Aug 14, 2011
Proper 15
Matthew 15:21-28

 Surprised by Grace [14:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (103)

Have you ever been surprised by grace? Have you ever seen grace ever shown up in unexpected places? Grace: unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor from God. Have you ever seen grace show up in unexpected people? Not people who were not expecting grace themselves; have you ever been surprised at who was receiving grace? That’s the tricky thing about grace- you can’t earn grace, by definition you receive it because you don’t deserve it, and yet people seem to get uneasy when they see undeserving people receiving favor from God.

I think our Gospel story is about being surprised by grace – specifically being surprised by who is seeking God’s mercy, how they seek it, and all they represent. It would seem, from this Gospel text, that even Jesus is surprised by just how far his grace extends – even to a Canaanite! Jesus is 100 percent God, but also 100 percent man, and he was conditioned by his upbringing. Growing up, he probably heard the stories about the Israelites who were told by God to conquer the Canaanites under the faithful leadership of Joshua; about how the Canaanites made war against Israel. He may recall the story of Noah, how Noah fell asleep drunk and naked and his youngest son Ham saw him. Noah, embarrassed, pronounced a curse on Ham the father of the Canaanites. “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers. Praise be to the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend Japheth’s territory; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be the slave of Japheth.” (Gen 9:25-27) You may begin to see that there is some bad blood between Israelites and Canaanites; in fact they are cursed by God in Holy Scriptures – how can you argue with that? And now how surprising that the accursed, a Canaanite woman is able to call Jesus Lord, and recognize him as the son of David.

This is not Jesus’ first encounter with non-Jews. He has even healed Gentiles just by saying a word. In fact, this encounter might remind you of the faith of the Centurion. Again, a non-Jew approached Jesus and asked for healing on behalf of another – his servant. Jesus was quick to respond in that encounter saying “Shall I go to him.” The Centurion said, I am not worthy to receive you into my house, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed. And it was so, and Jesus even commended the Centurion on his faith. But grace does not seem so abundant for the Canaanite woman, with very similar circumstances – she approached Jesus, asked for grace, this time for a daughter, but she was ignored – this is asking too much! And today’s Gospel reading is put right in the middle of not one, but two miraculous feeding stories. Jesus fed 5000 people (not including women and children) with just five loaves of bread and 2 little fishes! After this encounter Jesus feeds 4000; and this woman literally asks for crumbs. Why so much grace for so many, and so little grace for this one?

It’s hard to apply the saying “What Would Jesus Do?” to today’s Gospel lesson. Jesus begins by just ignoring the woman, and then calls her a dog. Maybe he was having a bad day, after what must have been a quite tiring time of healing and teaching he was just seeking some peace and quiet and then this woman intrudes. Maybe Jesus was having a bad day. Maybe grace was easier in theory for the faceless crowd, but more difficult when face to face with your ancestral enemy.

But the woman persists, shamelessly so. This is not a simple passing request. She cried for mercy! She kneels down and pleads “Lord!” three times. Much like our opening litany this morning: Lord have mercy! Christ have mercy! Lord have mercy! She was not just reading from paper, she was pleading with all her heart. She cries for crumbs. What would you do in the face of such a passionate plea?

One time, while at scripture study with other pastors in Woodstock – we were sitting in the church basement office, eating lunch, talking about our Sunday sermons and ministries, enjoying each others company. A timid knock comes and the door and a young woman with frizzy red hair shows her self in. Her eyes getting a bit big, I wonder that she wasn’t expecting so many people in that church during a weekday. She cautiously asked for the pastor, and someone mentioned we were all pastors- I’m not sure if this was good news or a bit overwhelming for her. We waited patiently as she struggled to find the words to explain why she had walked in that day. She was looking for financial assistance. Specifically gas money. There was some awkward silence, we glanced around the table. And finally someone spoke up – offering her names of assistance agencies and phone numbers; those really were the right places to get that kind of help right? What could we do? How were we to know if she was abusing the system? So we sent her away, we did what the disciples wanted to do with the Canaanite woman. We were short on grace that day. The Canaanite woman was not as timid as the Woodstock woman. The Canaanite woman cried and pleaded. I wonder what would have happened, what would we have done if she started to cry, what if she were able to point out to us how we were discussing how to preach grace on Sunday, but found it hard to offer grace on Tuesday. Even the dogs eat crumbs that fall from the children’s table, the Canaanite woman said. The Canaanite woman pointed out the hypocrisy: “you are treating me worse than a dog.”

I don’t know what exactly changed for Christ, that he would move from outright ignoring the woman, to name calling, and then to grace. In her passionate plea, her recognition that Jesus is the Christ, son of David, he saw her faith. Perhaps he was confronted with what he had been taught his whole life about Canaanites and had to reconcile it with what he knew now about this one woman before him – that faith is possible even in the most unlikely, and that his grace could be poured out for her. Prejudice is much easier in theory when you don’t have to look a person in the eye to see their tears, to see their humanity. I wonder that Jesus was surprised by grace that day, surprised at just how far his grace could extend. He did come for the lost sheep of Israel – and yet his grace overflowed. Thank God that his grace overflowed to Gentiles, even such as us.

Where might you not expect grace? Who would you be surprised to receive grace? Who is the Canaanite for us – that type of person we have been raised to be weary of? Would you be surprised to find them with grace? Do illegal immigrants deserve Gods grace? Arabs? Gays and Lesbians? Those who are disabled?

Who deserves God’s grace? You might be surprised.

Water Shoes

Aug 7, 2011
8th Sunday after Pentecost; 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time; Proper 14
Matthew 14:22-33

 Get out of the Boat [14:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (126)

Our Gospel reading this morning reminds me of a time I was very young – young enough that I didn’t know how to swim, and I needed those little orange arm floaties. We were vacationing as a family in Ocean City, MD and had chose a pool day at the hotel instead of an ocean day at the beach. We had been swimming the afternoon away and my dad told me that it was time to go. I hoped out of the pool, dried off, and gathered all of my things. But then I saw that our floaty hippo was still in the pool. Being the helpful young chap that I was I decide to go fetch it. I, of course, had already removed my orange floaty arm bands, and the hippo was just within reach by the edge of the pool – the five foot section of the pool. I reached and reached, and then the weight of my big ‘ol child head was too much for my little body and in I went. And then I realized – Oh yeah, I don’t know how to swim yet! I panicked and splashed and flailed about. It was the most scarred I had ever been up to that point in my short life, and this was going to be the end; I was sure of it. Until out of the blue an arm reached in and single handedly lifted me out of the pool, and I lived to tell you about it today.

A non-swimmer reaching out for a toy was pretty foolish, and I sure didn’t let little details like gravity get in the way of my goal. We hear the story of Peter and Jesus walking on the water and might realize some of his foolishness as well; but neither did he let little details like physics keep him from walking on the water (if even for but a moment).

This miraculous sign comes immediately after another – the feeding of the 5000 with two little fishes and fives loaves of bread. And Jesus sends the disciples on ahead. Why did the disciples cross the sea? To get to the other side! Well, they didn’t quite make it. The waves began to increase. Wind and wave battered against the boat and the disciples were afraid. Before dawn, it still being dark, a figure was seen out there walking upon the waves. Now this is becoming a ghost story!

Jesus attempts to calm the disciples fears saying “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” It is I, or literally “I am.” Without saying who he is, Jesus calls out to the disciples with the familiar yet simple phrase “I am.” The same declaration which is shared with Moses at the burning bush when he asks for the name of the almighty God. The voice from the bush responds “I am who I am.” And now, this revelation is echoed on the wind and the waves as Jesus declares “I am.” This is perhaps the first time it was made so clear to the disciples that Jesus, the Christ is the I am who I am; God in the flesh.

What happens next is not such much about what we are able to do; but rather what Christ does through us, his disciples. Peter is still sitting in the boat, with the wind and the waves still crashing about him – he is likely still afraid, likely still in disbelief concerning the presence of Christ on the sea. Peter opens his mouth and offers a challenge to what he is concerned is a phantom or a figment of his imagination; he says “If it is you, then command me to come to you on the water.” I can’t help but find this to be an incredibly odd request. Peter: Um…if your concerns are well founded and this is just a figment of your imagination then your best case scenario is sinking like a rock into the sea. I think Peter is showing a great sign of faith in this challenge – it boils down to Peter submitting himself to the command of Christ; in fact Peter was asking for it – asking to be commanded; asking to be command to come near to him. Peter asked to be commanded to come to Christ no matter the risk, no matter the cost, no matter the wind, no matter the sea. Peter didn’t consider the physics, he wanted to be with Jesus and at Christ’s command he went. Peter was still afraid, Peter still had doubt in his faith; and in the face of fear and doubt Peter stepped out in faith.

The church is often symbolized as a boat. This image recalls a time when the Christian religion was illegal and the faithful would conduct worship hidden in side boats. I have seen churches which are designed to look like upside-down boats – so that you could see what would be the planks over head. The church has been called a boat because it is a place of salvation, where we may be safe from the tossing of the sea and the crash of the wind. And in our Gospel reading, the disciples found their salvation when Christ entered the boat with them and the waves died down.

But, boats are vessels. They are vehicles that go somewhere. Why did the disciples cross the sea? To get to the other side! Sometimes I fear that the church these days values the safety of the boat a little too much. It is very tempting to, instead of going somewhere, to stay tied up at dock – and that is certainly very safe. But, could you imagine if the Disciples refused to cross that sea for the purpose of sharing the Good News with the people on the other side?

So Peter asks Christs “Lord, command me to come to you.” And Jesus did, and even Peter walked on the water, if even for a moment. Still, I believe this was such a humble, faithful, and brave request on Peter’s part; and he provides an example for us. Peter saw where Christ was, and while knowing the danger asked to be commanded to go to him.

Of course, Peter sinks like a rock at the first sight of real danger upon him. I’d imagine a thrashing sea looks a bit different when you are outside of the boat. Peter cries out “Lord, save me!” There is no “if” this time; Peter doesn’t say “If you are the Lord, save me!” If there was any doubt that the Lord was there on the sea, it is gone now. And immediately, immediately Christ reaches down to pull Peter out of the water.

“You of little faith.” Not so much a condemnation as a statement of fact. Peter – you do have little faith. We disciples, we do have little faith – that’s a fact. But the man walked on water with that little faith! I wonder that Peter sank perhaps as a little humility check – that he was not walking on the water by his own power but because Christ commanded him.

If we, also of little faith, are able to step out of the boat; step into danger, fear, anxiety, and discomfort at the command of our Lord – we can walk on water….and will also probably sink. And in that is the really good news – that Christ is mighty to save; and that Christ does save. He did not command Peter to his doom; but he commanded him to be placed in a position to receive salvation.

We the church, living up to the image of a life boat, need to be willing to step out in faith so that we might be saved!

cup of cold water

June 26, 2011
2nd Sunday after Pentecost (13th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Matthew 10:40-43

Right around this time last year I was working part-time for the 2010 US Census Bureau. I was an enumerator which meant my job was to go door to door and follow up on all the people who did not return their questionnaire by the deadline. The job required knocking on someone’s door, hoping they would answer and not slam the door in my face; then I’d explain who I was and try to talk them into answering 5 questions about their household. Sometimes this was easy, and sometimes it was a challenge. Most folks were quite nice – they apologized for misplacing their form or forgetting about it. A few (a very few – I mean 2 out of the couple of hundred of visits I completed) even invited me in to the kitchen table and offered me a glass of sweet tea while we filled out the form. There were a few (again very rare, maybe 2 or 3 folks) who were quite mean. I believe around here you would say “hateful.” Before getting a word out of my mouth, they would take one look at my badge and clipboard and start yelling. “Get out of here!” “I don’t need to answer anything!” “Washington is so nosy.” Even some obscenities and then a door slam in my face. Too bad I had to try three times before officially marking them down as a “refusal.” So, I’d have to go back again the next day and the day after that and take some more abuse before simply asking a neighbor who would politely tell me everything I needed to know in the first place.

It occurred to me that in both extremes – the sweet Southern hospitality as well as the Southern temper, these folks were not receiving me (or not) they were receiving (or not) who I represented. During training I had to be sworn-in as a government agent. When I got that door slammed in my face; they were actually slamming that door in the face of the one who sent me – in this case the US Government.

That is Jesus warning to his disciples in the Gospel reading today.

The Gospel is taken very much out of context in our Gospel reading this morning. And when it is done so, and we have just these three verses to consider it is quite easy to get the point of the text completely backwards. It sounds an awful lot like Jesus is sharing a proverb on how to be hospitable or welcoming. [Begin with verse 41] “Whoever welcomes someone known to be a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes someone known to be righteous will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones…truly I tell you, that person will certainly be rewarded.” Hearing just these verses we may conclude that we are called to be welcoming and to show hospitality. To modernize the text and apply it to the church we might come to the conclusion that we are called to be nice and that we need to make our churches as accommodating as possible, we ourselves need to be as welcoming as possible, we need to have the best church coffee hour in town so that when people come to us we do as Christ said and we are welcoming, by offering that cold cup of water (or hot beverage). Look how welcoming we are! Being a welcoming church is a great thing, but it’s not what Jesus is saying here. This text is not about offering hospitality, it is about receiving hospitality (or not) as disciples in Jesus name.

These three verses come at the end of Jesus’ sending of the twelve disciples to Israel. This episode of teaching and sending follows the Sermon on the Mount and then some various healings done by Jesus. It was after the many healings that Jesus preformed that he continued to see the crowds and he called the people sheep without a shepherd. And so he took his disciples aside and gave them a commission to go. He begins by telling the disciples “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the field.” Jesus calls the disciples first to prayer; I wonder if the disciples knew that they would be the answer to their own prayer “Lord send someone to work in the field.”

Hear the words Jesus gave his disciples: (10:7) “As you go, proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven has come near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons…(v9) “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts, no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff…(v12) As you enter the home, give it your greeting…(v14) If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town…(v16) I am sending you out like sheep among wolves…(v17) Be on gaurd; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. [they will] arrest you. (v21) Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me…When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another…(v28) Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…(v34) Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword…(v38) Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

All these warnings in Jesus call for the disciples to go; and then we have our text on hospitality. Putting it in perspective now, Jesus is trying to give them some optimism: There is a lot of danger out there, and you may face death and rejection, but you will also face welcome. There will be people out there who do welcome you in my name.

When we hear these hospitality verses it may sound like an easy message – all you have to do is offer a cup of cold water, and you will be rewarded. But turned around – imagine these disciples who face all this danger and rejection and being told that being offered minimal hospitality will be rewarded and that they should be grateful when they are received, even in a small way. Turning this around, we are not given a low threshold of hospitality – all you have to do is give a cup of cold water; that’s good enough. No, turned around, being the ones to receive hospitality – we are called to graciously receive hospitality in Jesus name. When someone gives you as insignificant of a gesture as cold water because you come in Jesus name, be honored! Do not expect great things, going out in my name.

We do not face the same kind of threat here, in the United States, even as local missionaries. Even going door to door the worst that might happen is that you get a door slammed in your face – but we still face a real challenge for us today. Hospitality is rare, especially for strangers. And it may be difficult for us to seek hospitality from others – feeling uncomfortable to enter into the life of someone else.

Jesus is telling his disciples to be willing to risk receiving hospitality in Jesus name. Be ready to go in Jesus name and have the door slammed in your face, or to be flat out ignored. But also know that when you go out in Jesus name you will also be received; even in small ways (someone open to talking to you, offering that cold cup of water, or even welcoming you in their home) because you are his disciple – and that person is worthy of the presence of Christ, through you (his disciple) because Jesus sent you to receive hospitality in his name.

Be willing to risk receiving hospitality in Jesus name.

June 19, 2011
Trinity Sunday
Matthew 28:16-20 (The Great Commission)

What does this Great Commission mean for the church nearly 2000 years later?

Christ gives the Great Commission within the context of his resurrection. The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had told them to go. The disciples followed the instruction which was given to them second hand – a command from Jesus, given through the women who witnessed the empty tomb, and who were the first to see the risen Lord. It is in this hope and excitement that the disciples wait for the Lord on the mountain top. The disciples had not yet experienced the risen Christ. This mountain top encounter would be their first and last with Christ according to Matthew’s Gospel. With that unbelievable good news of the resurrection, it is understandable that the disciples worshiped AND they doubted. They worshiped and they doubted.

I can understand their doubts: They saw the Lord crucified and buried, they had heard the chief priests’ story about a stolen body (and some may have been inclined to believe it); and I bet that persecution from the church deepened the doubt. The fact that there are only eleven disciples present (remembering the pain of Judas’ betrayal) added to the doubt. Plus there was doubt about what happens next. They saw the Lord – they worshipped and they doubted. It would seem for the disciples that there was plenty of room for doubt even within a faith secure in the truth of Christ’s resurrection.

It is in the midst of the joyful realization of Christ’s resurrection; and in the midst of the disciples’ lingering questions that Christ offers his final words on the mountain top: “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

All authority. Jesus begins his call to the church with his own authority. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me, he says. In the next verse, Jesus invokes the Trinity: the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – thus reminding us of Christ’s divinity. It is Christ who has the power, it is Christ who has the authority. The Great Commission is first and foremost rooted in Jesus’ power, not our own power. Look ahead to the task given us: make disciples of all nations, teach them to obey every command. An impossible task! …If it is rooted in our own power and our own authority. But, we cannot fail because it is not by our own power that we “Go!” – it is by the power of God. Christ is saying to his disciples – I know you doubt, but you doubt your own power; do not doubt my power!

So, Go! Make disciples. Baptize… We followed this commission when we baptized Lauren and Jesse last Sunday. Many of you were able to join us for the celebration. Their baptism was the culmination of a 10 week formal instruction period with the elders, myself, and their parents. During the class it was obvious that their discipleship began even long before that. It is a process that has been years in the making – as they heard Bible stories from their parents, and from you; As they learned the creeds, and the Lord’s Prayer; and as they looked around and saw many examples of what faithful Christians look like. And it is by no means the end of their discipling; it takes a life time to make a disciple. And that is the commission that Christ gives us – Make disciples. That is quite a different thing than standing on a street corner and handing out Gospel tracts; asking people to pray a sinners prayer; “winning” souls. Sure, discipleship may start that way (though I personally don’t know any disciples who began their faith in this way). Discipleship, by its very nature is a slow-going, relational, intentional process. At the end of every baptism class everyone was asked to share one thing they learned that day, and let me ask – Elders: did you learn something? [yes] And I learned something each time too. I won’t reveal anyone’s age, but the elders of the church are a few years older than our newly baptized members; these elders are still being made disciples.

Christ, in his call to the disciples, was telling them – Go and do for others what I have done for you – Remember the disciples were with Jesus over a period of a three year ministry. Take time, spend time together. Read scripture together, learn together – be made and make disciples together.

Therefore Go! The disciples worshiped (and doubted) on that mountain, and they saw Christ before them – but Jesus said “go.” They could not be content with just staying together on that mountain top praising God until the end of the age; they were given a mission: Go and make disciples of all nations. I believe that the church’s mission continues until the end of the age. Christ is with us always, and so is his commission. We don’t ask “Does the church have a mission today?” The right question is “What is the church’s mission?” In the last 18 months I have seen how we strive to fulfill the Great Commission: we are doing our best to make disciples, we teach, we worship faithfully, we have baptized; but in my brief time here I haven’t seen a whole lot of “Go.” We send money, we collect Christmas boxes, and canned goods; we invite people to church, and to return for home coming; All great things! – but where do we go?

I wonder that we hesitate to “Go” because we, just like those first disciples – we worship but we also doubt. Can such a small church do such a big thing? Yes, because God can! But we’ve never done this before! Yes, we have – consider our forebears, the founders of this church who looked around this community and discerned that God was calling them to Go and build a church on the County Line. We are called to do what our forebears did – discern the calling of God and go!

But WHERE do we Go? I believe God established local congregations for a reason – because He has a mission for us to carry out right here! Such a big question needs to begin with intentional discernment. Such a big question begins with prayer.

You will find in your bulletins two inserts – a Prayer Pledge Card and a Prayer for Discernment. The pledge card is asking for a commitment of prayer, saying yes to the Great Commission, the command of Christ in our day to Go! It is a commitment to listen for the voice of God and to ask his will for us; and it is a commitment to one another that we will pray together. Check the box to commit to pray the discernment prayer at least once this week. Sign your name, and pray!

The Discernment Prayer is a guide to help you pray. Imagine all our fellow members praying this prayer together this week. Pray the prayer with your families, individually, or even better – join other members in sharing this prayer in their homes.

When you pray ask God “Where are you calling St. Luke’s “County Line” Church to Go?” Consider where God is ALREADY using you in this community. Where is the Gospel not being preached? Who can we help on their spiritual journey to discipleship? Where does God’s love most need to be shared in Timberville-Broadway, and the surrounding rural areas.

There is space on the prayer print-out for you to journal your response to the prayer – and how you heard God’s leading. I plan on staying after the service next week to hear the fruits of our prayer together, and how God uses you this week. I would also love for you to share times you have “gone,” fulling the Great Commission yourself.

We are embarking on quite big things, even as a small church – because all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Christ our Lord; He promised to be with us – and he told us to Go!

Scene from Grand Caverns in Virginia

May 22, 2011
Fifth Sunday of Easter
1 Peter 2:2-10

 You are living stones [13:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (255)

You are living stones. What a strange image: living stones. When I think of a stone, I first imagine a boulder, like those large landscape rocks people put in their front yard for decoration. Maybe they found it while they were digging the foundation and just kept it. This large stone has been around for a very long time, much longer than anyone I know. And it will remain there, so long as no one moves it. It will be that large, unchanging, constant presence for as long as any of us can imagine. So, what makes a living stone? How are we living stones?

Life moves, life grows, life consumes, life changes, life matures, and life ends. All the while, life needs nourished. We are living stones. How do these two go together – living stones?

Here in Virginia, we have some quite literal examples of living stones. We have a number of active (that is, growing) caverns right here in the Shenandoah Valley: Luray, Endless, Grand, Shenandoah, just to name a few. If you’ve ever been in one of the local caverns you realize very quickly that the place is alive – by all the drops of water you catch on your head. Those little tiny drops of water carry dissolved minerals in them and as the water percolates down through the ground to the cave below, it leaves the minerals behind, decorating the cavern. It’s a slow process, growing only a cubic inch in 120 years. It’s slow, but you can see the growth – stalactites from above just barely reaching stalagmites from below, wavy curtains of rock indicating that the source of water has slowly moved over the years, and “baby” soda straws – those relatively young, hallow stalactites which are only a few inches long. A cavern is very much like a living stone. Rock building upon rock, self sustaining. A slow but steady growth nourished by the waters above. We are living stones.

The church through the ages is a living stone. The church gains members in two ways: birth and adoption. Children might be born into the church, raised and nourished in the faith by their parents and faith community. Or people are brought into the family of God – adoption. When new members enter the church, it is not an individual experience. New Christians are added to the spiritual house which has been built upon the cornerstone of Christ for two thousand years. Just as in the cavern, where rock is built upon rock, we are built upon each other, built upon Christ. Just as in the cavern, the new deposits of rock become the structure itself; We are built upon the Christians who came before us in this spiritual house. Their hopes, desires, their faith is passed on to us through the ages, and they never die – they are living stones who shape our faith today, and we in turn shape the faith of those who will be born and adopted into our spiritual house of living stones which we call the church. We, as modern Christians, become part of this spiritual house – building one another up, being built up by Christ; decorating the life of the church with each of our unique gifts; nourishing one another, being nourished by Christ.

At times, because we only have but a glimpse of our whole Christian story, growth my be imperceptible, but growth is there. At times, in each of our lives, it may not feel as though we are growing much spiritually. Growth begins with a desire; a desire for the slow and steady nourishment of living stones.

Just as the living stones of the caverns need constant nourishment – the mineral water from from above; we – the living stones of the spiritual house need constant nourishment from the cornerstone of our Lord. We need to be nourished.

We may understand nourishment in a figurative sense – we are nourished by the reading of his word, by prayer, by worship, by song, by good deeds, by offering, yes by all these things we are nourished.

This is one of the reasons why we celebrate Holy Communion so frequently this Easter season: It is nourishment. In a figurative sense: Its an opportunity to recall Christ’s saving work for us, to confess our sins, to reconcile with our neighbor, to give thanksgiving, and many other spiritual goods. But it is literal nourishment as well. This is real bread, and real drink; real food. When you receive, you really eat Holy Communion; your body consumes and uses it. Just as rock is built upon rock, Christ feds us, Christ becomes part of us, Christ nourishes us.

The apostle Peter writes to the entire church “crave pure spiritual milk” just like newborn babies. By it you will grow up in your salvation. You have tasted that the Lord is good.

Newborns seem to have an insatiable craving for milk, when babies are very young they eat every two hours day and night! Could you imagine eating every two hours? Or even having an indescribable, intense desire for some need so frequently? Could you imagine only eating once every couple of months? Could you imagine a Christian with a lack of desire for spiritual nourishment from our Lord, the cornerstone?

Babies don’t understand what is going on, all they know is that they are in need. I am amazed at how much a baby can grow on just simple milk. And Christ gave us a simple meal – bread and wine, spiritual and literal nourishment. He didn’t say “take and understand;” “take and argue about;” “take and explain;” he commands us “take and eat,” because he wants first of all to feed us – body and soul. Christ nourishes us at his table, and we just might be surprised at how much Christians can grow, being fed on a diet of bread and wine.

Christ is our rock, our cornerstone, our nourishment. Come and be fed at his table

May 15, 2011
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:42-47

 Community Communion [16:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (252)

We strive to be the ideal Christian community.

So far in our celebration of the Easter season we have considered various meanings of Holy Communion. We began with celebration on Easter Sunday, the next Sunday we considered it’s role in reconciliation, last Sunday we discerned Christ in the feast and how we are in communion with him as we approach the table. This week we will consider how Holy Communion is communion with each other, the Christian community.

We focus on the first reading today from Acts. The full name of that book is the Acts of the Apostles. It is part two; the sequel to the Gospel, the story of Christ. This sequel tells the story of the early church through it’s apostles, deacons, martyrs, converts, church councils and acts of the Holy Spirit.

It was written by Luke, who wrote the Gospel which bears his name. In many ancient manuscripts The Gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles are on one and the same scroll. If you have not had the opportunity to read in its entirety, I certainly encourage you to do so – it is really quite interesting.

Our reading comes from Acts after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, after Judas is replaced by Mathias as an apostle, and following Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descends upon the people of the church, and Peter preaches a sermon which brings in 3000 new believers who are welcomed into the church. We read today about the church in it’s infancy.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to breaking of bread, and to prayer. They were filled with awe. There were signs and wonders.

They held all things in common – they were a family. They went so far as to sell property whenever any of them was in need of anything. They met in each other’s homes; they had meals together, they broke bread together.

They were a contagious community, people looked in and wanted to be part of that, and God added to their number daily.

Well, that sounds like a pretty good church, doesn’t it? Where is this church? Sign me up! I’ve been part of several churches in my life, they each had their different strengths. They each did community a bit differently. They all reached out in the community in different ways. But none of the churches I have been part of met the expectations of the idea we read from Acts.

Why is this ideal so hard to reach? Especially for the church? A deep and committed community sounds like it has much to offer, and it is a quite attractive idea to be part of. The love, the connection, the sharing, the responsibility.

Yes, it seems that a close knit community also has quite a few risks and challenges as well. Others who affect your life every day, others who know you deeply – worts and all; more people to be concerned about. That is a lot to ask in our modern, individualistic society we live in today. Yes a community like the one described in Acts is both compelling and scary all at the same time. Perhaps this is why couples spend such a long time discerning whether they wish to spend their lives together – do I really want to eat with this person every day of my life, share my all my hard earned stuff with this person forever?

Are we asked this same level of commitment when it comes to the community of God, which is his church? How does being a member of County Line church change our daily life? How often do we consider the fellowship of this community outside of Sunday morning?

It is a difficult ideal to reach.

Not long after this ideal description of the church, Ananias and Sapphira ask to enter the community. In Acts chapter 5. They sold a piece of property, but held back some for themselves. They basically lied about the gift. Peter confronts him and Ananias falls down and dies. His wife also lies about the gift and she drops dead too! Later, a fight breaks out over whether Gentiles can be Christians too.

The community fought over the issue at the first council of the church. Paul argued with Barnabas over whether or not to include a third evangelist on the trip. It got so heated that they parted ways.

It would seem that the ideal community did not maintain for very long. And yet, the church remains a viable community today. It may have always been written as an ideal to look up to; and it is certainly a good ideal to strive for.

Hope Presbyterian Church in Memphis, TN. As the flood waters reach record levels in Memphis, the interfaith community is providing assistance for its neighbors. Hope Presbyterian Church is serving as the largest shelter for residents displaced by the floods. But this shelter is not run by the Red Cross.

The church stepped up to the plate. The pastor of the church said “We just want to take responsibility for the citizens of Memphis, and we’re willing to fund it…We believe that’s what the faith-based community should be about.” He says “I think the church realized that they had abdicated part of their responsibility in society and they wanted it back.

The church gave as there was need, they showed love in community. In this tangible way Hope Presbyterian was striving to live up to the idea of the Acts 2 church.

And there are small ways we as the people of St. Luke’s County Line Church strive for the ideal community of God. By a member’s initiative, we have designated the last Sunday of every month a special collection of food for the local pantry; we have begun again this year to collect Christmas boxes for children in need;

and as new needs arise we bring them up as a community and strive to meet them. Today we are going to eat together; not for a special occasion – but because we strive for the ideal of eating “together with glad and sincere hearts.” We must strive for this ideal, in ways which may make us uncomfortable because that is part of the hard work of building community. Others may hear of this community and say: Have you heard about County Line Church?

Those people who are devoted to the apostles teaching and to each other, those people who break bread together (every Sunday in Easter!), now that is what I call community! Let’s strive to make community contagious, that’s strive for that ideal.

And today we again celebrate Holy Communion. Here, we declare that we are striving to hold these things in common, we are striving to be the church. We know that we will imperfectly embody this example from the early church, but in this feast we make that ideal more of a reality. We break bread together. In this feast, where we take our place at the table, we share a family meal. When I say “this is the body of Christ” I am talking about us as well. We partake of Holy Communion and thus declare we are in communion, we are devoted to the teachings of the apostles, to each other through fellowship, to this meal, and to prayer.

Let us approach this table, and be a Christian community.

May 8, 2011
Third Sunday of Easter
Luke 24:13-35

 Road to Emmaus [15:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (257)

Did any of you miss Easter? How about the Sunday after Easter? We if so, today, this Sunday is for you. When I asked if you missed Easter, I imagine many of you thought in terms of church, asking yourself “Was I at County Line on Easter Sunday?” In that case you may have answered “yes, I did miss Easter” if you were visiting family out of town, or maybe if you were sick. Of course, if you were physically present for worship during our Easter season so far you may have been inclined to answer “No, of course I didn’t miss Easter – I was right here in church.” …Did you miss Easter? Isn’t it interesting how closely we have connected the event of Easter with our Sunday worship. We gather together and hear the word proclaimed and discover that he is risen (he is risen indeed), and so were there, we were there for Easter we didn’t miss a thing. But if we contemplate upon it in a historical sense: “Did you miss Easter?” well that might change our answer. No we weren’t there to examine the empty tomb, no we weren’t there to hear the Good News proclaimed from the angel, nor the women, nor the disciples. No we weren’t there when Jesus appeared before his disciples with the marks in his hands and feet, nor where we there a week later when Christ appeared again to Thomas…we we remembered in our Gospel reading last Sunday. Historically, literally, we weren’t there. We missed Easter. We missed Easter even more than Thomas, we are the ones who are called to be blessed to believe without seeing.

We read about two disciples in our Gospel this morning. Two disciples who missed Easter. For whatever reason were leaving Jerusalem, that Easter evening, after Jesus had been raised from the dead. These two disciples seemed to have at least heard the rumor that Christ was risen – they speak of hearing the report from the women. But they did not believe, they missed Easter so they decided to move on to Emmaus. A stranger asks to join them along the way; it is safer to travel in groups when you have to walk. These two disciples continued to be so caught up in their grief that they could not even recognize that Christ had joined them along the way. Along the way Jesus begins to talk with these two disciples, he pleads with them to tell the story about what happened, he pauses to read scripture with them, he takes time to interpret scripture – finding Christ through the word of God; and then he broke bread at table with them. …Sound familiar?

It sounds to me an awful lot like a worship service to me. They tell their faith (Creed), they read scripture beginning with Moses and the prophets (We read scripture), Jesus interpreted scripture (I hope to share with you God’s word, and what it might mean for us in our day…we interpret scripture), and finally Jesus broke bread (and we will break bread at this table). For these two disciples who missed Easter, Christ showed them how to worship as a way to tell the gospel story. You see, the purpose of worship is for us to tell and tell again the good news of our salvation. Our worship is modeled from this scripture because, I believe that we encounter Christ when we tell the good news; we encounter Christ in church! Worship is a telling and living of the gospel.

We begin with the Apostles creed.

The disciples knew what had happened, and they did not want to talk about it because the pain it caused them. Do you hear how they are trying to avoid the subject? Jesus even asks, just about as straight forwardly as you could “What are you talking about?” And the disciples deflect: “You must be the only stranger who doesn’t know.” But seriously can you blame them? Someone once said “If you want to make people feel uncomfortable – talk about Jesus.” Have any of you had someone come up to you and ask “What do you believe about Jesus?” Wow…what would you tell them? Even I might be caught off guard by such a question (by the way, I don’t think this happens to pastors any more than it happens to you’all). But I think I might start with the creed. That is what it is there for – an aid to help us explain the faith. Did you hear the disciples’ response when Jesus pushed them to speak? Verse 19b “The things which happened to Jesus, a prophet…” Not too bad for disciples who missed Easter.

Christ did not leave them without the Good News. He read scripture to them “beginning with Moses and the prophets;” he interpreted to them about what referred to the Christ. And so we continue in that tradition. We are a New Testament, Gospel church but we don’t abandon the old testament because it is the word of God and includes the history of our salvation. We also read from Moses and the Prophets. Christ interprets scripture for them but still they cannot quite see. It is not until the breaking of the bread that their eyes are opened. He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

And so we celebrate holy communion. Though we are Christians who missed Easter, we do not miss Christ at this table, because worship is the living of the gospel message, a journey on the road to Christ. He gave us this gift that we may recall his ultimate sacrifice on the night he was betrayed when he took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. Christians have celebrated this feast throughout the centuries because in it we most fully see Christ in our midst.

It’s kind of like going to Grandma’s house. My grandmother, on every visit I can remember without fail would also bake cupcakes for us. They were vanilla, with a cream icing. Half had red-dusted sprinkles, and the other half green-dusted sprinkles. I’m told they started as a Christmas tradition, and they were so well liked that she just made them that way all the time. My dad was a pre-planner and we always knew at least a few days ahead of time that we were heading to grandmas house, and it it was a solid 30 minute drive. As a kid I knew I was heading there, and I knew where we were going during the whole trip, but it was not until I walked through that door to smell the fresh baking and to sit down and taste that creamy cupcake that I knew I had truly made it to grandmas.

Christians continue to celebrate Holy Communion, and we continue to celebrate in the season of Easter that Christ is alive and in our midst. We are disciples on a journey, and we journey today to the table of our lord to come, to taste, and to see.