, watching, and following.
And we witness that the darkness does not overcome the light.
Love wins.
The light is a reminder. Even when the darkness thinks
it has the upper hand—even when we think the darkness has the upper hand!
We are the light of the world, too.
We are the light of the world,
Dear Fellow Travelers,
Growing up, I went through a phase where I wanted
to be a travel agent when I grew up. In
the lectionary cycle Jesus is often traveling during the summer and fall. And while it’s not Lent, we’re coming again
to the part of the gospel stories where Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to
meet with death, just as in the very next weeks our stories will dramatically
shift gears and return to the annual pilgrimage toward Bethlehem, where the
announcement of Jesus’ birth will initiate the cycle toward the cross and
Easter. Sometimes, I feel like there
should be a brief moment when all the stories and timelines come together and
touch …except they don’t, really.
As you open this month’s newsletter, I’m living
life like a travel agent, it seems! I’m
in the middle of a series of travels that will carry me far and near, as a part
of my work both as your pastor and as a part of the larger church. As you’re reading this, I’ll just have been
to El Paso, Texas and the Synod of the Sun’s fall assembly. (Synods are made up of presbyteries in a
region; ours covers 11 presbyteries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and
Texas). A part of my experience will be
witnessing what’s happening at the border of the United States and Mexico these
days.
In the second week of November I’m traveling to
Louisville, Kentucky where the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
is, to meet with mid-council leaders from across the whole church (leaders and
stated clerks for our 16 Synods and 166 presbyteries). We’ll be learning about and discussing recent
structural changes within our denomination’s agencies and meeting new
denominational staff in new staff roles.
In the third week of November I’m gathering with other
clergy, preachers, and worship leaders in our Presbytery of the Pines for a retreat
at Lake DeGray. It will be a chance to
spend time with colleagues and new leaders and hopefully rebuild in-person
relationships that were severed during COVID and from a number of pastoral
changes.
But, this is also a time of year that sees many
of us traveling or receiving travelers who come to spend holiday times with
us. It matches with the upcoming
Christmas narrative that finds Mary traveling to visit a cousin, and Mary and
Joseph returning to family roots in Bethlehem, and Mary and Joseph and a baby
Jesus seeking safe-keeping in Egypt, and God—traveling across time and space to
meet us in an infant who grows up to change the world and through his life and
ministry, changes us, and through us, transforms the world.
I am a travel agent, of sorts! In the bible’s journeys or our journeys,
either in travels on the road or opening our doors to travelers, we’re allowed to
see the world as it is, but also, imagine how it should be, instead. There’s room to grow and be changed and for
us to become the transformation we’re seeking.
As Ferris Buehler reminded us, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a
while, you could miss it." Looking
up, and noticing others, can be a wonderful opportunity to become reacquainted
with Jesus.
May the coming days of celebration renew your
hope, and give you every opportunity to see the beloved of God. We travel, because Jesus
travels. And, Jesus is coming. Again.
We will see him. Again. Be ready.
Take notice. Share the news!
Dear Jesus-Followers,
If you ever thought that “following Jesus” was
going to be about peaceful co-existence, about living comfortably, about not
being anxious about tomorrow, or about being first rather than last …Jesus is
about to spend the next stretch of Sundays challenging ALL of our assumptions,
hopes, and dreams! Get ready! The sun’s not going to be the only scorching
thing to smite us! But living as we do
these days next to Hell’s backyard (not only as a reflection of the summer
weather, but the world around us that is wracked by the evidence and
consequence of human sinfulness), being smote by Jesus’ words isn’t the worst idea
of how to pass some of the hottest days on earth.
Jesus will describe a baptism with which to be
baptized, as a fire already kindled.
Jesus references scorching heat from a south wind. Jesus will sentence us to the lowest place
and instruct us to invite the poor to dinner.
Jesus will tell us to “sell our possessions” but be “dressed for
action. Jesus will ask us not to be
afraid, but that our house may be broken into.
Jesus will tell us that our lives will be asked of us, and that our
possessions cannot remain with us. So, if
we are to have any claim on the Kingdom of God …our lives and our possessions,
our homes and dinner tables—should bear little resemblance to how they do,
today!
Wow! Jesus
comes to us with seemingly little tolerance for the ways in which we are
usually accustomed to spending our summer vacation! Boating, fishing, swimming, camping by the
lake under the stars, traveling to see far away places, re-creating—we call
it!
If you’re familiar with the television series,
Yellowstone, you may have heard Mr. Dutton—the fictionalized owner of the largest
ranch in Montana—brag about how no one questions his ardor for the ranching
lifestyle from the summer days spent watching the cattle while living away in
the wilderness, bathing in mountain streams and playing in the meadows, with no
other people to bother you! A view, even
he would say too few people share the privilege of, because people like him,
keep it to themselves! So, Jesus seeks
to remind us that living in the Kingdom of God isn’t about preserving it for
ourselves, but just the opposite—making it accessible to everyone! It's why Jesus teaches us that life isn’t about
the abundance of possessions, that possessions are sold and alms are given, that
God gives us the kingdom (even if we’re not ready for it), and we’re always
invited to dinner (whether we can pay for it, or not).
I think Jesus turns up the heat hoping we realize
some urgency in moving toward the Kingdom of God …not for our sake, but for the
sake of the whole world! This comes as
no surprise to us who have come to know at least some of what Jesus is about. When you’ve sat in our pews as long as some
of us have, well, the pew is a little bit worn and “comfortable”—like an old
ball glove, well-worn shoes, or a favorite pair of jeans. The “comfortable” isn’t what’s bad; but the
urgency of tending to others, sometimes fades, too.
WE are the instruments of God’s Kingdom. When we make noise, the Kingdom comes
alive! So may God strike up the band and
use us as a clarion call of faithful following in which God’s Kingdom—in all
it’s glory—is revealed.
Keep your cool.
Wear your sunscreen. Live your
life so it tells God’s story …like what Jesus
says.
