ROME IMPROVEMENT 12/13/2020

MORE POWER! MORE GLORY!! MORE SPIRIT!!!

SURVEYING THE SITE—John 1:6-8, 19-28

This week we visit with John the Baptist again, this week reading from the Gospel of John. Last week in the Gospel of Mark, we saw the people coming from the whole Judean countryside and Jerusalem. Now we see a delegation sent to see what the big deal is. They listen to John’s witness, and then they try to get his bona fides. In more modern terms, the priests and the Levites demand, “Just who do you think you are, Buster?”

What John clearly responds is, “I am not the Messiah.”

The priests and the Levites push, “So then are you Elijah?”

John replies, “I am not.”

The interrogators push again, “Are you the prophet?”

John says “No!”

“Then who are you?”

John replies with the words of Isaiah, “I am The Voice crying in the wilderness. ‘Prepare the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.’”

Like a dog that is not finished worrying a bone, the people sent to ascertain who John is push further, “If you are not the Messiah, Elijah, or the prophet, then why are you baptizing?” 

John responds, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one whom you do not know. This is the one who is coming after me. I am not worthy to remove his sandal.”

We are told that the baptisms took place in Bethany on the far side of the Jordan River.

READING THE BLUEPRINT

Apparently, John is too popular. His popularity has gotten so great that people from the temple are concerned about whether John might actually be the Messiah. Is John the one who has been sent to save Judah from the Roman occupation? It is necessary to send out a temple delegation to discover whether or not he is the Messiah.

These questions in the Gospel of John will be echoed in the Gospel of Mark when we will hear Jesus ask his disciples, “Who do the people say that I am?” and “Who do you say that I am?”

This confusion surrounding John needs to be set straight, so John speaks with certainty that he is not the Messiah, Elijah, or Moses. John is The Voice proclaiming that Jesus is not only near, but, unbeknownst to us, he is among us. When John claims his part in the gospel story, he says at the outset he is not even worthy to be the one who offers the act of hospitality, that is, remove Jesus’ sandal in order to wash his feet. Later in John’s Gospel we will see Jesus being host to his disciples when he washes their feet, but here we hear that John cannot be the host for Jesus.

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

In the world of faith, it is important to be able to know who we are and whose we are. Knowing they are distinct, who and whose we are, makes a great difference in how we live our lives and how we relate to the people around us.

We need to remember that we can point to Christ, but we cannot be Christ. That job has already been fulfilled, and Jesus did it once for all. Like John, we are able to point to the one who is Christ, and we can be the confident voice proclaiming what Christ has done and is doing in our midst today.

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

Baptized into the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that relationship which frees us to interact with and care for our neighbor, also frees us to point, not to ourselves, but to Christ, who models faithful living for us. This faithful living empowers us to reach out to the hurting and ignored, in the authority of Christ, to lift them up, to raise them, to open the door to resurrection life. This fundamental understanding of who we are within our salvation story continues to bring humility and perspective to the work we do

HANGING TRIM

During my catechism days, I learned something about my identity and the identity of others that has stayed with me through the years—"I am a unique person, born and living, created in the image of God.” When times get desperate, I fall back on these words to remind me of my place in the world. I am not God, but I am created in God’s image. If that is true for me, then it is also true for all I meet. It is not the recognition of who they are as-much-as the whose they are that makes the difference.

When we understand that our lives and identity come from and belong to God, we are freed to relate to one another without deference. We can then freely point to and speak of the one whose work saves us, the one whose coming is certain and whose day draws near.

ROME IMPROVEMENT 12/06/2020

MORE POWER! MORE GLORY!! MORE SPIRIT!!!

SURVEYING THE SITE—Mark 1:1-8

As frightening and hopeful as last week’s text was, this week’s text gives us Mark’s great Easter proclamation: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

READING THE BLUEPRINT

This opening statement of Mark clearly announces who Jesus is, but it is only a statement that can be made with certainty after the resurrection. It is this resurrected Jesus who is going to make the difference. In his resurrection, Jesus exerts the power and authority of the truly human and truly divine. It is this resurrected Jesus who has the power to cleanse the unclean, to forgive sins, to save and make whole.

Mark also declares that the authority of Jesus opposes Roman authority. The title, “son of god”, was used by Tiberius and other emperors. Once they earlier emperors were declared to be the gods of the Roman empire, their sons became the sons of god. When Mark uses this title for Jesus, he puts the ways of Christianity above and ahead of Roman authority. With the declaration of the centurion, “Truly, this was God’s son” (15:39 NRSV), and with the witness of the empty tomb, we are able to affirm the initial statement of Mark’s Gospel.

In this same opening statement, Mark’s words echo Genesis: “the beginning of”. As Genesis engages us in the creation of the world, concluding with God creating humanity in God’s image, Mark engages us in the creation of the new world—in resurrection living. This resurrection living is going to be known as the kingdom of God. Here the barriers between heaven and earth are torn apart and Jesus models what gracious living is all about.

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE 

No house is complete without a John, and so we are introduced to the baptizer who “appears in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance.” As all of the Israelites went into the wilderness through the Red Sea in Exodus, so now, the people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem go into the wilderness with John to pass through the Jordan River to the promised land. As Moses was only able to take the people so far, so now, John claims that he is limited. The one who comes after, the one whose sandals he is unworthy to stoop down and untie, is coming to baptize, not with water, but the Holy Spirit, the gift which is from the resurrected Christ, as stated in the other Gospels.

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

The words “creation”, “good news”, “Son of God”, and “Holy Spirit” establish a framework for understanding the person and message to follow. And although the disciples and those whom Jesus encounters on the way will not recognize Jesus as the resurrected Christ, the demons and unclean spirits will. Indeed, the declarations from the extra-normal beings will continue to be our witnesses throughout the struggles ahead.

HANGING THE TRIM

As the day of resurrection is always both behind us and ahead of us, Isaiah’s words speak to us with urgency in this Advent season, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’ These are good words for us, my John companions, as we journey to our next little Easter.

ROME IMPROVEMENT 11/29/2020

MORE POWER! MORE GLORY!! MORE SPIRIT!!!

SURVEYING THE SITE—Mark 13:24-37

What a frightening image: the sun will be like a shadow, the moon will not shine, and the stars will fall from the heavens; the powers of the heavens will be shaken; and then the Son of Man will come in his power and glory. Then He will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth and heaven.

And yet, this is what we wait and pray for every year, and so I say,

“More power! More glory! Let the good news roll!”

READING THE BLUEPRINT

There are many who will wonder why the first reading of Mark comes from the end of the book. But I maintain that the true beginning of Mark is the telling of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Passion Sunday in the 11^th chapter. So, this text rightly belongs to the beginning of the story, not the end. This apocalyptic vision points to the ministry of Jesus yet to come rather than some distant end of time. Where do we find that way of ministry we are to follow? Look to Chapter One. But why?

Mark is writing in a literary form called epic. This means that the work begins in the middle of the story, the middle of the work tells the conclusion of the story, and the end of the work tells the beginning of the story. The “Iliad” by Homer (the poet, not Simpson) is a famous example of this blueprint. It begins with the gathering of the troops and who is fighting on which side. Next, is a battle. When the battle is won, the history of why the battle is being fought gets revealed.

You may have noticed that Mark begins in the middle of Jesus’ life story. There is no birth narrative. There is no childhood for Jesus. Mark’s Gospel begins in “the beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ”. Following the epic pattern, the end of the post-resurrection narrative of Mark is at 10:56, where Bartimaeus receives the vision of Jesus’ ministry and follows him on the way. 

ROUGHING IN THE HOUSE

Some important things have happened in the Gospel, and because of these events, there are those who will follow Jesus proclaiming the Good News of the world, but what is the beginning of the story?

The story of the Passion, that is, Jesus entry into Jerusalem, his trial and crucifixion, and the empty tomb of Easter morning, is so central to the Christian story that it underlies all that we do. This glorious event that is surrounded by God’s power and love, is that event from which we go and to which we return on a weekly basis, for every Sunday is a little Easter.

But we cannot live only celebrating what God has done for us. We have a world to live in from Monday through Saturday. What does the resurrection look like there? 

PUTTING UP THE WALLS

Mark begins his Gospel narrative by telling us of the struggles of walking in faith, Monday through Saturday. It is an important story that speaks of resurrection living in ways that we can learn from and understand and then begin to catch the vision of what it means to follow Jesus. It is like the fig tree putting tender shoots out on its branches. We need to know the signs of the time because the kingdom has drawn near; it is at the gate. Someone, please, answer the doorbell.

We are challenged to look beyond the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection moment in fear and learn what it means to follow Christ. We need to be Bartimaeus, living in the vision of where Christ is leading rather than the disciples who are afraid.

And so, we come to these words outlining the authority of Jesus’ words for us. His words and actions are powerful enough to dim the sun, to eclipse the moon. It is enough to send the stars falling from heaven. It is a story of power and glory, and it involves sending his messengers into the world to gather them in ways that raise them up from the pointless lives of dying desperation into new life ways with a new vision.

This way, this vision, challenges the very power of Rome establishing a new and improved understanding of our relationship with God and our neighbor. This is the liberating word of this text. The Son of Man is coming. Indeed, he has already come, and we await his coming again.

Where will we see this new coming? In the circle of time Mark has prepared for us in the new creation world.

HANGING THE TRIM

In this Advent season where wreaths and candles predominate our time of waiting for Christ’s return and the telling of Emmanuel, God with us, Mark gives us another wreath or eternal circle of everlasting life. Mark gives us this Gospel in epic proportions. It comes with an urgent immediacy for living our lives today, and it comes with the power of apocalyptic transformation.

To Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of The Americans with Disabilities Act

To Commemorate the 30th Anniversary 

of 

The Americans with Disabilities Act

July 26, 2020  

Gathering Litany

Lord, as we gather in your word today, we join with your first followers—with paralytics, epileptics, the mentally ill—and commend to your care those who are sick and have various diseases.

You give the blind your vision to see.

You give the mute your voice to speak.

You speak in ways the deaf can hear.

You recognize the poor, the meek.

We, your disciples, repeatedly neglect children with disabilities even as their parents bring them for you to touch and bless. Help us remember You are always inviting them, recognizing their value, saying “Let the children come to me.”

You give the blind your vision to see.

You give the mute your voice to speak.

You speak in ways the deaf can hear.

You recognize the poor, the meek.

When we chain the developmentally disabled and mentally ill amid the caves and tombs, You sit with them, listen to them,  touch them, give wholeness, give a way to walk in your ways, and send them back into the world, to their home, to tell everyone what they have heard and seen.

You give the blind your vision to see.

You give the mute your voice to speak.

You speak in ways the deaf can hear.

You recognize the poor, the meek.

When people wonder whether You are the promised one, You tell them to report what is begun: The unclean are cleansed. The lame are given ways to walk. The blind receive your vision, and the poor hear good news proclaimed. Indeed, the dead are raised!

You give the blind your vision to see.

You give the mute your voice to speak.

You speak in ways the deaf can hear.

You recognize the poor, the meek.

We recognize that all policies of discrimination hide the needs of the disabled from us and contribute to them being ignored which creates a stigma of social death. We admit our care for people with disabilities is incomplete. The only jobs offered them are often demeaning and meaningless. We pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage and gain tax incentives from their labor, or we leave them underemployed and impoverished, without adequate healthcare protection, other essential services, and the ability to lead independent lives.

You give the blind your vision to see.

You give the mute your voice to speak.

You speak in ways the deaf can hear.

You recognize the poor, the meek.

Disabilities are often shame-filled epithets, uncaring and abusive: He is blind to others’ needs. She is deaf to the cries of the people. Their reasoning is lame. His actions are dumb. Their plans are short-sighted. She’s just such a spaz, and more. Forgive us, Lord, for these and other unthinking utterances of dishonoring shame. Help us to lift these conditions of life from the trash heap of dishonor. Then help us to see others as your children, not their disability.

You give the blind your vision to see.

You give the mute your voice to speak.

You speak in ways the deaf can hear.

You recognize the poor, the meek.

Today, on this thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we remember that we are not whole without all your children with us. In You, we individually are members one of another and that the gifts of all are needed if the Body of Christ is to be whole. We commit ourselves to learn more about the issues surrounding disabilities; to work for equity in employment and all aspects of life;  to learn the many gifts that people with disabilities have and long to share, that we might know the wholeness of Your beloved community with all the saints, to be your body for the sake of the world.

As we gather in these days

And walk in your new ways,

It is your name we praise

Reaching out, the dead to raise. Amen

Manoah's Child: A Meditation on Judges 13-16

Part I—Arrogance of Vision

SAMSON’S EYES

I know what I want, and I want what I see:
A consumer world of Timnah for me;
Towers of Babel, confusion and scree;
A life of great pleasure; a life that is free
Of Philistine extortion; and great dignity.
I’ll bet sixty garments on the strength of a bee;
Shake the bones of the lion to justify me;
And then, with my honey, I’ll live and let be.
When the voting was done, and the riddle deciphered
Through guile and deceit, mounting bass prejudice
(A foundational disregard) and conscienceless malice,
The rights of the people were compromised, pilfered—
Truth became meaningless, alternative, filtered.
Yet, God’s Word strengthens all, when with ears they have heard.

Part II—Consequence and Exile Among the Philistines

HELL

Of course, we want you to share in our liberty,

But you are not quite like us—you sully our purity,
Raising questions in us of social security.
Yet, needing your service and abject class poverty,
Let us make space for you, call it space-parity—
A separate, chain-linked, palace vulgarity
Reminding all of our magnanimous, cruel charity
And our place in the world marked with great clarity.
Then, from prison tombs, sentenced-dead reply,
“Whatever became of the scales of blind justice,
Verdicts without rancor or prejudice?
We beg you, in the balance of Samson’s blind eyes,
Life’s about living, not learning to die,
And resurrection hope that crosses Death’s lie.”

Part III—Self-Worth and Dependence

THE DAMNED

Like bladeless knife without a handle,

Dust of the street and broken thonged sandal,
Journey in darkness without match or candle,
Absent comforting knee on which we would dandle,
We, on the margin of unruly quires
Listing the dead thrown onto pyres,
The dregs and dross casually cast into fires,
The broken, chipped vessels tossed in the mire,
We know our unworthiness, yet cry out with daring,
“Give us an edge to sever chains of injustice
And a handle to wield it in work of Your service.
Then, in Your strength, with Samson’s eyes staring,
We’ll break the pillars of shameful uncaring,
Walking in faith, our resurrection cross bearing.”

Part IV—Self-Awareness and Individuation

LET’S TURN THIS WORLD UPSIDE-DOWN
Now defeated, disgraced, with eyes put out—
Shamed, de-spirited, windless, walking ‘round about—
Reduced to grinding granules of terrifying doubt—
“What then will our circumstances be for all,
When, in wrestling with both foes and God, we fall
And eat the mealy meal of torture, ridiculing jeering shout,
To become the entertainment of the world, an abject stumbling clown,
Laughed at, scorned—in valley, hill, and town—
Ragged-walking, back bent, and head bowed down?”
Humbled in God, with sightless-seeing tears flow down,
Pray begin to know and hear the pain-filled sound
Of those who suffer loss of name, of Rachael’s children never found.
Then, stand firm in faith, between temple pillars strain for holy ground—
False Dagon’s power break. Let God’s reconciling love abound.

by Peter T. Heide, 2018

SEE YOU ON THE FLIPSIDE

THE SON TIMES
The Gateway Gospel of Destiny

SEE YOU ON THE FLIPSIDE

by Marc Yul Angelou

Dateline: Galilee Sea, June 23, 2018, 4:35:41--For those who still live in the world of vinyl (you know who you are), Jesse Benjo, after speaking ON THE A SIDE to thousands on the borders of the sea, commanded his disciples to cross over to the other side. This, of course, meant that their world was turned upside down. It also meant that they encountered adverse winds and some turbulent waves when crossing over.

One of Benjo’s disciples, Andrew Barjona, said, “It was all quite weird you know. Jesse who always speaks with the most polite and cultured British accent suddenly sounded like a brawling Australian and then he just took a lie down.”

It appears that Benjo, who has been dabbling in the world of alternative realities, exhausted after leading his people into a new consciousness, simply fell asleep leaving his followers to deal with the vicissitudes of the siren calls of change.

John Thunder said, “We physically shook him until he woke. Our boat was sinking, and it seemed like he just didn’t care.”

James Thunder, brother of John, said, “We knocked him up because a big windy had risen up and the water was washing through from the other side (that would be side A). It was like a total track bleed-through and all of our lay-downs were going to be lost. When he came to, Jesse got up and said, ‘Easy mate’, and then he shouted to the whole production crew, ‘Shut up!’. After that everything went quiet, and we were able to pass through quite nicely. I mean, Jesse shouted, things got quiet, and then we had all crossed over. It was a fright, I can tell you, but it was awesome.”

Benjo’s followers were quite amazed at his calm throughout the whole ordeal. “But then,” Barjona reflected, “He was asleep on the only life-vest in the boat.”

I come before you John 12:20-33

I come before you to stand behind you, to tell a story I know nothing about. Last night, in the middle of the day, two dead boys came out to play. Back to back, they faced each other, drew their swords and shot each other. A deaf policeman heard the noise. He came and shot those two dead boys. If you don’t believe me, go ask the blind man down the street. He saw it all.

I learned this story when I was in seventh or eighth grade. I think that its contradictions are perfect for understanding the text that we have just heard.

Today, our text follows a number of really important events in the Gospel of John. We don’t get to hear those other events, but they are important for understanding what is going on. In chapter 11, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and people are worshipping Jesus because of it. Some are even worshipping Lazarus because he has broken through the bonds of death.

In this chapter, Jesus has previously eaten supper with Martha and Mary along with Lazarus. Here we find that the people are so excited about Lazarus being raised up from the dead that many people are believing in Jesus. Jesus’ popularity has created so many believers that the priests and the elders have now decided to not only kill Jesus, but they have added Lazarus to the list of undesirables as well. Then, before any of that can happen, Jesus enters into Jerusalem in order to celebrate the Passover, and people spread palm branches on the road before him celebrating Jesus’ entry as a conquering king.

After all of this has taken place, some Greeks come wanting to see Jesus. But wait a minute, Palm Sunday isn’t until next Sunday! You see? I come before you to tell you a story that happens after the events of next Sunday, and yet these events have all already taken place for your sake and for the sake of the world. Are you confused yet?

As we come to the end of Lent, we are challenged to question: Who is this Jesus we follow? Do we follow because of the miracles he performs? Is it because he has changed the water into wine? The teaching of Nicodemus? Because he traded banter with the woman at the well, cured the cripple at the baths, fed the 5,000, healed the blind man, forgave the woman caught in adultery, or raised Lazarus from the dead?

Or, do we believe in Jesus himself? Is Jesus, by himself, enough to believe, or do we need something more concrete? As we come to the Passover festival, do we, like the Greeks of this text, need to physically see Jesus? What will that personal introduction mean for us?

So, Philip goes to Andrew to ask, “What to do? What to do?” Andrew apparently doesn’t have the right answer and only volunteers to accompany Philip when approaching Jesus with the request. And then, Jesus doesn’t say, “Show them in.”

Instead Jesus starts talking about seeds, dying and rising, and something about glorification, driving out the ruler of this world, and being raised up. Our time seems out of joint. And yet, it is this very sense of time being out of joint that prepares us for this final week of preparation before Holy Week when we will again witness the events that lead to the cross and death of Jesus, to those events that turn our world upside down.

As we come to see Jesus entering into Jerusalem, eating his last supper with his disciples before his death, as we witness the trial and crucifixion, and then enter into that time of rest at the end of the world, in that moment of not knowing the power of God’s ability to conquer death and the joy of the new creation resurrection start of the world, in that time, we will see all that the Greeks wanted to see. We will see in Jesus, the power to put death to death. We will see the ruler, that is Satan, be driven out of the world, and we will see all people, that is, the nations of the world, being gathered, drawn, to this one, this Jesus, our Messiah, the Christ God’s word revealed to us, enfleshed, who lived and lives among us.

We are not yet able to shout those words of joyful resurrection, but in Jesus’ words today, we are prepared for saying, “Hosanna, Lord, save us!” and rest in the assurance of God’s promise of salvation wholeness that comes to us through Christ himself.

Okay, I might have fibbed a little at the beginning. I have come to tell you a story I really do know something about. There is one who was dead who comes out to play. That one who comes out to play has got our back. While his words may, like a sword, cut us to the quick, the core of our lives, they also have the power to heal, to give the wholeness that brings hearing to the deaf and vision to the blind.

In the midst of all of the contradictions we hear in our world today, there is one thing that is constant and true: Christ has come into the world so that that the world might be saved, not just the people of the world but the world itself and all who dwell there. Christ has died. Christ is risen! Christ will come again. In the relationship we have with the risen one is the truth that gathers us to himself and sets us free to be in relationship with one another.

BENJO DISAPPOINTS FANS AS FAME RISES

THE SON TIMES
The Gateway Gospel of Destiny

BENJO DISAPPOINTS FANS AS FAME RISES

by Jack D. Sypal

Dateline: Jerusalem, March 18, 2018, 12:20:33--Pundits now believe that Jesse Benjo has greater name recognition than the emperor and more popularity than Herod. Benjo’s popularity will affect the great Passover festival celebrations this week as thousands gather in Jerusalem. Several fraternity activity chairs and their sorority sweethearts came to Philip, one of Jesse’s disciples, asking for backstage passes. It is not known at this time whether passes will be given now or in the future to Greeks or any groups.

It certainly appears, however, that there is no subject Jesse Benjo is unwilling to address. Changing water into wine was his first venture into the speaking circuit. Since then he has tackled how to feed those unexpected supper guests, curing illnesses, how to worship, and the value of lighting in dark places.

Today, although not a farmer himself, Benjo spoke publicly about what it means to be a farmer. He extolled the value of self-sacrificial calendar-keeping. Citing the importance of knowing when it is time to plant wheat and getting it in the ground so that there can be a bountiful harvest, Benjo stated that the hour had come for the work to be completed so that the glory of those fields of future fortune could be harvested.

And Benjo spoke of the importance of harvesting at the right time for maximum productivity. “If you think that you are the most important person during harvest time, you are mistaken. For the greatest harvest, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE WHEAT. You can’t be overly concerned about your sleep. When the wheat is ready, it’s ready; and you need to get on it right away.”

Benjo also extoled his confidence in these times. With the rising market and the projected futures, he claimed, “The abundance of the harvest will bring people from around the world to receive the benefits of our work today. It is, as they say, time to make hay while the sun shines. That time is now, and we’re burning daylight. If rain and storms come soaking the wheat or blowing it down, your harvest is lost. So, we must put the shoulder to the wheel, strike while the iron is hot, labor under the beautiful spacious skies amid the golden waves of grain. We need to put up for a rainy day not be put down by it.”

While Benjo was speaking, a thunder clap brought his speech to an abrupt end. He did take time for a very short Q&A, but then Benjo quickly got off the stage. Many huddled in groups discussing the speech. Others kept looking at the sky before hurrying home to their farms.

NICKEY'S NOTES -- Holy Host

My dear friends,

We sometimes have difficulty dealing with change, so I thought that I should warn you about the newest worship ware. If you notice a change in your communion wafer, don’t be alarmed.

Worship attendance is down in traditional churches across the country. Some businesses associated with worship have experienced critical short-falls this past year. One of these companies is Holy Host, maker of fine communion wafers and table wines for sacramental use.

When interviewed, C. H. Allis, president and CEO of Holy Host said, “With the increased popularity of non-denominational churches and their lack of emphasis of the Eucharist, sales of sacramental wafers and wines has been soggy in the last three quarters, but we expect sales will rise soon as we introduce our new products. Research and Development has been market-testing a new niche market. We think that we have a product that is ready to meet the needs of the 21^st century church.”

Holy Host intends to introduce wafers made in liturgical colors and flavored to get away from the old tasteless wafers to which we have become accustomed. These new wafers will be available April 1^st.

Advent blue are blueberry-flavored. Alternatively, for those denominations still adhering to purple and pink, the concord grape wafers have a fine fruity taste; the pink wafers are peppermint (a sacramental Chablis is recommended for this Sunday).

Christmas and Easter white maintain the tradition of the ages for those who are adverse to change.

Ash Wednesday black has a bold licorice flavor. Lenten purple reprises the concord grape.

Pentecost red, is a fine full-flavored pomegranate.

For Sundays in ordinary time, primarily the Sundays after Pentecost, two greens will be offered. Lime is perfect for the early part of the season which includes those hot days in June, July and August. A salty green olive is recommended for the latter part of the season as harvest and fall colors approach. This one would help communicants remember that they are to be salt of the earth.

These wafers offer great flexibility for use—chips for church casino nights; embossed with bingo numbers in sets of seventy-five to prevent game tampering; special red editions for Lutherans embossed with numbers and a thesis on each wafer in packs of ninety-five; and special pricing for wafers blessed by the Pope.

With a little salt, the lime wafers could make a tasty picnic snack with an alternate beverage. The olive green ones could be threaded on a pick to be added to another beverage as well.

There has even been some thought given to embossing congregational identification numbers on one side with the name of the church on the other. As you travel and visit other churches, you could collect or trade holy moments with friends you meet along the way. Collector booklets could also be published.

C. H. Allis noted, “Some of these items are still in development, but I think that they really have possibilities for the future of Holy Host. Our goal is to give greater meaning to the ritual practices of church people and make a statement of faith. Let there be no doubt, “In God we trust; we believe in spreading that trust throughout the world; and we believe in Holy Host.”

Dealing from the bottom,

Your Joker,
Casino Nick de Mouse

Because the Stone Is Rolled Away CORRECTED

Because the Stone Is Rolled Away 

corrected 3/18

Peter Heide

In wilderness contention, from Jabbok water baptisms, 
Wrest us to your restoration highway, to resurrection gardens of possibility—
For we walk, limp, grope, and crawl
In your likeness, in your imago dei, in your gifts of touch and action.
With loving grace, help us reveal your saving works and goodness,
The joy of justification healing,
And your active incarnate presence
As we claim your living body and find our distinctive wholeness in the midst of this broken world.
So, as Braille is known by the touch of the blind,
Let our lives be known to you, O Lord.
As action speaks meaning to the lives of the deaf,
Let our actions bear witness to your Word, O Christ.
As wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and crutches support us in our lives,
Let our lives support others in your Spirit.

Sermon for Easter Sunday—Running on Empty

The Resurrection of Our Lord

He is risen! He is risen, indeed, Alleluia!

I am always struck by the sense of duty that draws these women to the tomb on the first day of the week. Not having been able to anoint properly the body of Jesus before the Sabbath, the two Marys and Salome come to care for Jesus’ body while the temperature is still cool, before more decomposition can occur. They come out of duty, knowing what needs to be done, yet wondering how they will do it.

This is women’s work after all, but usually the stone of the tomb is not rolled and sealed until after the body has been cared for. Today they come wondering how they will manage rolling that large stone away. Will there be somebody who will do the heavy work of rolling the stone for them?

They do not question if they should be the ones doing the job; they are only considering how it will be done. To their amazement, the stone is already rolled away. What does this mean?

They run into the tomb, discovering a young man sitting where the body of Christ is supposed to be, but where is Jesus?

The young man begins to tell them the good news and the bad. “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.”

In the world of GPS, this might be the time that one might check one’s co-ordinates. What do you mean that he is not here? We followed the instructions dictated by our locator. We turned on the prescribed road; we went to the cemetery; we turned on the right path; this is the place. He was dead! We have the spices for washing and anointing the body! Where could he go?

These women must have had that awful feeling we have when walking out into the parking lot at the mall, knowing exactly where the car was parked, only to discover that you walked out the wrong door and your car is nowhere to be found. “I know I parked it right there. Where did it go?”

The young man continues, “Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”

I don’t know about you, but I am not surprised to discover that the women run, that terror and amazement seizes them. Nor am I surprised that they might even want to keep it quiet. I mean, seriously, when the laws of nature change, when you drop something and discover that it floats instead of falls, when up is down, when women and not men are chosen to be the witnesses of God’s activity to the world, when tombs for the dead become wombs of new life, would you just calmly walk out and tweet your friends?

Or, might you try to find another answer? Maybe I walked out the wrong door? My car might be on the other side; in a different place. Maybe I should call the police? Did someone steal my car?

Of all the accounts of the resurrection, this is my favorite. It addresses the limits of the human condition. When confronting something that is seemingly impossible, our first response is to deny it!

Later, when all of the facts are in, when we have time to embrace the reality of the new, then we can talk about the forces of change in our lives, then we can cope with our altered realities.

One of the vehicles I owned had a broken gas gauge. When I first discovered the problem, I panicked. Would I make it to the station in time? But when I got to the gas station, it only took five gallons of gas.

I tried to put more gasoline into the tank, but it only ran down the side of the car. I got back into the car and turned on the ignition, but the gauge still read empty. So, of course, I took it to the service station to be repaired only to discover that I couldn’t afford the repairs.

A friend said, “Well, if you’re running around town, stop and put a couple gallons in. You know your approximate mileage, so just keep track of the odometer and don’t let the tank get too low.” For years I drove with a gauge that always said empty.

Every once in a while, someone else would drive the car. They’d tell me that the tank was empty; I’d have to explain. When someone borrowed the car, I’d tell them not to bring the car back with an empty tank and laugh as they looked at the gauge.

The irony is that it is the only car that I never ran out of gas with. Because I was always running on empty, I made sure that I stopped to fill more regularly.

Today, we are confronted with some seemingly conflicted information. Like my old car, we come to the tomb to discover that it is empty, but it is that emptiness that fills our lives.

With the women, we come seeking Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified only to discover that he is not here! He is going ahead of us, into the world of ministry, into Galilee, to those places where we have seen him before—into the world of the lepers, the lame and the maimed, the blind and the deaf, the widowed and the orphaned, and the poor—to the dead of the world, to raise them up into new ways of living, into an altared place. There you will find him.

In knowing the proclamation of emptiness and the reality of that new way of living, we come again and again to be reminded of the emptiness of the tomb that fills our lives. We do not turn away from the amazement and the fear of what that emptiness means. Rather, we join with the women, the two Marys and Salome, with the disciples and Peter, with the angels and archangels, with the church on Earth, with the great cloud of witnesses; and we proclaim the great resurrection message of our new life in Christ. We tell the world that we are recognizing our altered and altared being in Christ, right here and now, when we say, “Τhe beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” We are running on empty, and we are filled.

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

SignPost Easter Day—Topel’s

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

Years ago, when we really had American car makers, more than Ford and GM, when new models all came out at the same time, great secrecy was kept concerning what the new cars might look like. Dealership showrooms had a few of the older models, but with sale price signs on them. We were putting the past behind and looking to the future.

One by one, cars showed up covered with white tarps until the showroom and adjacent lot were filled with shrouded vehicles. Signboards displayed the date of the great unveiling. As the day approached, we would drive past Topel’s dealership anticipating the first view of the new cars. What would they look like?

Finally the day would come. It was really a big deal. Arc lights cut the skies, pennant flags were strung up from the corners of the lots to the tops of the signs. Some dealers offered free hot dogs, popcorn, and soda. Newspapers sent journalists to cover the event.

People dressed up, men put on suits; women put on heels and makeup. Families drove from all over town to their favored dealership to see the wonders of the new cars. They would make a night of looking at engines, marveling at the latest innovations, take test drives, and go home dreaming of owning one of those fine machines.

I particularly remember the year of the 1959 Nash Rambler, the special release year of the Marlin in 1965, and 1968 with the AMX and the Javelin, “Hey Javelin!” It was a time of innovation and re-creation. There was not much talk about fuel economy in those days. It was about power, speed, and maneuverability. Fuel economy was still in the future.

Today, we celebrate our re-creation. We commit ourselves to the new way of living that Christ makes possible for us—a life freed from the fear of death, freed to live in full relationship with God and one another—knowing that there will be mistakes along the way (let’s not forget the Marlin), but that, through the grace of God, we can make corrections in our lives in the world of forgiveness in Christ’s loving presence. There is power for change; there is flexibility for addressing the world of service opened to us; and this transformation happens, as St. Paul says, in the twinkling of an eye. The days of fuel economy are coming as we settle down for ministry in the long haul, but today we can celebrate in the time of the great un-shrouding.

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

Prayer

Lord, in your power we are re-created and sent out new into your ever-changing world equipped with all the gifts we need to do your work. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Amen

Holy Saturday—The Garage

Psalm 31:1-4, 15-16

Let’s face it. We have significant investments in our vehicles. The expense of a car is a major part of the budget. The estimated cost for every mile we drive is about $.54. This, of course, includes insurance, tires, brakes, and all of the many fluids that are regularly needed to keep our personal means of conveyance handy and efficient as well as the cost of the vehicle itself. Many of us are still making payments on something that, unless it is now a collectable, loses value every day. So we need to protect our investments.

We build garages, attached and unattached. They protect our vehicles from the elements. We come home from wherever we have been, open the garage door and park, then close the door securing our possession.

The car in the garage has also become a kind of symbol for the rest of our lives. When the car is in the garage our lives go dormant. We eat a meal and “park” ourselves in front of the TV. We are done for the day. We may do a few chores around the house, but when the car is in the garage, life slows down. Soon, we too will sleep.

It is when the garage is empty that things are happening in our lives. We are out and about, engaged in the activity of life so we plan for days of empty garages.

Today as we remember Christ in the tomb, we look forward to the opening of the door and the world of engaged living.  This is not a life of depreciation. On the contrary, it is a life of continued appreciation. We do not possess Christ, we are possessed by Christ. When the tomb opens, it never closes again. We are forever called to that place of ministry in the world outside the garage to embrace God’s people in God’s creation.

Prayer

Lord, on this day as we remember that you died in order to conquer death, we ponder our closed doors and look forward to the possibilities of your open door resurrection world. Amen

Sermon for Maundy Thursday—Keys to the Kingdom

We have been given the keys to the kingdom. In each of the Gospels, Jesus gives the keys of the kingdom to his disciples. In each of the instances, the purpose of the keys is the opportunity for forgiveness. Yet, if we don’t use the keys, or if we use the wrong keys, this office is either inappropriately demonstrated or the office completely fails to address the needs of the world around us.

As a pastor, I am sometimes asked to officiate at funerals of non-members. On one such occasion I was running a little late. My wife had taken the car; therefore, I was using my old truck. It was sometimes touchy and not always the most reliable means of transportation, but earlier in the day I had gone out and made sure that everything was running.

So when I put the key into the ignition when it was time to leave, I was surprised that the key wouldn’t even turn. This had happened several times before, so I didn’t immediately panic, but after I did everything I knew to solve the problem and still nothing happened, I started to worry. How was I going to get to the funeral home in time for the funeral?

After several more vain efforts, I finally started to get out of the truck. I was going to have to admit defeat. Maybe I could call a cab.

As I pulled the keys out and started to put them in my pocket, I noticed something strange. The orange fob on the key ring was blue. With a gasp of recognition, I realized that I had been trying to put the car keys in the truck. When I actually put the truck keys in the truck ignition, the engine roared to life, and I made it to the funeral home in plenty of time.

Sometimes we have to remember to use the keys that we have been given, not just any key that happens to come to hand. The keys to the kingdom open the way to a life of forgiveness or they block the way. The disciples ask how many times must we forgive, seven times?

Jesus’ response is somewhat challenging for us today, because we live in a more literalistic time, but Jesus’ response is more like forever. He says seventy times seven, or seventy and seven, or even seventy-seven times. It is important for us to remember that in Jesus’ time, they had no zero so numbers are more metaphorical in literature like this. The number of times Jesus mentions then is more like as many times as you are asked.

Still the keys come with the admonition: “If you forgive the sins of others they will be forgiven, but if you do not forgive, the sins of the person will be held against them forever.” There are times when I do not want to forgive, but really, if they come to you for forgiveness, can you really deny them?

In my first congregation there had been some difficulties. I was hurt, even angry. On Ash Wednesday at the time for the imposition of ashes, it felt good to tell the people that they were going to return to dust. Then this little girl came forward. She had not been part of the conflict. So when she came forward to receive the sign of the cross in ashes, and she looked up at me with those little-girl-trusting-eyes, I almost came unglued.

And then on Maundy Thursday, when we had the opportunity for individual absolution, she came forward with her mother. Again she looked at me with those trusting eyes, and I thought. “You have nothing to repent of. Certainly God forgives you for anything that you have done.” Her mother stood right behind her, and then I had to give her absolution too. It was in that moment that I realized that the forgiveness I was giving was not mine to withhold. As a pastor, I was giving the forgiveness that I had first received and in whose name I served. Who was I to withhold God’s word of forgiveness and hope for reconciliation?

If Christ could forgive from the cross, then how could I withhold God’s grace and mercy? It changed my feelings toward the whole congregation, and it changed my attitude in ministry.

It has not changed the number of times I have been upset with people in the congregation, nor has it changed the number of times that my feelings have been hurt. I still want to ask with the disciples. “Really? I have to forgive that person too? How many times?”

The answer remains the same. And the keys to the kingdom continue to hang heavy on my belt until I remember that I am passing on what I have already been given.

What a privilege it is then to say those incredible words at the end of corporate confession: “As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ and by Christ’s authority, I declare to you the entire forgiveness of all of your sins, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Yes, those are the keys that open the gates renewing and revitalizing our reconciled lives in Christ.

Day 39: Good Friday— Mapping the Cross Roads

Psalm 22; John 18:1—19:42

On a trip to Egypt and the Holy Lands, our group stopped at a souvenir/gift shop. Amid the tables of pottery and wood carvings, I found a beautifully lacquered olivewood Jerusalem cross.

Now for those of you who don’t know what this looks like, connected to the one cross are four smaller crosses, one in each quadrant. It is a reminder of not only the death and resurrection of Christ but also the martyred witness of those who followed. At another level it reminds me of the many crossroads of our travels. We know where we are; we know our destination; but there are many different routes that we might take to get there.

In the safety and comfort of our cars we are constantly being reminded of God’s redeeming activity in our lives. Every time we come to an intersection, we have the opportunity to take a moment for gratitude.

Like a great growing Jerusalem cross, our journeys mark the places we have been and where we are going. The cross is not the terminus of our journey; it is the pause of orientation. It is the reminder of our ministry callings to care for one another and our map for going to Galilee. It is not a place to avoid but a necessary part of the journey. We need to witness the pain and suffering, remembering that there cannot be a resurrection without a death. At the same time, witnessing the event of the cross does not mean that we are the ones dying, Christ has done that once for all, but that our lives need to be about dying to ourselves and being in relationship with God and one another.

As we look upon the cross today, let us think about where Christ has been for us and where Christ is calling us to go.

Prayer

Lord, you died so that we might pass through death to eternal life, but your suffering showed us your full knowledge of the human condition. At the intersections of our lives, may we know your way and follow. Amen

Good Friday—Bobby McGee

Psalm 22

My piano business had gotten to the point of needing a truck. At home, there was a landscape project that was going to entail hauling sand, stone, and brick. I had rented trucks in the past, but that could get expensive. The classifieds were out of my price range. At the store, the clerk was talking about the $50.00 car she was driving. I asked if she knew of a truck like that. She thought her dad might. I gave her my phone number.

Two days later, I was looking at one of the poorest excuses for a truck ever. The grill was missing, only rusted edges remained. It had only one headlight. The engine came from an old Catalina; the transmission was a 3-speed, floor shifter from a Camaro. The wood floor bed was rotted.  The Naugahyde seat was split; an old rug salvaged from the garbage covered it. There were holes in the floorboards, and the extension on the shift lever unscrewed if you weren’t careful shifting into second gear. Neither the radio nor the speedometer worked. The odometer read 188000, but that was the engine that came with the truck, not the one from the Catalina. Aside from that, all the gauges worked; fuel, temperature, oil pressure, and alternator.

The owner guaranteed that if you headed for California tomorrow, it would make the trip. He thought it might even get you back again. How much was I willing to pay?

“$150.00,” I said with as much force as I could muster.

I hoped he would say no. Instead, he said, “I was hoping for $100.00 more, but I’ll tell you what. Are you a betting man?”

“I might be,” I responded. “What are we wagering?”

“Well, I’ll tell you. If we dicker around for awhile, you’re going to pay more than you want and I’m still going to get less. I was thinking that we would flip for it. If I win, I get $250.00. If you win, you pay $150.00. Does that sound fair?”

I really didn’t want to pay $250.00, but there was a chance. “Sure, let’s flip for it. I’ve got a quarter, I’ll let you flip.”

The coin spun in the air, he caught it and turned it over. “You’re a happy man today,” he said as he put my quarter in his pocket. I wrote the check on the hood of my first truck. I wouldn’t know for several days just how happy I was. Twenty-eight years later, the truck is gone, but that engine still runs.

Prayer

Lord, from the cross we must look as disreputable as my old truck. Yet in your care there is life. May we continue by your grace to walk with you in peace. Amen

Day 38: Holy Thursday—Not Dad's Oldsmobile

Exodus 12:1-4 [5-10] 11-14; Psalm 116:1-19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35

A few years back Oldsmobile sales were down; GM planned to drop the line. Oldsmobile lovers went and bought; collectors bought. Before you knew it, Oldsmobile was back in business. The new ad campaign was, “This isn’t your father’s Oldsmobile.”

Many congregations include a Seder meal in Lent trying to reclaim in some way the ancient meal of liberation. But, let us not be confused, this meal, with all of its importance for our first covenant brothers and sisters, is not our meal. I thought Mom’s 1987 Oldsmobile nine- passenger wagon (we called it the land yacht), was a great car, but at 14 mpg I don’t want to drive it. The Seder meal is the Oldsmobile our fathers (and mothers) drove.

The Passover bread of affliction is not our bread. The bitterness of the cross and the bitterness served at the cross is not our bitterness. That affliction and bitterness was taken on by Christ for us and for our sake so that we might be justified with God and freed to live.

Our meal is not to be rushed. In the Eucharist, we are not asked to stand or recline when eating; neither does it require unleavened bread; Paul says to use a loaf of bread. In Corinthians we are even told to wait for late comers.

We are not God’s first covenant people. Born in baptism, fed at the Lord’s table, we are second covenant people. We have something new, with more power, more agility, higher octane, and a lot more miles in it. Our meal is nothing less than the body of Christ “given for us” here and now. It is not a meal of remembrance, eaten once a year. This meal is to be done as often as we eat and drink it (Luther says weekly). It is a meal of incorporation. As we are made members of the body of Christ, so now the body is nourished for the work ahead. This meal is not for the release of the few; it is for the forgiveness of sins for all people.

Comparisons showing the relationship between the two meals are reasonable, but let’s be clear: “This is not our father’s Oldsmobile.” In the mystery of our Eucharist meal, we receive Christ’s presence and we are changed. We are made high-quality bio-fuel for the work of the gospel. We are new gas tanks containing new, higher octane fuel with more frequent fills available; and the mileage is great.

Prayer

Lord, we thank you for freeing us from the slavery to sin and for the gift of new life that leads us in new ways. Amen