Meditation on 1 Kings 19:1-16

June 19, 2016

Merritt Island Presbyterian Church

       Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets (of Baal) with the sword. Then the (Queen) Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.’

 

Then Elijah was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree.

He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’

Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep.

Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’  He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water.

 

He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

 

At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’

He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’

 

He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’

 

Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind;

 

and after the wind an earthquake,

but the Lord was not in the earthquake;

and after the earthquake a fire,

but the Lord was not in the fire;

 

and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.

 

When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

 

Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’

 

 

He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’

 

Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus;

 

when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.

 

Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel;

and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.

***

I had an adventure this week at MIPC! Instead of my normal routine of office hours, worship planning, meetings, and visits, I taught Bible at our Cave Quest VBS!

 

It was an awesome week!

We gathered each morning–a dozen or more adult and teen volunteers and 25 to 30 children — to do some “caving” and learn about Jesus.

 

We sang songs, such as “I Have Decided,” My Hope is in the Lord,” and “Jesus is the Light of the World!”

 

 

 

The children did crafts.

 

Played games.

Enjoyed snacks!

 

 

 

 

They watched video clips and considered how they could apply biblical principles to their lives.

 

 

We learned how Jesus gives us hope, courage and direction!

 

 

How we shouldn’t worry!

 

How Jesus gives us love. And how He gives us power through His Spirit that lives in our hearts!

It was a busy and sometimes exhausting but also uplifting week for our faithful volunteers. My hope is that we will be stirred to remember, most of all, the “God sightings” we experienced. Julie Hill led us each day to pass a flickering light and share where and when we “saw God”–in the beauty of the world around us and in the love of the people God brought near to us.

 

The God sightings happened for me in the quiet spaces in between the planned lessons and activities. When I was really listening to the children and fully present, without my mind traveling to the next thing I needed to do. I saw the Lord when a little boy shared about starting kindergarten in the fall and already missing his friends from VPK. Others shared their sadness at the loss of family members and beloved pets.

 

I saw God in the funny cat stories that created a sense of community and intimacy before the so-called “real” lessons began.

I saw the Lord when the children responded in unexpected ways to my carefully planned lessons. Once, I pulled a number of objects out of my big, black bag, one by one, to illustrate some of Jesus’ teachings on the Sermon on the Mount. After I pulled out a flashlight, salt shaker, plastic lily bouquet, and a book of Florida birds, a little girl jumped up, stuck her head in my bag, and said with wonder in her voice, “How much STUFF do you have in there?!”

Then, when I was teaching on Jesus telling us to be “Salt for the World” a child blurted out, “Salt is BAD for you!”

 

I saw Jesus in the way the children grasped the concept of letting our light shine for the world as letting our kindness, good deeds and gentleness show as a witness to Christ’s love. They came up with all sorts of good things they already do, like visiting friends and family in the hospital, helping with chores, and making pictures and cards to give away.

 

Truly, God was with us all week. God never leaves us! But what a blessing it is when we experience those unexpected God sightings–when suddenly we can feel God’s comforting presence and are reassured that God is using all of us–despite our weaknesses, weariness and insecurities– for His special work!

 

***

Our reading in 1 Kings today tells of Elijah, a man God is using for His purposes, despite the prophet’s insecurities and weariness. Elijah is a “wanted man,” an “enemy of the state,” fleeing wicked Queen Jezebel who has threatened his life, traveling about 100 miles to a wilderness area, to Beersheba.

Elijah, obeying God, has killed the prophets of Baal, whom Jezebel worships. Beersheba is the southernmost area of the territories that the Israelites settled, belonging to the tribe of Judah. Beersheba is founded, Genesis tells us, when Abraham and Abimelech fight over a well and make a covenant. Abimelech’s men took the well from Abraham after Abraham dug it, so Abraham brings sheep and cattle to Abimelech to try to get the well back. He sets aside seven lambs to swear that it was he who had dug the well. Abimelech concedes that yes, the well belongs to Abraham. Beersheba is Hebrew for “Well of Seven” or “Well of the Oath.”

 

Elijah is miserable at Beersheba; he is rebelling from God; the Lord has not led him there, but God will still provide protection and sustenance. Underneath a broom tree, a weary, frightened Elijah tells God that he’s done! “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life.” Then he falls asleep. But instead of dying of hunger or thirst–or being killed by Jezebel’s armies–Elijah is cared for by an angel of the Lord, who gently wakes and nourishes him with water and bread that has been baked on hot stones for him!

Elijah eats, drinks, and goes back to sleep. Then it happens again–the angel awakens Elijah and feeds him, this time telling him that he must eat to have strength for the journey ahead. Wait a minute! Didn’t Elijah tell the Lord that he is done? Seems God has other plans! Makes me think about the many times God leads us to do things that are hard for us–that are really tiring for us and stretch us in so many ways–but that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t want us to do them! It only means that we need God’s help with the work he has called us to! The food Elijah eats miraculously feeds him for 40 days and 40 nights–does that remind you of something? Yes! Noah’s ark!

 

All this time, the Lord has not responded to Elijah’s rant or rebellion. Finally, in verse 9, the word of the Lord comes to the prophet. “What are you doing here, Elijah?” God asks–confirming that Elijah’s trip was not what God had wanted him to do.

 

Elijah is defensive, assuring the Lord how zealous he has been, then expressing his fear. “I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”

 

He is conflicted. He doesn’t really want to die–as he had requested of the Lord under the broom tree; he just doesn’t want to do the hard things that he knows God wants him to do.

In verse 11, Elijah is warned of an imminent personal encounter with the Lord–not just a prophetic word. The Lord is about to “pass by.” But God will not come as Elijah expects–not in the great wind or the earthquake. Not in the fire.

 

 

This unpredictable God, from whom we can never hide, is in the “sound of sheer silence.” Elijah, a sinful man in the presence of a holy and righteous God, must cover his face with his mantle–the one that he will soon throw over Elisha, his successor, as he plows a yoke of oxen in his father’s fields.

 

God asks Elijah, a second time, “What are you doing here?” Elijah’s answer is the same as it was before. “I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” This time, Elijah’s heart must be ready to hear from God, because the Lord tells him to go back–and finish the work He has called him to. Elijah has 2 kings to anoint and a prophet to train up to take his place, among many other things, before a chariot of fire and a whirlwind take him up into the sky.

 

This time, Elijah will trust the Lord–not heard in the wind, earthquake or fire, but in the silence– and obey, knowing that God will give him the power and courage to do what the Lord has planned for him to do. Despite his insecurities. Despite his fears. Despite his weariness.

Do you? Do you, like Elijah, trust the Lord to strengthen and lead you to do what God has planned for you?

Listen for God, not just when you are alone, but throughout the day–especially in between all those careful plans that you have made. Listen for the Lord and be present with the people God has brought near to you! Listen for the Lord in the noise and chaos of your life. But especially in the silence. Seek, with the Spirit’s help, to obey.

Let us pray.

 

Holy One, God in the silence, forgive us for our rebellion–for when we have run from you, with excuses–too weary and frightened by what you call us to do. Give us courage to trust in you. Thank you for your faithfulness to provide all that we need, every day, to minister to one another and to our community–to witness of your unconditional love, mercy and grace, shown in the gift of your precious Son, our Redeemer. Thank you for the help we received from Cocoa Presbyterian Church this week and for drawing the children, teens and adults who came to participate in VBS closer to one another–and to you. Bless our community with many more God sightings in the weeks, months and years to come. Help us to slow down and be fully present with the people you have brought near us. Open our hearts to seek your face and listen for your voice. Strengthen us by your Spirit to obey. In Christ we pray. Amen.

Meditation on Galatians 2:15–21

June 12, 2016

 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing. 

***

Today, we welcome two children into the fold, claiming them for Christ through the waters of baptism. With every baptism, we are asked to “remember with joy our own baptism” –to cherish the vows that were made for us by the Church and our families; to treasure the promise of the Spirit’s work in us.

We are cleansed from sin; we have a new identity–new lives in Him!

Like Kenny and Heather, I wasn’t baptized as an infant. I was 13 when I was baptized at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Damascus, Maryland.

 

My dad is Jewish; my mom is a Christian. Before my parents got married, my dad promised my mother’s mother, a Norwegian Lutheran, that their children would go to Sunday school and church, but also learn and experience the faith of my father’s family. Then, when we were old enough, we would have the freedom to choose what religion we would follow.

Differences between Christianity and Judaism seemed small to me as a child. The God was the same loving, gracious God in both faiths. The Hebrew Bible or Old Testament, as we call it, makes up more than half of the Christian Bible! Unlike Christianity, you are born into the Jewish faith, though Christians may convert to Judaism. Both of Dad’s parents were Jewish. Dad’s faith didn’t require weekly attendance in a house of worship, though other Jews may attend Shabbat services every Friday at sundown in a synagogue, along with religious instruction or Hebrew school during the week. Dad sometimes attended the Lutheran church with my mom, brother, sister, and me.

One of the big differences in our faith that I noticed as a child was that my Jewish relatives didn’t celebrate Christmas. They didn’t have Christmas trees!

They didn’t prepare for Santa.

Dad had always wanted a Christmas tree growing up and hadn’t been allowed; so we had a tree every year. Dad was in charge of choosing and decorating it. My Jewish cousins celebrated Hanukkah, with the lighting of candles for 8 days, retelling the story, and exchanging gifts, including gold-foil-wrapped chocolate “gelt” and “dreidels”.

We sang songs and ate special foods, such as latkes.

Sometimes, Dad would take us to the synagogue with his parents on the High Holy days–Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah.

Grandma would fast and pray all day, but then prepare enormous meals for the extended family to eat at sundown, beginning with kneidel soup,

gefilte fish,

and chopped liver.

Grandma always kept a kosher table, making sure not to serve any milk products with meat and never cooking or serving pork or shellfish.

But the most important holiday in the Jewish faith was the Passover or Pesach. Passover, a feast of 7 days, is usually celebrated in the home on the first night with a Seder— a worship service around the dining table, with special foods to retell the story.

Here is Dad celebrating Passover with his family when he was a little boy.

 

The Passover story was and still is what gives Jewish people their identity, their understanding of who they are in relation to God. They are the people of the exile and return, called to live in obedience to the Gracious God of the Promise, the Almighty, Everlasting Creator of the universe, who knows, forgives, and loves them still.

 

***

Jewish identity and life of faith are important to the understanding of Galatians, which highlights the struggle of the early years of the Church when its membership grows to include Gentiles, many of whom, in addition to being uncircumcised, had very little knowledge of Scripture or Jewish life.

They are wrestling with the question of what is necessary to live as a Christian, though many of the Church, particularly the leaders, are still Jewish, raised in the faith since birth. How do they separate their Jewish identity from their new baptismal identities–as children of the new covenant, crucified yet alive with Christ, who lives inside them?

The letter to the Galatians was particularly inspirational to 15th and 16^th century reformers, such as Martin Luther, who embraced the letter’s message of God’s gracious gift of salvation through faith alone.

 

In Luther’s time, as it was in Paul’s, the question on everyone’s lips was, “How can I, a sinful person, find acceptance in the eyes of a holy and righteous God?”

Paul’s answer in Galatians is that we don’t have the same identity that we had before! No matter who we were before we knew Christ as our Lord and Savior, we aren’t that sinful person anymore–not in God’s eyes! We just have to believe this, trust God for this, and walk in this truth– that the Son of God who loves us gave his life for us!

Paul writes, “no longer I, but… Christ.” Εγώ (ego) is the Greek word for the pronoun “I,” but it is not really needed here. In Greek, like in Spanish, the pronoun is communicated through the verb endings. Εγώ (ego), then, is an “emphatic I”.

 

Paul is emphasizing the “I” –the identities that we used to be–the “I’s” that we aren’t anymore! “I have been crucified with Christ,” Paul says, “and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”

The Galatians, living in the Roman province of Galatia in what is now Turkey, have been mislead by itinerant missionaries into believing that Gentiles need to be circumcised before they can become the people of God.

Leading up to Paul’s argument against circumcision, the apostle in chapter 2 tells of a public confrontation with Peter in Antioch, when Paul calls Peter a hypocrite. Peter had been all for ministry to the Gentiles when the apostles met with James in the Jerusalem church 14 years earlier. But after “certain people came from James” to visit Peter in Antioch, they stopped eating with Gentiles, Paul says, “for fear of the circumcision faction.”

Paul continues in 2:14, “But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?’”

In today’s reading, Paul begins by making a distinction between Jews and Gentiles. But of course it’s just a rhetorical device when he refers to himself and other Jewish believers as “Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners.” He is pretending to be on his audience’s side before he persuades them to take his viewpoint, which is that there is “no distinction in Jew or Gentile” in Christ, for “God shows no partiality.” As he later writes in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” And in Romans 3:10, “There is no one righteous, not even one.”

 

 

Paul’s argument against circumcision begins by saying that a person cannot be not “justified” by the “works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.” Are you wondering what he means by “works of the law?” Obviously it means something larger than the Ten Commandments because circumcision isn’t one of the 10! But it’s hard to pin down exactly what Paul means. In the Hebrew Bible, the written “law” is the Torah, the first 5 books. Yet Paul isn’t just referring to the Torah, either. But to dig more deeply into “works of the law,” rather than the next part of the verse may actually distract us from Paul’s main point, which is to emphasize the importance of faith over “works.” For our purposes, we can define “works” simply as any human effort to accomplish our own salvation or to add to what Christ has already done for us through his death on a cross.

As we look at the second part of the phrase that has been translated “through faith in Jesus Christ,” we find one little word translated “in” that is cause for debate among scholars because it may also be translated “of.”

If it is Faith in Christ, this could mean our salvation is based on a human reaction—believing in Christ. The danger is that this could become a work!

If it is “Faith of Christ,” this could mean our salvation is based on an action of Christ: Christ’s unflinching faithfulness to the will of God, his obedience unto death.

I am more inclined to agree with the scholars who favor the second translation; this would fit Paul’s message of grace! Let us never forget that faith is a human response to God’s gracious deed; it is not a possession to guarantee our status before God; it is God’s gift–so it cannot be a “work!” And there’s no way to “claim” it so as to put God in debt, as if God owes US a special blessing or special care because we believe.

***

At 13, though I didn’t fully understand what baptism means, the Lord gave me a new identity. I was no longer “I”, for “I” had been crucified with Christ, so that “I” no longer lived, but it is Christ who lives in me.

But my struggle with my baptismal identity–letting go of the “emphatic I”– will be a struggle my whole life through, just as the Galatians struggled to find their new selves and new lives in Jesus Christ. And you, my friends, may continue to struggle with your baptismal identities, too. Because there’s something inside of us that finds it hard to believe that Christ loves us so much that he gave his life for each one of us and for all of us. And that his gift of faith is all that we need to be forgiven for all our sins, to have new life in Him!

Friends, the essential question for today, as it was for Paul and Luther, is still, “How can I, a sinful person, find acceptance in the eyes of a holy and righteous God?” The answer is still found in God’s Word:

“I have been crucified with Christ…”

 

And it is no longer I who live,

but it is Christ who lives in me.

And the life I now live in the flesh…

I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me …

 

and gave himself for me.

 

 

Let us pray.

 

Gracious God, we praise you for being the God of all the Universe, who planned from the beginning to send Your Only Son to save us from our sins because we couldn’t do anything to make ourselves righteous before you. Thank you for your love and grace, which we struggle to accept; it’s so hard to forgive ourselves! Help us to let go of our old, sinful “I’s”, the “I’s” we used to be. Strengthen us to believe in your love and the Spirit’s transforming work in us, and to let the life of Jesus shine through us so that all the world may see and know Christ the Lord. In His name we pray. Amen!

Meditation on 1 Kings 17:8-24

June 5, 2016

Merritt Island Presbyterian Church

      “Then the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, saying, ‘Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.’ So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, ‘Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.’ As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, ‘Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.’ But she said, ‘As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.’ Elijah said to her, ‘Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

      After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. She then said to Elijah, ‘What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!’ But he said to her, ‘Give me your son.’ He took him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber where he was lodging, and laid him on his own bed. He cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?’ Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.’ The Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and gave him to his mother; then Elijah said, ‘See, your son is alive.’ So the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.’

***

Jim and I, and Marilyn and Craig Smoot traveled together to Maitland to a presbytery meeting this week. It was great to see some of my colleagues in ministry and build on relationships, some of which began 8-9 months ago.

 

One gentleman asked me, “How are things at Merritt Island? How are you? Are you happy?”

I told him that I feel at home here. This is where I belong. Things are “good.” But I am still learning and growing.

What I didn’t tell him was that the one important thing I am learning is the importance of spending time with members outside the church. I am learning how important it is to visit people in their homes. Ministry happens best when we are willing and able to walk alongside another–to meet people right where they live– and be willing to be vulnerable so that the Spirit can do its healing, transforming work. This intimate kind of ministry is the ministry of presence–for it is Christ that dwells within us that does the ministering through us.

I haven’t had time to get to know all of you, yet, and visit you in your homes. So this week, I decided to make some changes in my schedule to open up time when these visits can be made. Saying “yes” to home visits means saying “no” to some other things, so I will need your support and understanding to do this. My goal is to visit everyone by the end of this year–so that Christ in me can work through me.

My home visits have already begun!

 

 

***

In our 1 Kings 17 reading, we meet “Elijah the Tishbite.” Tishbe was a remote village in the mountains of Gilead, an area east of the Jordan River.

Elijah, whose name means “Yahweh is my God!” is a rough around the edges kind of guy. We know nothing of his childhood, only that he was born to Jewish parents, but we don’t know their names. He appears abruptly in 1 Kings after 16 chapters tell of the succession of Israel’s kings after David dies and the evil that they do. In chapter 16, King Ahab marries Jezebel, daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians. Sidon was a prosperous, commercial city, famous for gold and silver and manufacture of embroidery, dies, metals, and glass.

 

Although Sidon was within the limits of the Promised Land, the Israelites never possessed it. It belonged to the tribe of Asher, who were unwilling to drive out their wealthy neighbors.

Here is modern Sidon today.

 

After marrying Jezebel, Ahab erects “an altar to Baal in the house of Baal” in Samaria, a city that Ahab’s father, Omri, built on a hill bought from a man named Shemer. And Ahab and Jezebel worshiped Baal there.

At the start of chapter 17, Elijah angers King Ahab, who was even more evil than Omri, who was more evil than all Israel’s kings before him. Elijah tells the king that Israel is going to suffer from a terrible drought (because of his sins. Elijah promises no “dew or rain” for years, until he, the God of Israel’s prophet, gives the word for the drought to end. Elijah then flees from Ahab’s wrath and goes into hiding by the Wadi Cherith, a stream east of the Jordan, where God commands the ravens to feed him bread and meat.

Here, Elijah, fits in with the wild creatures and becomes even more a kind of a wild thing himself, preferring the company of animals to people.

But then the Wadi dries up; Elijah has no water!

 

The Lord tells Elijah, “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, for I have commanded a widow to feed you.” Zarephath was a Phoenician city on the Mediterranean coast, between Sidon and Tyre.

Here is the modern city, formerly Zarephath.

Elijah is perhaps second only to Moses, when it comes to the most important prophets of the Old Testament. At the transfiguration on the mountaintop, who do the disciples see with Jesus? Moses and Elijah. Matthew 17:3, “Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.”

 

The story of Elijah and the widow is important to Jesus, who refers to it in Luke 4:25-26, “But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon.”

It is significant that John the Baptist is mistaken for Elijah! John reminded Israel of him!

John 1:20-21 tells us, “He (John) did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, ‘I am not the Christ.’ ‘Who are you then?’ they inquired. ‘Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’”

John is also rough around the edges, a kind of wild thing, living in the wilderness on an unusual diet (honey and locusts),

wearing unusual clothing (camel’s hair).

 

Then, in Matthew 16: 13-14, Jesus is mistaken for Elijah! “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’”

Like Jesus, Elijah obeys the Lord. God sends him to live in Zarephath, amongst idol-worshipers, because the Lord has a plan for him to minister to people in need. But this will require Elijah to allow himself to be vulnerable to a stranger. He accepts help from a widow who has given up all hope of surviving the terrible famine; she hasn’t enough food for her and her son.

But something stirs her to listen to this kind of wild thing, the prophet of a God she doesn’t know. He tells her in 17:13-14, “Do not be afraid.” She should make him a “cake” with the meal before she feeds her son and herself. “For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.”

And she does as Elijah says. And the jar of meal doesn’t run out; the oil doesn’t fail. God provides for many days.

But then a crisis of faith. The boy falls ill, and there is “no breath left in him.” He dies! Now you have to understand how desolate the widow feels. Her only child, a son, is her only hope of survival in her society. She is relying on him to take care of her when he is grown. All hope is lost with his death! She turns on Elijah in anger and blames the One whom Elijah credits for miraculously providing for them. “What have you against me, O man of God?!” she asks–and some interpret this as sarcasm. But she takes partial responsibility for her loss, for it is her own sin that God remembers, she says, when the Lord takes her son.

Elijah, too, believes that God has caused the son’s death, but that death doesn’t have the final word. All of his emotion pours out in his prayer to the Lord, for this wild prophet of God, a creature that is more comfortable in the wilderness with animals than living with people, has grown to care for this foreign widow and her son, who have shared from their poverty with him. He cries out, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.”

 

God hears his prayer. God answers. The child is revived. Hope and joy replace the widow’s sarcasm and desolation. “Now I know that you are a man of God,” she says, “and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

***

Friends, Elijah’s ministry was one of presence. He was willing to walk alongside someone in need–right where they live. The Spirit of God ministered in and through him! His faith grew through God’s miraculous provision. It grew even more when God brought the child back to life!

And the stranger, the alien, came to trust Elijah, though he was rough on the outside–a wild thing. Through the witness of his faith, she found her own. She came to trust Elijah’s God.

Will you join me in a ministry of presence? May Christ within us work in and through us!

My home visits have already begun!

 

 

Let us pray.

Holy One, we give you thanks and praise for your miraculous provision for us day by day, hour by hour. Thank you for sending your Son to make a way for us to return to you when we were lost in our sin. Thank you that Christ lives within the heart of every believer now–and is transforming us into his likeness as we seek to walk in your ways. Help us, Lord, to allow ourselves to be vulnerable–to visit one another right where we live in the intimate ministry of presence. Stir us to open our homes and hearts so that you might work in and through us. May we be like Elijah and seek to care for and be cared for by strangers like the widow from Zarephath and her son–and meet them in their time of need. In Christ we pray. Amen.

 

Meditation on Luke 7:1-10

May 29, 2016

Merritt Island Presbyterian Church

       After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, ‘He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.’ And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, ‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”, and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this”, and the slave does it.’ When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’ When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

***

Coming home from a walk yesterday, I caught sight of a lady who lives two doors down from us. She is a small lady, and she was working on our next-door neighbor’s yard, handling a power edging tool and leaf blower by herself. It touched my heart to see her doing this as she also cares for a 5-year-old daughter and a teenage son who is confined to a wheelchair. I marveled that she had found the time and energy to help a neighbor in need. When she saw me watching her and smiling, she turned off the tools and greeted me. Then we chatted like old friends, though we have only had a few conversations since Jim and I moved in last October.

The yard she was working in was the yard of a young, single man whom we have been praying for as a church since November. John hasn’t been well enough to live in his home for nearly 6 months. I told her that it was nice of her to work on John’s yard. She laughed and lifted her shoulders. “It’s what neighbors do!”

Our neighbor, John, has cancer. His Caringbridge website says that on Nov. 18, John’s father found him unresponsive.  He was rushed to Holmes Regional Medical Center where an MRI showed 2 tumors in the temporal lobe of his brain, one being inoperable. On Nov. 21, a neurosurgeon did a resection of the large tumor (the size of a D battery), and told the family that he would receive 2 weeks of radiation and a once a month chemo pill, but “it did not look promising.” He was released on Nov. 26 (Thanksgiving), only to end up back at Holmes on the 28^th. He was released again from Holmes Dec. 2, and he traveled north to stay with and be cared for by his family in Rochester, NY. His condition is still very serious.

On March 29, John turned 32.

The neighbor working in his yard got a faraway look in her eye as we talked about him. “It’s so sad,” she said.

We both said at the same time, “He’s so young.”

“I will keep praying for him,” I said. “So will my church.”

We talked about other things after that–our plans for Memorial Day, her difficulties traveling with her son and how expensive it is to go anywhere. I shared that we were going to see my parents in Orange City and that Dad had just had another heart surgery a week ago Thursday, but he was doing well.

As I went inside, I thought about what a blessing our conversation had been–how uplifting it was to share our mutual concerns and encourage one another. And I thought how important it is for the community of faith to persist in prayer for John and others struggling with health problems, without medical professionals offering much hope for their healing.

Later, I recalled my visit to Mom and Dad last Monday–and how everywhere Mom and I went at their retirement community where they have lived only a couple of months, people would stop us and ask how Dad was. They looked pleased with Mom’s good report; a woman who sings with my Mom in church said, “Of course he’s doing well! The choir prayed for him!”

And I thought about how many times we ask people to pray–and they do–and all goes well with our loved ones. And we don’t think much about it. We just move on to worry about something or someone else. I could almost hear Jesus saying, as he often did to his disciples, “Have you so little faith?”

***

Our gospel reading today in Luke 7 is a healing story, but even more than that, it is a story of an amazing faith and awesome friends who are willing to go to Jesus on their friend’s behalf. This passage reveals the power of the faith community, when we share our needs with one another and take them to the Lord. But it is also the assurance that God cares for all who are suffering–regardless of their status in society.

This healing story takes place in Capernaum, a name that means “city of Comfort.” Capernaum, near the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee, is where Jesus lives at the beginning of his ministry–after he is tempted for 40 days in the wilderness and John is arrested, according to Matthew 4:13-16. Five of the 12 disciples Jesus calls are from Capernaum, one of the most prosperous and crowded districts in Palestine at the time. The city is the scene of a number of NT miracles; it is where Jesus casts a demon out of a man in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

The synagogue in Capernaum comes up in our reading today in Luke 7, the healing of the centurion’s slave. The man responsible for the building of the synagogue in Capernaum in Jesus’ time is a Gentile, a centurion, an officer at the head of a Roman company of 100 men. He may have been in service to Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, or to Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judea.

The account of the healing of the centurion’s slave in Luke also appears in Matthew, but with some variation. Matthew tells of the centurion who himself comes to Jesus and beseeches him to heal his “servant,” who is “lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.” Luke’s centurion doesn’t come to Jesus in person; instead 2 groups of people come on the centurion’s behalf, seeking healing for his “slave” who is “ill and close to death.”

Two different English words describe the man who is close to death–a servant in Matthew and a slave in Luke. But it’s the same Greek word–doulos –that is translated servant and slave. The reality is there was no real distinction in biblical times between servanthood and slavery. Servant or slave, one did not have freedom to choose one’s life or make a way for themselves in the world; one didn’t have protections from abuse and oppression; neither would they have a voice, unless someone spoke up for them.

But not all slaves were treated badly in biblical times. Luke 7:2 says the centurion “value(s) highly” his slave. In verse 3, we learn that the centurion believed in Jesus when he heard about him–the wonderful deeds of healing. He cared enough about his slave, who was near to death, that he sent some Jewish elders to ask for Jesus’ healing. We don’t find out why the centurion didn’t go in person until later on. By the way, the word for these Jewish elders is presbyterous–which is where our Presbyterian form of government came from– or rule by “elders.” Presbyterous is sometimes translated “old men,” such as in Acts 2:17.

The Jewish delegation provides an introduction that includes not just the good deed the centurion has done, but also where his heart lies. The “old men” say to Jesus, “He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.” Jesus listens and without any argument or questioning, he goes with them. Then, before he reaches the centurion’s house, the centurion sends another group of people. This time, they are “friends”–Jew or Gentile, we don’t know. But the fact that he sends “friends” rather than people who work for him speaks of the character of this powerful man. For to have friends, you have to be a friend–you have to care about other people. These friends of unknown nationality and religion convey the centurion’s message, “Lord, do not trouble yourself…” This is literally, “do not bother.” Why? Because the humble centurion knows he is an outsider to the nation of Israel, despite his love for the Jewish people–an uncircumcised Gentile. He feels “unworthy” for Jesus to “come under his roof,” and it is his unworthiness that has prevented him from seeking out Jesus in person. Any expectation of Jesus coming to visit him in his home would be presumptuous, even if he were responsible for the building of the synagogue. What he doesn’t say goes without saying–that a Gentile’s home was unclean to a Jew, a source of defilement for Jesus.

The centurion stops Jesus from coming to his home at the last minute, but not because he is giving up on his request for his slave’s healing. It isn’t necessary for Jesus to come, he says, for he believes that Christ, who has power and authority over all things given to him by God, need only speak the word and his slave will be healed! The centurion understands power and authority, as he is a man under another’s authority and also has 100 soldiers under him–who can say to one, “Go”, and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes. That he would believe that Jesus’ physical presence and touch are unnecessary for a healing to take place would go against common belief of his day.

When Jesus hears of the centurion’s faith he is amazed. Turning to the crowd, he says, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’

And when those who had been sent to Jesus return to the centurion’s home, they find the slave in good health.

Friends, when we pray for our family and friends, do we have a faith like the humble centurion–a faith that amazed even Christ himself? And when Christ heals our loved ones when we pray, do we simply move on to worry about someone or something else?

Would Jesus say to us as he often did to his disciples, “Have you so little faith?”

 

Let us pray.

Holy One, we thank you for your Word that teaches us of the importance of faith and the power of the community when we come together and lift one another up in prayer. But Lord, we often struggle with doubts and fail to give you thanks for your gifts of healing for family and friends. Forgive us for, at times, having so little faith. Renew us by your Spirit and fill us to overflowing with an amazing faith. Humble us so that we, like the centurion, will understand that we are helpless to live as the people you want us to be if we are not wholeheartedly seeking you and trusting in you. Help us to let go of our anxieties and feel your comforting presence with us always. Stir us to truly love and serve our neighbors and see everyone as friends. Give us patience and strength to walk by faith with you every day until that glorious day when there’s no more pain, sickness or sorrow and we finally we see you, face to face. In Christ we pray. Amen.

Meditation on Psalm 8

May 22, 2016

Trinity Sunday: MIPC

 

To the leader: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David. O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

***

When our granddaughter, Jessi, came to visit us last weekend, I was in awe of the little girl. She had changed so much since the last time we had seen her at her home in Boston–when she was only 10 months old, not yet walking, and hardly talking. We wanted to get to know her, but she and her parents, Daniel and Hiu-fai, were only staying with us 3 days. I found myself watching her intently–making mental note of her expressions, the sound of her voice, her laughter, her likes and dislikes. What made her sad or afraid.

Happily, she still had many new things to experience with us here, her first time in Florida! They went to the beach.

Jessi liked the water, but was a bit intimidated by the ocean! She loved playing in the sand.

After church on Sunday, we went to lunch and learned that Jessi loves Panera bread!

We went to the zoo after that. Jessi saw her first baby giraffe!

We went on a walk in our neighborhood. slide Jessi made friends with Molly, our sheltie.

The friendship grew to love.

 

 

On Monday, our last full day together, we went to Kennedy Space Center.

Jessi was excited about seeing “spaceships.”

She showed Grandpa how to spacewalk.

 

On the way to the Vehicle Assembly Building, Jessi sang, “The wheels on the bus go round and round.”

 

We experienced many touching moments together that day. I particularly enjoyed the newest Imax feature, “A Beautiful Planet.”

The movie provides breathtaking views of our world, and shares the hopes for future space exploration. But it also highlights the need to take better care of our beautiful planet. Cosmonauts went into space to learn and experience new worlds; they came back with revealing photos of the earth, wounded by human abuse, giving us new understandings of the world in which we live.

I felt inspired, as well, when we listened to the 1962 clip of Kennedy’s, “We go to the moon speech” at one of the exhibits.

No doubt it helped change the course of history and lifted our country out of fear and into hope. Here is a small excerpt. “I do say that space can be explored and mastered without feeding the fires of war,” said JFK, “without repeating the mistakes that man has made in extending his writ around this globe of ours. There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again. But why, some say, the Moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the Moon! … We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win …”

Well, you know how the 60s ended. We did get to the moon and safely back.

What you might not know is that Psalm 8 went to the moon, too, with the Apollo 11 mission. It went on a disc the size of a silver dollar; with messages from 73 other countries; God’s Word remains there today.

***

Psalm 8 is the first hymn of praise in the book of Psalms; its poetic voice is personal–“I” and “You”– conveying the intimate relationship between God and the psalmist. It is one of a large collection of “psalms of David,” which could mean that David wrote them or commissioned them to be written or authorized them for use. We know this psalm was used in worship because there are notes to the worship leader after the title, “to the leader, according to the Gittith.” Gittith may be the tune to which it is sung or a stringed instrument–perhaps a zither– that was played as the psalm was sung.

The Psalm’s focus is on creation, taking us back to Genesis. The first line–repeated at the end — is difficult to translate. The first word is the proper name of God –YHWH–which isn’t spoken in Hebrew because of its holiness. It is translated “Adonai” meaning “Lord” or “our Lord.” Like Abraham when he longed for a child, the psalmist looks up at the night sky with awe and wonder as he both praises and questions the Lord.

If you are a little puzzled by the second verse that begins–“Out of the mouths of babes and infants.” Don’t be feel badly. Scholars struggle with this verse, too. Many believe it to be another illustration of what seems to be weak and foolish in this world to human beings is, in God’s reality, what is wise and strong. The young children’s song of praise to God will serve as protection from God’s enemies.

Looking at God’s creation, the psalmist can’t help but compare human beings with the Lord. For it is when we seek to know the Lord better that we begin to see and understand ourselves as we really are. In the face of God’s magnificent acts of creation, the psalmist realizes how seemingly unimportant and insignificant human beings are. And yet, we aren’t unimportant or insignificant to God! The psalmist asks in verses 3 and 4,

The psalmist describes how the Lord views human beings, created in God’s image. We are just a “little lower than God,” says verse 5. The word, elohim, translated “God” here is sometimes translated as “gods” with a small g or “divine beings.” If we connect this passage to the elohim in the story of Creation, then it makes sense to translate elohim as it is in Genesis–God. We find something different from the author of Hebrews. He translates this word “angels” when he interprets Psalm 8. He speaks from a New Testament perspective, as Hebrews testifies to God’s love for us revealed in the sacrifice of his Son for our sakes.

 

Psalm 8:5 tells of God’s gifts and expectations of us with royal language. God has “crowned” human beings with “glory and honor and given them dominion over the works of (God’s) hands.” God expects us to tend and care for the Creation–just like when the Lord formed man from the dust of the earth and put him in the garden to “tend it and keep it.” The “works of God’s hands” are “all things” God has created. The earth, air, water, plants, animals, human beings are “under our feet.” They are not ours to trample, crush or destroy, but to watch over and care for–for all of our days.

***

My message today, on this day we honor our new graduates, is especially for our young adults. You will change in the years to come. You are already not what you were when you woke up this morning. Trust the Spirit. Embrace the changes. Don’t be afraid.

God loves you and wants a relationship with you even more than Jim and I long to have a relationship with our little granddaughter who lives in Boston. The Lord wants to be your comfort and strength and help you as you experience new things. But you have to seek to have a relationship with the Lord. God wants to hear your voice, your laughter; share your likes and dislikes. God also wants to be the one you go to when no one else seems to be listening, when no one else seems to care.

God will always be there.

Keep on hoping and dreaming, though the going may get hard. And it may take years of overcoming obstacles and fears, possibly failures, too, before you begin to see your visions coming true. Our nation’s space exploration story is one of hopes and dreams, with years of struggle, fears and failures, the greatest of which was the loss of astronauts’ lives. We have more obstacles to overcome ahead–especially as we set our sights on Mars. But we have successes behind us, including what most people thought before 1969 was never going to happen–we went to the moon and safely back!

On the Apollo 11 mission, astronaut Buzz Aldrin,

 

an elder in a Presbyterian church in Houston, read aloud Psalm 8:

 

You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.

 

the moon

and the stars that you have established;

what are human beings that you are mindful of them,

mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,

and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under their feet,

all sheep and oxen,

 

and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air

 

and the fish of the sea

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord, slide how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Let us pray. Majestic Lord, we lift up your Holy Name and give you our thanks and praise! We come to you as weak and frail human beings, seemingly insignificant and unimportant. But we are not insignificant and unimportant to you, our Lord! Thank you for your love and for making us in your image, but a little lower than you, and for crowning us with glory and honor, though we don’t deserve royal treatment. Thank you for entrusting your beautiful Creation to us to tend and keep, to watch over and care for. Help us, our Lord, to better care for our world, to be more faithful stewards of the works of your hands. Lead us to share your love and healing Words with a wounded and broken world. And we ask that you continue to guide, strengthen and bless the teens and young adults of our church family. Lead them to walk in the paths you want them to go–and to hold on to their faith, no matter what. We ask these things in your Son’s precious name. Amen.

Meditation on Acts 2:1-21

Pentecost 2016/MIPC

     When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’

       But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
“In the last days it will be, God declares,
       that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

****

It started with, “I like your dress.” That’s what I said to the little brown-haired girl squirming on the bench in front of me on Saturday morning.

Jim and I were gathered with a crowd in a large gymnasium in Marshall, Minnesota, waiting for commencement to begin. Our youngest son, James, was graduating from Southwest Minnesota State University with a bachelor’s degree in social work.

 

I was happy for him and proud that he chose to stay in Minnesota on his own to finish his senior year of college when we moved to Florida last fall. But I was sad, too. We hadn’t seen him since Christmas. And we were returning to Florida on Sunday. We would have 1 day and 1 night–a supper and a breakfast together–and that’s all. It will probably be months before we see him again.

The little brown haired girl wore a sleeveless, flowered dress.

 

She was about 6 or 7 years old. She methodically tapped the bottoms of 2 “Dixie” cups together, staring off with a glum expression.

The older woman sitting quietly beside her wore the traditional dress of her culture and the coverings of her faith. Another little brown haired girl–who looked about 3 –sitting on the other side of the woman was staring intently at the woman’s phone.

 

She was playing some kind of a game. Turned out it was, “Hello Kitty Nail Salon.” She rubbed her fingertips on the screen back and forth until bright color was filled in for each nail. Then she added Hello Kitty art.

“I love Hello Kitty!” I said and motioned to my Hello Kitty purse on the floor and my Hello Kitty phone cover.

The little girls laughed and included me in their game after that, showing me every nail they filled in and every design they chose. They squealed with delight when they painted the nails a sparkly blue–and pointed to mine, some of which are sparkly blue.

We laughed together. Then, I showed them photos of Hello Kitty Nail Art from Google.

Excited, their voices grew louder. And a man dressed in traditional garb, sitting next to the 3-year old girl, turned to the children and said something in a firm voice in a language I didn’t know. But from his serious expression, I am pretty sure he was telling them to be quiet and sit still, cause that’s what they did–for a minute or 2.

The graduation exercises had begun. Then all the speeches. Then the graduates came walking in to “Pomp and Circumstance.” And there was James!

 

Not long afterward, the little girls left the room with the man. I worried that maybe I got them into trouble. I shouldn’t have worried. They had visited one of the vendors in the lobby. They came back carrying lip gloss with Disney’s “Frozen” characters.

I complimented them on their purchases and told them how grown up they looked with their lip gloss “makeovers.”

 

 

 

They looked pleased with themselves.

The family left before the end of commencement. But before they left, the little brown haired girl of 6 or 7 turned to me suddenly and said very seriously, “Thank you for playing with me!”

 

“It was my pleasure,” I said. “Thank you!”

As they walked away, I realized that my mood had lifted almost instantly with our Hello Kitty exchange. A breath of fresh air blew into our minds and hearts. As we left the gym, I thought about how the Spirit visits us each day, comforting, teaching and guiding us in big and small ways that we might not even notice.

I hadn’t planned on reaching out with the love and joy of Jesus Christ that day. I only thought of my own and my family’s needs and desires. But the Spirit used me, anyway, because it’s always with me, even if I forget. It led me to reach out to a little brown haired girl from a different culture. Because the Spirit won’t stop working in us to do the reconciling work of the Lord until that Great Day when Jesus returns for His Church.

Something stirred my heart to speak to her–not to tell her that Jesus loved her, perhaps, but to show Jesus’ love with a simple, encouraging word.

The healing conversation started with, “I like your dress.”

 

 

My experience with the Spirit at commencement was but a glimmer of what the followers of Jesus Christ experienced in Acts 2; 120 of Christ’s followers gather in a house in Jerusalem to pray and wait on the Spirit, as Jesus told them to do. The followers include Mary, the mother of Jesus, Jesus’ brothers and the original 12 disciples except for Judas Iscariot; Matthias was chosen to take Judas’ place. We don’t know what kind of a house it was or if it was the upstairs room mentioned in the first chapter. It could possibly have been the Temple as that is referred to as a “house–” the house of God. The problem is they were “sitting together”; they didn’t usually sit when they worshiped in the Temple.

“Pentecost,” by the way, is Greek for “50^th day.” Pentecost falls 50 days after Passover and is a pilgrimage festival called “Shavuot” in Hebrew or “Feast of Weeks.” It marks the giving of the 10 commandments to Moses, and the book of Ruth is traditionally read.

So Jerusalem is crowded with “devout” pilgrims coming from the diaspora to worship the Lord and be with God’s people. Here are some of the places mentioned. Is it “every nation” in the whole world?

Not quite. Scholars say the language points to the future fulfillment of the Great Commission in Matthew.

And what of this “sound … like the rush of a violent wind”?

This wind–or what sounded like a fierce wind– enables every person to hear the message of the Risen Christ in his or her native language, though it was preached by Jesus’ disciples from Galilee, who couldn’t possibly know that many languages. This fulfills Old Testament prophesy of Joel 2:28-32 that Peter quotes beginning at verse 17 and the promise of resurrection for Israel in Ezekiel 37:13-14: “¹³And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live…”

But even though every person hears and understands, not everyone believes. Some are amazed and others “sneer,” accusing them of being “filled with new wine.” New wine hasn’t had time to begin turning to vinegar and the alcoholic content is at its height. Here is a 1^st century wine pressing trough in Jerusalem.

 

 

Peter responds to the scoffers, “Drunk? We’re not drunk. It’s only 9 o’clock in the morning!” Don’t you love that? This is Peter, who didn’t always say the right things. It’s like he’s saying, “Well, we could be drunk–if it were later in the day!”

But this is Peter, powered by the Spirit. Suddenly he is eloquent and bold, preaching his first sermon from verse 14 to 39. He doesn’t hold back, despite the fact that what happened to Jesus could easily happen to him. In verse 36, Peter declares, “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

When many of the people heard this, they were “cut to the heart” and asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter answers, in verse 38, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Three thousand were added to the Church that day– all because of the power of God flowing out in response to Christ’s followers faithful gathering for prayer, anticipating the coming of the Lord.

The promise of the Spirit-filled life is in vs. 21, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But the Spirit that dwells within us is for God’s work and not just for our own well-being, not just for our own salvation. The Spirit came, will come, and is already here because the Lord wants to draw all people to Himself. And the Spirit won’t stop working until Christ in all His glory returns for His Church.

So let us keep on calling on the name of the Lord–crying out to Him together, and following God’s voice in our Spirit-filled lives.

 

May we be as bold as Peter. May we allow God to use us. May we be stirred to share the message of God’s mercy and grace with the world–not just with our words, but with acts of kindness and love.

The life-changing conversation may begin with a simple encouraging word to a little brown-haired girl sitting in front of you.

“I like your dress.”

Let us pray.

 

Holy Spirit, fall afresh on us. Renew us. Transform us. Make us into the image of Jesus Christ. Change our hearts and minds so that we aren’t always just thinking of ourselves, but that we are concerned for the wellbeing of the world that doesn’t yet know your love, mercy and grace. Stir us to reach out with love and kindness to people outside our familiar, comfortable circles of friends and family. Move us to share your grace with people of different cultures, languages and faiths. Draw us to gather for prayer, like the apostles long ago, and wait expectantly for the Great Day of the Lord, when Jesus, in all His glory, returns for His Church. In his name we pray. Amen.

Meditation on Acts 16:9-15

May 1, 2016

***

   During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

    We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us.

 

***

 

I can’t wait for our silent auction and luncheon today! You know that I love eating, and I hate cooking!

 

But I also look forward to the fellowship. It feels good to be with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We are members of the Household of God, which goes beyond what we can see or imagine. When we gather at the table for a congregational meal, much like when we gather for Communion, we witness to our unity, our joy and our love.

Our Tuesday night suppers have brought me peace and a feeling of closeness with all our regulars and our wonderful Fellowship Committee.

They work hard to bless us, preparing and serving meals for our congregation and friends from September through April! Very few churches offer this kind of ministry.

If you didn’t come to our Tuesday night suppers this season, you missed out on opportunities to minister to people in need and to have others, at times, minister to you.

 

Today I have yet another reason to be happy we are gathering for a congregational meal.

The proceeds from our silent auction will help pay for the youth to attend the Montreat Youth Conference in July. I am hoping to go with them. Friends, relationships take time and space to blossom and grow. At the conference, our teens and adult leaders will be sharing housing and eating, worshiping, studying and enjoying recreational activities together.

The conference, “A World of Difference”, invites teens to come just as they are, to get away from the stress and routine of their lives and be refreshed as they listen for God’s voice in a beautiful, wooded setting.

 

What’s exciting about the conference is not just the spiritual and biblical teaching and inspiring worship, but that our teens will meet youth from all over the country who are trying to be Christians in what is, essentially, a secular society. I pray that our youth, coming from a congregation with so few teenagers, will be empowered and affirmed in their faith, being reassured that they are not the only teens who care about Jesus and the Church.

It is good for them to see that they are not the only youth in the Household of God! May they be stirred to become more faithful followers, humble servants of Him.

 

 

***

 

In the Acts of the Apostles, we have excellent models of Christ’s humble servants, moved to acts of kindness and hospitality. In Acts 16, Paul is journeying with Silas in the southeastern province of Galatia, visiting the cities Paul and Barnabas had evangelized 2 or 3 years before- Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and probably Pisidian Antioch.

 

At Lystra, young Timothy (believed to be a teenager at the time) joins them in their mission work. Timothy’s mother and grandmother are Jewish believers; his father is a Greek nonbeliever. The churches at this time are growing in faith and number, “day by day,” 16:5 tells us. As the three men pass through the Phyrygian and Galatian region, the Holy Spirit stops them from going to Asia and Bithynia. They end up reaching the sea at Alexandria Troas, a Roman colony and regular port of call for vessels journeying between Asia and Macedonia. Ancient Macedonia was a region north of Greece, a border territory, in what is southeastern Europe.

 

In Acts 16:9, Paul sees a vision of a man of Macedonia, appealing to him for help.

Something interesting happens in the text in verse 10. The narrative voice turns from third person to first person. Let’s look at verse 10. “When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.” This is the first part of the “we/I” section of Acts. Some think this means that Luke, the author, possibly the physician mentioned in Col. 4:14, joins Paul, Silas, and Timothy at this point of the journey and includes himself as a witness in the account.

The group sails and ends up, 2 days later, in Philippi, a city in Macedonia, which Luke identifies as a Roman colony, unlike the other Roman colonies that Paul evangelizes. The reason is probably because the law of a Roman colony is important to the story of Lydia. Women in Macedonia were known for their independence and under Roman law, which governed life in the colony, freeborn women with three children and freedwomen with four children were granted the right, among other privileges, to undertake legal transactions on their own initiative.

On the Sabbath, Paul, Timothy, Silas and Luke don’t go to a synagogue, as they usually do when they first enter a town. Perhaps this town didn’t have a large enough Jewish population to support a synagogue, which must, by Jewish law, have at least 10 men at every service. They go outside the gate of the city by the bank of the river Gangites. They have heard about a group of faithful women who gather at the river on every Sabbath to go through the Jewish service of prayer. They sit down with them, and Paul begins teaching them about Jesus.

 

It’s important that this story follows Peter’s vision of the meat blanket and God’s Kingdom being opened to all people–Jew and Gentile– and the Jerusalem Church coming to agree with him. For one of the women–Lydia, a name that means “the Lydian woman,” is a God-fearing Gentile from Thyatira, a province of Asia. Thyatira lay in the territory of the ancient kingdom of Lydia. The people of that area were famous for the manufacture of purple dye, extracted from the juice of the madder root. Lydia had come to Philippi as a trader in that dye.

Verse 14 tells us that God initiates Lydia’s conversion. “The Lord opened her heart to pay heed to what Paul was saying.” Notice that it isn’t an intellectual understanding that makes her a Christian! Her heart is open to hearing from the Lord. Lydia, who is Paul’s first convert in Europe, is immediately baptized in the river, along with her whole household.

This is one of at least 4 instances in Acts when an entire household is baptized after the head of the household comes to believe. This happens with Cornelius in Acts 10 and 11, with the Philippian jailer later in Acts 16, and with Crispus in Acts 18. Lydia’s is the only account when the head of the household is a woman. This brings to mind Peter’s promise in Acts 2 to the new believers in Jerusalem who heard his preaching and were “pierced to the heart”: “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

Lydia’s household would include more than just her immediate family; as would the households of Cornelius, the Philippian jailer, and Crispus; it would also include servants and other dependents. We don’t know if Lydia is married or a widow; Luke doesn’t tell us. But it’s clear that Luke intends for her acts of kindness and hospitality to be proof of her devotion to the Lord and His Church. Verse 15 says, “When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.’ And she prevailed upon us.” Other translations say, “She would take no refusal.”

God opened her heart; she, in turn, joyfully opened her home. She wouldn’t take no for an answer!

And the word “household” came to have a broader meaning for Christians than just families, servants and other dependents living together. Household came to mean the Church of every time and place, connected by one Savior, one faith.

Paul tells the Ephesians, in chapter 2:19-20: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.”

***

Brothers and sisters, I thank you for your kind support of the youth! Thank you for your donations, your encouragement of them and your love and prayers for those who may be, because of their youth and all the pressures they feel in this secular world, the most vulnerable members of the Household of God. May the Lord open the hearts of all who attend the conference–adults and teens– and may they feel the peace and joy of God’s loving presence on their journey there and back. May the Spirit stir them to renew their commitment to Christ so that they may go and share God’s love with the world.

Like Lydia, may they be moved to acts of kindness and hospitality as Christ’s ever-faithful followers, humble servants of Him.

 

Let us pray.

 

Heavenly Father, thank you for your love and grace that led you to give up your only Son, the Risen Savior, for our sakes! Thank you for opening our hearts so that we, like Lydia, Cornelius, Crispus, and the Philippian jailer would hear your voice and be stirred to be your followers. Be with our youth, Lord, as they seek to witness to your saving love in a secular world, where so many young people don’t have hearts to love you and serve the Church. Bless the youth leaders and other volunteers as they seek to nurture our young people and lead them on straight paths. Stir us all to pray more, to gather in quiet places like Lydia and the other woman at the river Gangites. Empower us to acts of kindness and hospitality that give evidence of the authenticity of our faith and build up the Household of God. Help us to be your humble servants. In Christ we pray.

 

Meditation on Acts 11:1-18

April 24, 2016

Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God!! So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’ Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.” And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?’ When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’ 

 

***

 

I have enjoyed my “winter” and now “spring” in Florida, especially being able to get out of the house every day and go for a walk. When I was walking this week with my son, Jacob, looking at my surroundings and enjoying the sunshine, I wondered, what are the creatures that I don’t see? Of course, at each step, the sidewalk and the flowerbeds seem to come alive with those lizard-like creatures, scampering about. What are they?

 

Didn’t have those in Minnesota! But here for 6 months, I barely see them anymore. And, then suddenly, Jacob and I turn a corner, and there is a swish right next to us. Swoosh! We stop and stare after the retreating creature.

 

“It’s a snake,” Jacob said. “It’s a snake!” I said. Then we start walking again. More quickly this time, just in case the snake might change its mind and come back.

“He was big,” Jacob said, gesturing with his arms.

“He was big,” I agreed, motioning with my arms, a little wider.

Kinda like the fish that got away.

 

Here’s the tree where we saw the snake that almost bit us. It’s a good story, anyway.

 

As I walk with Jacob, I also recall what I saw on my drive home from the church the day before. A whole family of cranes–on Wickham Road in Melbourne. Momma, Poppa, and 2 baby birds. At rush hour!

 

And no one seemed to notice them, at least they weren’t slowing down, except to stop at the traffic light. Those birds were in real danger! I pulled over and parked. What could I do? As I watched the cranes, I thought about the Church. “Who else is in danger of being lost?”

 

Who else needs God’s saving love?

 

Are we reaching out enough with the love of Christ or are we keeping it for ourselves?

 

How, I ask myself, as I often do, can we be more welcoming to all who come through our doors?

 

And how can we take the message of the gospel to the world? For the same Spirit that brought salvation to us is meant to be shared with ALL.

***

This was the conclusion of the Early Church in Acts chapter 11. Peter and the apostles had been led by the Spirit to reach out to even the Gentiles.

 

 

 

The definition of a Gentile, in the Jewish faith, is anyone who is not Jewish. The word “Gentile” is actually not a nice word to say; it’s an insult. It doesn’t just mean “not Jewish;” it meant people who are unclean (which is a nice way of saying dirty) and profane (offensive to God and religious people). So, some Gentiles had come to Peter, a Jewish apostle of Jesus, wanting him to come with them to a Gentile home to preach and baptize a Gentile household that wanted to receive the same Spirit the apostles had received. And Peter went to the Gentile household because he had received a vision of animals–some prohibited by Jewish law and others permitted. This vision taught him not only was it OK to eat the food of the Gentiles, but that God wanted the Church to grow. The gift of salvation is to be offered to ALL!

 

Up to then, only Jewish believers had been permitted in this new faith community that worshiped, fellowshipped, and ate together. But the dietary restrictions were only one thing that separated Jews and Gentiles. Prejudice was just as powerful a barrier. Jewish people were forbidden from accepting a Gentile’s hospitality, even if the Gentile offered foods permitted by Jewish law. If a Jewish person even entered a Gentile building or handled articles belonging to a Gentile, they would be declared ceremonially “unclean” and could be barred from the synagogue.

In Peter’s vision, God says, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”

 

Peter protests. “By no means, Lord,” he says in 11:8, “for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth!” Then he hears the voice again, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” Just to make sure that Peter is listening, this happens 3 times, before the blanket with all of the animals is taken up into heaven.

Meanwhile, God has given a vision to a Gentile. Cornelius the Centurion’s vision is described in Acts 10. An angel of the Lord appears and tells him his prayers are answered and that he should dispatch men to go and bring back Simon (Peter) to Cornelius’ house. Cornelius lived in the Gentile city of Caesarea, an ancient port on the Mediterranean coast.

 

Caesarea was the capital of the Roman province of Judea since 6 C.E. and the place where Paul would be imprisoned before being sent to Rome for trial. Cornelius was in charge of the Italian cohort of the Roman army –about 1,000 men. And Acts 10:2 says he was a “religious man.” He and his household were “Godfearers”– worshipers of the God of Israel. What’s more, they demonstrated their faith by performing acts of charity to the Jewish people and praying to God “regularly.” It’s questionable whether they were permitted into the synagogues, but they may have been. What stood in the way of their conversion was not diet or prejudice. It was circumcision–the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham. They had not been circumcised. In Gen. 17:13-14, God says to Abraham, “Your flesh will embody my covenant as an enduring covenant.  Any uncircumcised male …will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.’”

Knowing the background, let’s go back to the first 2 verses of Acts 11. “Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God!! So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, ‘Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?’”

     Now you understand why Peter is really in a pickle. Jerusalem is kind of the headquarters for Christianity at the time and believers all over Judea had been talking about what had happened with Peter and the Gentiles before he arrived and had a chance to explain.

Peter’s defense is that it wasn’t his idea. This was all God’s idea, revealed to Peter in a vision. Peter is just being obedient to God’s commands. He and the Centurion were led by the Spirit to do this incredible thing–to offer God’s salvation in Jesus Christ to people that Peter and other Jews had called “unclean” and “profane.” And they didn’t just baptize and say, “Good luck with the Christianity thing!” They welcomed them as brothers and sisters in the Church, united in Christ, without requiring them to be circumcised first.

As Paul would say in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

And again in Colossians in 3:11: “Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”

 

Peter closes his argument by asking the Jewish followers of Christ, “If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?”

The Jewish believers, moved by the Spirit’s work, respond with stunned silence, then by praising God. “This God,” they say, “has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

***

Friends, when I got home from the funeral and reception at our church last night, I felt the Lord had answered my question of how we can be more welcoming to those who don’t know Jesus and how we can reach out to the world. I was reminded how our funerals and the gatherings that follow are a powerful outreach, uniting people from a variety of denominations and religious traditions, touching the hearts of some people who haven’t been to church in years. Pete’s chilidog reception in the fellowship hall was packed! And I am so proud of my church–and grateful to the many people who worked so hard to share the love of Christ through acts of kindness, big and small.

How we will be more welcoming? How we will take the gospel to the world, brothers and sisters? The Spirit will lead us.

And God will use us, as long as we know the same Spirit that brought salvation to us is meant to be shared with ALL.

 

Let us pray.

Holy One, Thank you for your Word and Spirit that brought salvation to the Jews and even to the Gentiles–and to this flock. May your Spirit continue to guide, transform and empower us today. Thank you for the many saints who ministered to the family and friends of Pete McCalman yesterday. Bless them, Lord, for their kindness and generosity. Bless the friendships that were renewed. We pray, Lord, that you will bring peace and comfort to those mourning the loss of loved ones. And we ask that you would reveal to us more opportunities to share the same Spirit that brought salvation to our flock to our community and world. In Christ we pray. Amen.

 

 

Merritt Island Presbyterian Church

Meditation on Hebrews 12:1-3

April 23, 2016

     Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.

 

Pete was in the greeting line on the first Sunday I led worship here last October. You could easily pick him out of the crowd because of his height and impeccable, distinguished appearance. He had a confident way of carrying himself. After that first Sunday, I could always tell when he was in worship; it helped that he always sat in the same pew. He welcomed me that first day with his smile and Southern charm and told me he was happy I was here. And I knew he meant it. My first impression of Pete was sincerity and gentleness.

In the coming months, I discovered that he wasn’t shy about sharing his opinions on many subjects. He was not afraid to speak his mind. But whether he was talking about the church, music, technology, sports or “women drivers,” –whatever topic came up in conversation– you might not always know if he was being serious. He had a tendency to joke around even with people he had just met. This drew people to him, as did his “colorful” expressions. His children called them “Popisms” and compiled a list of them one year to give to him as a gift. Here are some of them: “Does a goat stink?” “Great day in the morning!” “You’re a caution!” “Full as a blivit.” “It doesn’t take much to amuse some people.” “That’s all you get for a nickel.” “Bruno did it.” “Are you going to make a career out of that??” “Take 2 and butter 1.”“Who stepped on a rabbit?” And, “Hold her head up, Miss Mitchell, she’s headed for the alfalfa field!”

Pete also liked to say, “Patience is a virtue.” This is fitting for Pete, who definitely had to learn patience as he endured and persevered through a difficult childhood and trials in young adulthood. His family didn’t have money for college, but Pete was smart and determined to go. He found work in a co-op program and paid his way through Georgia Tech, earning his degree in 1961. The natural-born athlete, who was good at many sports, made a hard choice and gave up playing basketball for his college after the first year because he couldn’t afford to play; he needed to work.

Though Pete had a colorful way of expressing himself, he didn’t always share personal things. I didn’t know just how fragile Pete’s health was and that he had been in chronic pain since he returned to Merritt Island in Dec. 2014. He had moved to TN to live with his son, Mark, daughter-in-law, Donna, and grandson, Graham, for 5 and ½ years. Pete had been a caregiver to his wife, Lila, as she battled cancer for 2 years, retiring earlier than he had planned from the Kennedy Space Center so he could take care of her. Some time after Lila went home to be with the Lord in 1998, Pete’s mother, Julia, came to live with him at his invitation; he was her caregiver by choice for 7 years.

Pete was matter of fact about his own health issues. What frustrated him was that he was no longer able to walk without a walker because he was growing unsteady on his feet, that he had to give up driving, and that his mind wasn’t as sharp as it used to be. He told me these things as we ate lunch with about 10 other church members in the dining room of the “Tower” of Courtenay Springs Village, the retirement community in which he and the others lived. He entertained me with stories throughout our meal. After lunch, Pete invited me to continue our conversation at his home in the penthouse. I couldn’t say no to Pete, he was so charming, though I was worried that saying yes to him might hurt other folks who also wanted me to visit. But I sensed that Pete had something important to say.

He wanted to talk about his family and share Lila with me through photos and stories. I think he wanted me, who had never met her, to know her and love her, as he did. She was still with him in his heart, every day. She had been a professional model and church members describe her as “beautiful inside and out.” The penthouse at Courtenay Springs had been the home Pete and Lila had dreamed of living in together someday, when they got older, Pete retired, and they sold their home in South Merritt Estates. Her cancer stole that dream away.

Pete missed Lila so much. He told me he felt ready to go home to be with the Lord. He had lived a good life. He had run the race of faith that Christ had set before him. He had not grown weary of doing good. He had not lost heart.

When I was choosing a scripture for today, these 3 verses in Hebrews came to mind. “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” And I thought, “That’s Pete!” He is one of the many witnesses to the saving work of Jesus Christ–just as we are. Pete persevered in the faith, despite obstacles and trials, despite his suffering–his physical and emotional pain.

The book of Hebrews is actually a sermon meant to be read or heard all the way through, at once. This sermon was passed from congregation to congregation as a letter, though it doesn’t have the form of a letter; there’s no greeting or recipient mentioned, except in the title, which may have been added later–“The Letter to the Hebrews”–as the earliest Christians were Jewish or “The Hebrews.” It is written for a general or universal audience. It is written for us.

It helps our understanding to look back at chapters 10 and 11. In 10, we learn that Jesus’ sacrifice was once for all people, and we are called to persevere in hope. We always think of persevering as getting through something hard. But it’s also holding onto something–our hope! In 10:23-24, we read “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.” Then in the first verse of chapter 11, we learn that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” The remainder of the chapter gives biblical examples of faithfulness (Abraham, Moses, David and others) –to provoke us to love and good deeds.

Chapter 12 begins, “Therefore,” meaning all that came before it– the definition of faith and the biblical examples of faithfulness–was building up to this point. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses”– who are the witnesses? Christians of the past, present, and future. Look around the room at the cloud of witnesses–and think what a small part of the great cloud it is! This surrounding is a good thing; it means we are protected, strengthened by God’s Spirit that lives in every believer and the faithfulness of those who came before us, and those who are with us in the present and future.

Verse 1 continues, “Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” This means let go of whatever activity or attitude that is keeping you from living the hopeful, joyful life of service that God wants you to live –and has set before you. It is within your grasp, with the Spirit’s help! And what is the secret to keeping our hope and holding onto the faith? It’s not just looking around us at other people, and it’s not looking down at ourselves and becoming frightened or overwhelmed by our difficult situations. It’s looking to the one from whom our faith originates, the source, who wants to build up and make perfect our faith. That looking down and being afraid or overwhelmed is the sin that clings so closely. This sin is like a garment that we wear. The second verse assures us that this sin can be laid aside; removed. We have the power within us to choose a life of hope and service over a life of fear. If we look to Jesus to heal us–and make us whole.

***

It wasn’t easy for Pete, just as it isn’t easy for many of you who are struggling now. But he loved his family. He enjoyed many friendships, the camaraderie of his bridge groups and going with friends to every spring training game for the Washington Nationals in Viera. And he loved his church. He continued to serve the Lord through his participation in worship, when he was well enough, and through his giving. The last time I talked with Pete, he had stopped by the church to make sure that we had the dedication correct in the front of the new, Glory to God hymnals he had purchased for the church. He bought 73 of them! All are dedicated to Lila. You will likely find at least one of them in your pew.

Pete, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses that includes you and me had run with perseverance the race that is set before all of us. Let us now lift our eyes from our own problems or struggles. Let us all look to Jesus, to build up and make perfect our faith. He longs to heal us and make us whole. He endured the cross because he knew the joy would come with his resurrection. Human beings would be saved through Him.

Friends, don’t grow weary in doing well. Don’t lose heart! The joy–and the healing–will come.

 

Loving God, thank you for Jesus, who died to make a way for human beings to be reconciled with you through belief in your suffering work for our sakes. Thank you for your grace that covers all our sins, your love that goes on and on, unconditionally. Remove from us the sin that clings to each one of us like a garment–the attitude or activity that gets in the way of us living lives of hope and service–the way you want us to live. Heal us, Lord, and make us whole. Lift our eyes up and away from our own problems so that we see your love and grace and we are empowered to be Christ’s witnesses. Strengthen us to persevere through struggles and sorrows help others as we run this race together, following Jesus, until we see Him, face to face. In his name we pray. Amen.

 

Meditation on John 10: 22-30

April 17, 2016

 

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’ 

 

***

 

My mom and dad came to visit us on Monday. They brought more stuff that they couldn’t fit in their new home in a retirement community. Stuff that they thought maybe we would want or could find homes for. The stuff came in bags and cardboard boxes, loosely wrapped in newspaper.

 

And there it sat until Friday when I went on a treasure hunt, looking for interesting things Jim and I could donate to the silent auction for our youth’s trip to Montreat.

 

 

Here’s some of what I found! This is a newspaper dated Feb. 3, 1951.

 

One of the front-page stories caught my eye. “Freeze predicted for all of Florida tonight. Real winter gripped Florida today. Two inches of snow fell in St. Augustine, blanketing the Oldest City in white.”

Check out the full front page. See the children making a snowman!

 

I also found some sad mementos that I imagine some collectors would love to have. Here is a Washington, D.C. newspaper from November 1963–the day President Kennedy was shot.

There are other moving photos from that day.

     And there are other interesting–and less sad–finds. Grandma saved 4 books of patterns for decorating huck towels from 1937. I didn’t even know what “huck towels” were!

 

This next find is even more exciting than huck towels. My mom collected baseball cards and kept them in a little photo album.

I learned that Yogi Berra’s real name was “Larry.”

 

Does anyone remember Ralph Kiner or Johnny Van Dor Meer?

 

Does anyone know who this is?

 

This next item will be more familiar to you. Does anyone still have a record player that can play 45’s? Do you remember Glen Miller and his orchestra?

 

And for military history buffs, here is a glass paperweight of Admiral Dewey. “Remember the Maine!”

 

And for the kids and other young at heart, some tiny porcelain dogs.

 

And a tiny elephant.

 

Are you thirsty?

 

Sorry. This Coke bottle isn’t real. It’s only about 2 inches tall.

And then my Mom had a couple of card games when she was a child. This one, I don’t have a clue what it is. Maybe you know who these people are.

But this one is a game that helps you learn famous authors and their writings.

This limited edition Eagle Belt Buckle has never been worn. It’s in the original box with a certificate of authenticity.

Antique game pieces, anyone?

This next thing is cool. I think this was my dad’s.

 

It’s a map measure, with a little wheel on the bottom.

Here’s one of Grandma’s pretty pins.

But she had even more dishes than jewelry! This is a small, decorative plate.

 

She had crystal.

 

She had many adorable teacups and saucers that she used when company came to play bridge or pinochle. Everybody got a different cup, so you always knew which one was yours.

 

Finally, I began to unwrap my grandmother’s dishes-a complete setting for 12, with all the additional platters, bowls, etc. I didn’t know where to put them all–and they were so pretty, with their gold trim and delicate flowers. So I decided to set my dining room table. Just for fun, can anyone see where Melvyn is hiding?

 

Then Jim walked in and asked, “What are you doing with all those? Why did you unwrap them?” I hadn’t planned on keeping any of the things my parents had brought.

(There’s Melvyn!)

 

But as I unwrapped the dishes, I remembered the suppers our family ate at Grandma and Pop Pop’s house. She was a good cook and always had a crowd of her friends and other relatives stop in when we would come for a visit. After supper, I used to help her wash the dishes by hand. She didn’t have a dishwasher. And even if she did, those dishes with their gold trim are probably not dishwasher safe.

I guess I changed my mind about keeping the dishes because I thought, “What would Grandma think if I gave away her dishes because they are too fragile–and we might break them if we use them?” Recalling her generosity and kindness, I know she would be glad if we used them and enjoyed them at our gatherings of friends and family.

With my aging parents having to give up so many of their belongings when they moved to the retirement community, and my dad struggling with health challenges, I am learning to put “things” into perspective. I am learning, again, the lesson of what really matters –and it’s not our belongings or accomplishments–it’s our family, friends, and faith– knowing to whom we belong and our true purpose in life–serving God, loving people.

So much of this life is fragile, including life itself. As a pastor, visiting the sick and comforting those grieving the loss of loved ones, I am often reminded of the fragility of life here. But as Christians, we needn’t fear the future. Rather, we who are imperishable and unsnatchable should make the most of the days God has given us– mending our broken relationships, listening for the Good Shepherd’s voice, seeking to obey, and sharing the hope of eternal life for all who trust in Him.

 

***

   Our gospel today opens with Jesus talking with the Pharisees about things that really matter–who Jesus is and the way to eternal life. It is the Feast of the Dedication–Hanukkah- when the shepherd readings from the Hebrew Scriptures were commonly read in the synagogue, readings such as Ezekiel 34:23, “I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.” It’s “winter,” when the “cold winds sweep in from the east across the … desert.” (Ray Brown, 405) Jesus is walking on the east portico of the Temple, the only portico “whose closed side would protect it from the east wind.”

       The question of whether Jesus is the Messiah has come up again. In John 7:26, during the Festival of Booths, the people of Jerusalem were asking, “Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah? Yet we know where this man is from; but when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” In John 7:31, many in the crowd believe in him and are saying, “When the Messiah comes, will he do more signs than this man has done?” But in 7:41-42, the people are divided, saying, “This is the Messiah,” or “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he?” Now in chapter 10, the Pharisees demand, “How long will you keep us in suspense?” (Other translations say, “How long will you keep annoying us?”) “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Jesus says, “I have told you and you do not believe.” The reason is simple enough. “You do not believe,” Jesus says, “because you are not my sheep.” In contrast to the unbelief of the Pharisees, Christ describes his flock’s obedience and faithfulness. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

 

     Imagine how his first audience is hearing this. Jesus is saying, “You do not believe in me not because I am not a shepherd, but because you are not sheep.” The problem is with them–not Jesus! Earlier in chapter 10, Jesus compares the Pharisees to thieves, bandits, and hired hands; now they are not among God’s chosen, even though they are descendants of Abraham; they are not among the sheep the Father has given to Jesus! It’s not surprising that after our passage ends at verse 30 — “I and the Father are one”– the Pharisees take up stones in verse 31 and prepare to stone Jesus for making himself God. But he eludes their grasp and crosses the Jordan–returning to where John had baptized him. Many come to believe in him there.

      The Pharisees were angered when they heard condemnation in the Good Shepherd’s remarks–that they were not his sheep because they did not believe he was the Messiah. But there is only good news for those who are Christ’s sheep–for those who believe on Him and have accepted His sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world. If you are worried, my friends, that you are not hearing God’s voice when you seek the Lord, be reassured. Jesus promises in verse 27 that his sheep will hear God’s voice! God will answer your prayers!

 

 

If you worry that God isn’t intimately involved in your life, listen to verse 27 again: Christ’s sheep are known by the Lord, the God who created you! And if you sometimes worry that you might unintentionally choose a wrong path, that you might make a mistake, hear this and be at peace: verse 27 also says that Christ’s sheep will follow him! If our hearts’ desire is to be pleasing to Him and obey, Christ will lead the way.

And as we read on in this passage, the promises just keep getting better. “I give them eternal life,” Jesus says in verse 28. “And they shall never perish.” Eternal life cannot be earned, my friends! It is only a gift.

And it cannot be lost. If you are Christ’s sheep, your salvation is secure. You cannot slip out of or be snatched from the Lord’s grasp.

With echoes from Isaiah 43 and 49, Christ says in verses 28 and 29, “No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand.”

   Fellow sheep, you are imperishable and unsnatchable. Make the most of the days God has given you. Mend your broken relationships. Listen for the Good Shepherd’s voice. Seek to obey. And share the hope of eternal life for all who trust in Him.

 

Let us pray.

 

Good Shepherd, we are your sheep, grateful for all you have done for us on the cross–taking our sins away. Thank you for holding us tightly in your grasp–for the protection and security of your hand. Thank you that we cannot lose the salvation that is your gracious gift. Help us, Lord, to listen for and hear your voice. Guide us to paths and pastures of righteousness. Lead us to be your faithful, joyful, obedient sheep, following in your footsteps, reaching out to people in need, sharing the good news of eternal life with words and acts of love with a world so desperately in need of a savior. In Christ we pray. Amen.