"Rest Awhile"

7/19

Remembering Dan

I returned to Pittsburgh for the memorial service of a friend who died of Covid, the virus that led to this service being delayed by some 8 months. The little Oakdale Church was filled to capacity for my friend Dan’s service, maybe 2-250 people or more. And an equal number streamed through after the service to pay their respects.

The service reflected the impact this good man had in the  community in which he grew up and in which he remained. A father, husband, grandfather, teacher, musician and more. There was music from the Ukrainian Orthodox tradition, and traditional Christian music form the Americana tradition and from John Prine, another Covid casualty. And many heartfelt  testimonies.

Later in the afternoon, the family hosted a celebration at their old barn complete with barbecue, beer and a steady flow of music by people of all ages. Goo people. Solid people. With roots in the farms and mines and mills that filled this area. They believe in work lek they believe in Jesus but work his so much harder now.  This is the ethos I grew up with. This is where I feel “home.”

Reflecting on the  turnout to remember my friend Dan, I recall what Oz said to the Tin Man, “A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others”

On Sunday, I preached at the Oakdale Church.  Here’s what I had to say…

Sermon

7/18

Text: MARK 6: 30-34, 53-56

Good morning.  First …historic note..since March 1st 2020 until today, the only place I have preached a live in person sermon is right here at Oakdale Presbyterian Church, last August. The very special hand made mask I received is on the collage inside my cd from last year. So it’s good to be back. 

A lot has happened since last we’ve been together. We’re opening up again.  And seem to have covid on the run. At least in places that have gone in for vaccinations. And I’m here this weekend because our brother, our companion, our friend, Dan Hanczar died from Covid. Listen …for what it’s worth, last fall I lost three friends in two weeks,  two of them guys more or  less my own age. Believe me, I have NO time for anyone  who says this is a hoax or who wants to  politicize personal responsibility  and public health. 

Oh…And we’ve got a new President!….and the Pirates may be in last place, but somehow they manage to come back from 6 down in the last two innings and win!  (That’s why we watch!)

We have lived through a year of Coronavirus world and we are still here. Oakdale Church is still here. You are still here.  Let yourselves feel that.

Now what’s up with Jesus today? 

I have to say this is one of my favorite passages…it’s perfect for summer time, vacation time, it’s the inspiration for a song I wrote for a friend’s memorial.  It’s a passage I’ve preached  on at least a dozen times in my years as a pastor.

What’s going on?

Jesus is greeting his disciples. They have come back from the journey he sent them on preaching repentance.  He knows they need a break. They need to come away and go  to a “lonely place,” a place where they can be away for awhile and catch their breath.  

And, I might add, they need to mourn the loss of their friend John the Baptist.

This is important because it recognizes that Jesus wants us to care for  ourselves. Just like he wants us to shake the dust off our feet  and leave when we are not received, not beating your head again the wall, he wants us to know when we need to take a break and catch our breath if we’re going to be any good to ourselves let alone anyone else. 

But here’s what happens..somehow word gets out and a big crowd gathers before they even get there.  And here’s what I love …Jesus could look at this crowd and say, “Oh man, all I wanted is just one day, just one day…is that too much to ask? Oh man…” But he doesn’t.  He looks on them with compassion because they seem like sheep without a shepherd. SO he begins to respond to their needs. 

This has been a rough time…NPR, in a story entitled “The Great Resignation” recently reported on the number of people who after a year of Covid are leaving their jobs. Questioning  when, how and for whom thy work.  Worn out deacons and elders and even pastors leaving their churches and people, in what we might call the great reassessment, leaving their marriages.  It’s been a hard year, and everyone of us knows that. 

Maybe we need to take minute and ask ourselves what we have left.  Or what we need to leave. 

And Jesus gets it.  We have permission to care for ourselves..BUT..human need is so great…only getting greater..as one commentator said, now even the wildness is congested with human need. Every time I go into Penn Station, I immediately encounter 2 to 3 people, as the kids say, buggin’…cursing God, the government, the cosmos  in mainly incoherent fits of rage… 

Listen…Jesus is not here to make us feel better. Jesus is here to welcome us into the kingdom, the kindom and get us living in it now…

Let’s think about compassion a minute. That great Kentucky poet Wendell Berry has said our system is an economy of the one night stand….consumption without responsibility let alone relationship…

In Jesus ‘ day,  extension of compassion under Roman Imperial Rule…was revolutionary action…compassion has concrete content in the real world…

For years, a voluntary medical tent in the US side of the border provided emergency help to people found in the most dangerous,  life threatening part of the Sonora desert.. The US Border Patrol had a working agreement not to arrest anyone receiving medical treatment. Until a new regime raided the medical facility and arrested those receiving aid and those offering it.  New border personnel made a point to empty plastic water bottles despite a prestatehood Arizona tradition that forbade denying people water in the desert.  Volunteer medical worker Scott Warren was arrested for  water. Thankfully an Arizona court found him not guilty. And with a change, border guards are now working with medical volunteers again. 

All I’m saying is compassion, simple compassion, can be seen to have content  beyond  its simple  humane reality.

So what do I want you to take away today?

One, Jesus wants you to care for yourself. Figure out what that means. Rest awhile.  One time I preached this sermon wanting to make a point about God. I asked the kids, who never takes a vacation, intending to answer it with God. And one kid answers, “My Dad.” No good. I learned  that lesson much too late. This  been a hard stretch.

Two…acknowledge that this has been a hard year for everyone., And so treat each other with compassion. 

I flat out love the the billboard banner that Dan's kids had made for their mother's birthday…”TAKE LOVING CARE OF EACH OTHER…” Do that friends and we'll keep  Dan near…

And oh yeah, Thank God for Music. Amen.

My friends, let those  with ears to hear, hear…REST AWHILE……

AMEN

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