One last look at the Bread of Life...

8/21 

a chocolate castle

In Pittsburgh for family concerns. Staying at a hotel in Canonsburg.  Home of the one and only Sarris Chocolates, located between newly name Frank Sarris Avenue and Bobby Vinton drive.  On Sunday I preach at Oakdale Presbyterian, where 26 years after I served there I still have a home., And one last time explore the Bread of Life.....

Well, a lot has happened since last I was here. I spent ten days in Berlin with my grandchildren. The last time I saw my granddaughter, she was only 8 months old. And now, she is 2/34 years old. Believe me at that age, a lot happens in a little one’s life…like she’s a real person now!…yet another one of those many costs of covid that just doesn’t seem to go away. 

 There was supposed to be a big “welcome back” concert this week in New York City to celebrate the “return to the city" and the “return to normal”…and the reality is, we are nowhere near there. Starting September 13th, there’s a mandatory vaccination for indoor public spaces. Wondering how we’re going to enforce that at our church. Nah, nowhere near normal… 

Speaking of that concert, I was feeling bad that I was going to be missing Paul Simon’s return to Central Park and Bruce Springsteen!…some of my friends actually saw the unannounced dress rehearsal sound check on Friday…but when I saw the notice of the two hour thunder and lightning storm that cancelled the event, I was happy I was sitting in Heinz Field watching the Steelers win. And when I read about Hurricane Henri landing today, hey, I’m, much better off with you…. 

And poor Haiti has guan been devastated by a hurricane and the scenes from Afghanistan, like deja vu all over again…(I read in a new history book about Pittsburgh that we sent a disproportionately large number of young men to Vietnam than nearly any other city…and now 20 years in Afghanistan and …and…

So we’re talking about bread (again) today, When you think of bread, what comes to mind? I think of the dark dense bread my son goes out to get every morning at the bakery on his street in Berlin. And the smell of the bakery my grandfather took me to when I was a little kid. Or the Irish soda bread with caraway seeds and raisins I used to bake on St. Patrick's day. Or cornbread and chili or barbecue. Or the sourdough bread some of us started making during covid. Our basic sustenance…like in the Lord’s prayer, give us this day our daily bread…what comes to your mind? 

Jesus is talking about “living bread”…and he’s talking about himself. And using hard, harsh, graphic language. And yes, deliberately offensive language. Eat my body, drink my blood… It’s hard on the disciples., "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” they say. And Jesus responds that the flesh is useless.. Let’s stop there a second…

Jesus was fully human, flesh and blood…he’s not saying our bodies are no good…what he is saying  that we are never going to get there with our own wits….we can’t think our way there..(although last week in the NY Times Ross Douthat thinks you can…) When I was applying for seminary, my local Presbytery, Washington, was quite upset that I was accepted to Yale. They said that Yale was the kind of place you could goo to saved and come back un..but in my case, the exact opposite was true.,..I had to get to the end of my mind, the end of my reason, before I could give in and open myself to Jesus. … 

Jesus is very clear when he says “…no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” That’s the root of our Reformed Presbyterian faith right there. Even our capacity to “make a decision for Christ,” as they say, is a function of God’s grace…which means you can never, ever judge another. I had someone who was alcoholic, living on the streets tell me about all the time he’d been through rehab and how many times he’d given his heart to Jesus and that it never worked. I looked at his tears. No way I could say, well you just have to try harder or judge his character. We just don’t know…all I could do is reassure him that Jesus loves him and is with him just as he is… 

We even get into some deep stuff about Judas...Talk about mysteries..John tells us that For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. …so why did her choose him? Was this part if God’s plan” If so, was it really betrayal? See what I mean? 

So …back to bread…yes..his language is hard…so hard it seems like everyone but the original 12 leave. They’re done. Makes me wonder…is there anything we do in our faith that is offensive to broader society? Should we be? But more poignantly, we know, this church knows, what it feels like to have people leave us. (Even though there are times we, yes even pastors screw up royally and need critical clarification…but  not angry accusations or defensive denial or walk. aways……every division, every loss hurts, no way around it… 

So what is he trying to say with this hard language? Look I had a Catholic friend who emotionally freaked out at her first communion over the idea that the bread and wine really becomes Jesus. But it’s a Catholic writer, Raymond Brown who says that it means taking all of Jesus in, all of him…so he will abide in us as we abide in him… When he says these eating and drinking words…and eating is literally chomping and chewing, he is saying take him in so that we feel what he feels and walks where he walks …yees even if it leads to the cross…because it is in eating that bread and embarking on that journey that true life in all its fullness is found…and even in small little churches, that’s where our strength is found… 

As we take communion today let is remember that the great Protestant reformer Zwingli said that it is not the bread and wine that is transformed but we who participate in it, in our drinking and eating we, together, become, yes actually become the living body of our risen Lord Jesus..and he will abide with us as we abide with him…let those with ears to hear, hear...  Amen 

Later I will share this sermon with my friends from Beverly Church. On Thursday, my friends from Sabeel in Jerusalem will reflect on this passage. They are celebrating the release of a young woman from their community arrested in an Israeli round up of protesting students. Former Presbyterian Church USA Moderator Fahed reminds us that we are called to preach the Gospel of Peace in the contest of Empire. Naim Ateek reminds us that it is a misconception to think of Allah as the Muslim God.  It is just the Arabic word for God. And there is only one....

Gospel John 6:56-69 

"Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." 59He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. 60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?" 61But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, "Does this offend you? 62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But among you there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father." 66Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67So Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" 68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

You don’t need a weatherman

Sermon 8/18

Ready to sing

I take the time to drop every slowly through the town of Oakdale. Past The Diner, truly classic, with its Twist and Shake ice cream counter we’d stop by after summer music nights. I stop at Sils to get a coffee and a news paper. Where the owner greeted me with a shot of vodka New Year’s Day 1995. Whose original owner legend has it, face down the  ku klux klan and cooked a potato on the burning cross. And what used to be the other Presbyterian church, now called the Rock  and part of the post division community left in the wake of fall out from the pcusa’s move to embrace full lgbtq inclusion. I arrive at church. Terry the organist has been here since she was a teenager. Dan and I rehearse our two songs. We’re ready for church to begin....

After the gospel is read, Dan and I sing the old spiritual, We shall not be moved...and we’re ready for reflection....

gospel Luke 12:49-56

49"I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

54He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'It is going to rain'; and so it happens. 55And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. 56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

It’s good to be back here again. A lot has happened since the last time I was here last August. Perhaps the biggest is that I am a grandfather for a second time! Just back from visiting my grandson Roko and granddaughter Karla in Berlin. Can I say grandchildren give you perspective? Help keep you grounded? And I understand what Jesus meant when he talked about coming to the kin(g)dom as a child. And I’m not over romanticizing children. But the way they look at the world, with intensity, with awe...maybe that’s what we need to see the kin(g)dom.

I’ll say this: it’s not easy following Jesus. We have to struggle with what he says. Like today...fire? Not peace, but division? 3 vs 2? Parents vschildren? What’s going on? It’s hard for a peace and reconciliation Christian like me to figure out. 

We are the most divided, as a nation, now as I can remember in my lifetime....(worse than the early  Vietnam years maybe? Not sure..)When my clergy  colleagues get together, we spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to do about this. We talked about how the ordination; of lgbtq people had passed at the ga level and been defeated at least twice at the presbytery...local..level. The last time it passed at ga, the supporters said, this time we won’t debate...we will pledge ourselves to having 1000 conversations. And it passed by a 2-1 margin. Once you stop a binary debate, there’s room to discover what we really share. 

We need to find those places to meet,. BUT here’s the rub.....sometimes things ARE either /or. Our friends in the German confessing church made it clear...Jesus or Hitler.

I read an interesting  articles last week about our Presbyterian church and slavery. One of our leading journals, The Presbyterian Outlook, for years sought to find a “middle ground”....between hard core slavers and “radical abolitionists”.   Argued that the slave owner only owned the labor and had the responsibility to respond to thec slaves physical and spiritual needs. A kinder gentler, slavery you might say. When the moment finally came the middle road folks sided with slavery and our Presbyterian church church divided and stayed divided for over 100 years. 

There’s this tension between “common ground” and “which side are you on” as the old union hymn put it. I don’t have to remind your own painful history here in Oakdale. 

Evangelicals like James Dobson see our President as chosen by God. Jim Baker says of he’s not re-elected we will descend Into 

to spiritual darkness. And Christians will be murdered. 

We’ve got a guy who will drive 10 hours and start shooting- 9 dead in 9 seconds- because  he believes we’re undergoing an invasion by Mexicans. 

And Christians in my pew think we’re in apocalyptic times as well.

It’s very hard. I mean just watching the Pirates lose 20 out of 26 is apocalyptic enough for me!

Jesus final question quote is pretty much Bob Dylan....you don’t need a weather man to know which way the wind blows...

So the question becomes, how do we know what to do? 

Here’s a few ideas.....

One ...read your bible....pick a gospel....read it all the way through....the Bible is stories, not random quotes and edicts. Don’t jump around looking for random quotes to  connect. Shakespeare said even the devil can quote scripture for his purpose. Allow the Bible to speak to you on its  own terms. 

Two...get to know Jesus an really get to know him. Read all his stories where he interacts with people, tells stories. Watch for patterns. Enter into his spirit. Walk down the road with him. Talk to him. It might sound corny, but WWJD is the bottom line. 

Meet with others. Study with others. Pray with others. Sing with others. Eat with others. Christianity is not about just you alone. It’s a team sport. It’s about being together the body of Christ. 

And even then.....you may have to make a decision that breaks a relationship.. it with your eyes on the prize, you will walk on and he will be beside you.

Let those with ears to hear, hear....

Amen

Dan and I sing my Rest Awhile before I deliver the Benediction. No time to linger today...work on m to family home awaits along the road...

Pentecost: Hope in the Spirit

5/20/18

Back to Oakdale

Oakdale Presbyterian Church is a congregation in a small town that is part of the fast growing expansion of the airport business, commercial and residential development.  

Time for my  annual  visit to the Oakdale Church where I rediscovered my call to parish ministry 14 years ago. It's hard to believe it was that many years. But visits these last three years have renewed my relationship with this resilient community. I am profoundly moved that they have weathered the storm of theological ideological controversy and division  and have come out the other side with new spirit and hope. Their feeling of community and acceptance is easily felt and the congregation is visibly growing in its diversity, a true expression of God's embracing love.  I'm also glad that I have another chance to play and sing with my friend Dan Hanczar who helped me bring music back to my life again during my time there. A new set of guitar strings was his gift when I left for New York City. 

I look out at many congregants wearing Pentecost red. 

After the reading of the scriptures,(see below)  Dan and I play "Blowin in the Wind" and I said that when I was in high school, my pastor had explained that the song was a good expression of the Holy Spirit and Pentecost. That has always stayed with me. (Though my pastor called him Bob DY-lan.) But as I have been doing since the Parkland shootings, I pause at the end to say that the students have shown is that maybe Blowin in the wind isn't enough. Maybe it has to be the answer is not blowin' in the wind, but the answer is in our own hands...and so I have us sing that together.

And then it was time for my reflection...

Red is the color of the day...

It's great to be back here again.  Especially on the Sunday of Pentecost. Which is ,you know, the birthday of the church. (Not you Oakdale guys, I mean the church.) One year the Presbyterian Church (USA) tried to make it a big event--called it the party. Sent out packages with noise makers and decorations and...well, it didn't go over so well. Presbyterians don't really roll that way much.

This year's' kind of special because we have a convergence of the Christian Pentecost, the Muslim Ramadan and the Jewish Shavuot. (Now Shavuot and Pentecost are always connected because Shavuot is the original pentecost...what everyone in Acts was coming to Jerusalem to celebrate. Shavuot...the feast of weeks.(7 weeks +1 day) ..50 days after Passover...like for us, Pentecost is 50 days after Easter.  Shavuot was at first an agricultural holiday.  Then later became a celebration of the giving of the law on Mt.Sinai...and for us, the visitation of the Holy Spirit...we might want to reflect a bit on why God (or Luke?) chose to bring in the Holy Spirit on the day that was set aside to  celebrate the giving of the law on Sinai. In both cases, we have this fire and smoke imagery...BUT...the Law, the Holy Spirit, how are they connected?

The last several days have impacted my sermon. I mean we always preach in the context of what's going on in the world around us.  And this year's Ramadan was ushered in with the US moving its embassy in Israel, massive protests in Gaza, at least 60 dead and hundreds wounded. That was on  my mind.  Then after an all night bus ride to Pittsburgh, the TVs in the Greyhound Station greeted me with the news of yet another school shooting.  The 22nd this year. Think about that. 

I was so angry. Like why even bother to report this? It's not really uncommon anymore. It's not like anything is going to change. By now we can all almost write the script. Starting with "thoughts and prayers." 

And then yesterday, to my surprise,  I found myself mesmerized by the Royal wedding. And I wondered, whoa, what's up with that? And wondered why Americans got so involved with this event in England.  Is it old memories of where we came from? (I remember Ruth Gordon in Harold and Maude saying, Oh, I don't miss kingdoms so much, but oh, the kings....)

Bishop Michael Curry's sermon blew me away....he truly spoke of the power of love...both interpersonally and societally...

He said:
When love is the way, unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive, when love is the way, then no child will go to bed hungry in this world ever again. When love is the way, we will let justice roll down like a mighty stream and righteousness like an ever-flowing brook. When love is the way, poverty will become history. When love is the way, the Earth will be a sanctuary. When love is the way, we will lay down our swords and shields, down by the riverside, to study war no more. When love is the way, there's plenty good room, plenty good room, for all of god's children because when love is the way, we actually treat each other well, like we are actually family.

And he spoke of Jesus' response to the question as to the most important commandment; to love God with all your heart soul and strength ...and to love your neighbor as yourself..

NOW...this leads me back to my main concern today...HOPE...certainly the Israeli -Palestinian conflict and gun violence challenge our sense of hope. But to be honest, I don't think too many of us spend too much time each week worried about issues like that. Most of us are just trying to do the best we can to get by the best we can and be decent to others in the meantime...

I love that image in ACTS that creation has been groaning with labor pains. That the stressful and painful things we see around us are the birth pangs of something new coming into being, being born . Even if I can't see it. Jim Wallis always said that hope is believing despite the evidence and having the courage to work to make the evidence change. 

And I was moved to learn that those Parkland students have accomplished a lot in Florida. New minimum age, requirement to buy from a licensed dealer, etc. It's a clear sign that things are not always as hopeless as they seem. 

I've come to believe that hope is one of the two most important spiritual qualities, the other being joy..but that's another sermon....

Look I know that usually  when we use that word its like this...
At lunch yesterday, I said, I want to go to the Pirate game...I sure hope it doesn't rain. 
Do you think they'll win?
 I hope so...

But hope so much more profound. It's not optimism, like everyday in every way everything is getting better...because you know what? It's not...Hope is an active commitment rooted in your willingness to believe that you know in whose hands lies the future...

Hear Paul again because this is what I'm after...

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

We all know what that's like...to feel we have no words sufficient, but only sighs. And sometimes even moans. That's where the Holy Spirit is, alive within our deepest emotions. 

And I want you to see the Holy Spirit as our agent of  hope, as our defender, our advocate. By Biblical tradition, Satan is the accuser, the prosecuting attorney, the one who tells you you're no good, you can't make it, so why try?..The Holy Spirit is our advocate, the one who stands up for us, strengthens us, sustains us. 

When I lead worship, I use those words about prayer every time...sighs too deep for words...friends, yes most of us do know sighs like that....

The fifty days of Easter are about the Risen One's presence with us between Easter and Ascension. Pentecost is all about  What do we do  without Jesus' physical presence...
Today we celebrate Pentecost...the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, not just to inspire, but to sustain us...

I remember the words to this old hymn...
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
  On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
  All other ground is sinking sand.

So today we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and give thanks for the Hope we bear, the hope we share...And for this we say, Amen.

Love to play with Dan and Jamie

Following the sermon, Dan and conga player Jamie Frey and I do Eric Bibb's "Don't let nobody drag your spirit down..."

There are hugs. And good words. Enough to last until the next visit. And then the gift of tickets to the Pirates. An opportunity to practice hope. (Insert smile emoji here.😄)

It has been good to  be here...as always....


   



First Reading Acts 2:1-21

1When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes 11Cretans and Arabs — in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

14But 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. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 
17  ‘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. 
18  Even upon my slaves, both men and women, 
          in those days I will pour out my Spirit; 
               and they shall prophesy. 
19  And I will show portents in the heaven above 
          and signs on the earth below, 

Second Reading Romans 8:22-27

22We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

...And a Cup of Cold Water..

7/2

At Oakdale

Oakdale, Pennsylvania is still its own little town in what is now the ever expanding greater airport sector of Pittsburgh. Once a farm town, it’s most historic moment was probably the great munitions factory explosion of 1918.  And probably more than one recent devastating flooding experience. There’s a long tradition of girl’s softball. A corner store/deli named Sil’s where I was  greeted with a slivovitz toast to welcome 1995. And a Presbyterian Church I was blessed to serve in 1994-1995.

Some in Presbytery were surprised when I went there because by reputation they were conservative evangelical and I was thought to be beyond liberal.  But in the sermons I preached before I came I took the Bible seriously. Very seriously. And I could see their highest value was community. As was mine. They had just been through a young pastor who had demanded a much beloved community member  who would do anything for the church had to give up what the young pastor deemed to be an immoral relationship. That was not going to work in Oakdale. 

I will always remember the elder who said to me, Pastor, sometimes you just have to set principle aside and do what’s right. And of course we shared Steelers. And Pirates. And Penguins. Black and gold. 

There was also a marvelous mythic story about one of the community’s only Jewish members facing down the Ku Klux Klan, cooking a potato on the burning cross and staring the leader into beating a hasty retreat from this clearly dangerously crazy person. 

It was a beautiful year. After having my own interest in music reawakened, I shared that gift with them. A pastor/lounge singer friend of  mine and I put together a band and did a special Christmas concert. And my aunt helped put together a Christmas choir. And my friend Dan joined us and we did music together. He gave me a set of new strings when I left.  

After 20 years, last year I was coming back to Pittsburgh for  a wedding. And wanted to play a gig so I called Dan to join me. And he invited me to join his band for a church street fair and Sunday morning.  I met the new pastor, a dynamic young woman named Robin who had come to them following a painful congregation split. She basically wrapped them in love and opened the doors wide. At the street fair …and on Sunday morning…the new emerging inclusive community was clearly visible. (A visible as tattoos!) Her supportive camp director husband and new child were welcome additions to the community. I could feel the quiet vibrancy and grown sense of self-confidence. 

So I was saddened to learn that this year Robin and family and returned to New Zealand. And so I made plans to come back to Oakdale and share a Sunday with those who had remained faithful. And of course sing with Dan….

Dan and Bob

These were my reflections in the Sunday before the 4th of July…

                                                                     

                                                                 ****

                                           And a cup of cold water….

There is so much that we could  talk about. It’s the  4th of July weekend. The first thing I  think about is not fireworks but cook outs…hot dogs hamburgers, baked beans, especially baked beans the way my mother made them. …In New York City where I live, the day this is the public swimming pools open....

I have two very distinct memories…It was 1976, the bicentennial year…I had been invited to Pawnee, Oklahoma for the annual Pawnee nation reunion and pow wow. An elder in my congregation was the former chief. In Tulsa, he worked for the postal service. But with his people he was a chief. For the week of the pow wow, all economic differences from the outside world were set aside and the people lived communally from a common store house. The pow wow opens with “flag song”…not the Star Spangled  banner, as I light have expected, but a song about the young men who went away to fight for the US in foreign wars… a welcome home  for those who came back and a song of morning for  those who did not…One of the sons was a trader in Indian jewelry. And he gave me a ring from the southwest of turquoise and coral..It’s gone through a lot, been lost and regained twice. But I have essentially worn it every day for 40 years…and am wearing it today.

It was 1983 in Nicaragua…during the peak of the  contra war…Our country, my country, supporting those contras.  So I was understandably shocked to see our flag flying high at their foreign ministry…we always honor countries that are celebrating  their revolutions they said .

Set all that aside a moment…I want to get deeper  into the 4th…but through the scriptures…

First, the story of Isaac… in all honesty, this is a troubling and disturbing story…what is its point? What is it about? Remember how Isaac and Sarah could not bear children? And then finally Sarah gets pregnant and laughs…and that child is Isaac, the sound of laughter…Isaac…the one he loves…(Uh, but what about Ishmael? Ismail? In Islam, it’s him…well, actually, it’s a complicated history, but most Muslims believe it was Ismail/Ishmael who was bound. And Abraham  tells him what is going on and and he agrees and encourages his father..and rolls over so his father won’t see his face. So it will be easier. We could certainly explore that. 

But imagine how Abraham would feel…asked to sacrifice his beloved son…isn’t there a question to ask here?…

Is this really a test? Some say the real test was that Abraham was supposed to refuse…BUT…that doesn’t seem accurate to story..

Historians say this story is a mythic explanation of the end of child sacrifice. among the Hebrews.  BUT…stay inside the story..some say this experience affects Isaac for the rest of his life…that he never felt quite completely  safe..always somewhat wary of this strange God.

Was this really about Isaac’s faith? (“God will provide…” he says. Does he truly believe this? Is this an affirmation, when God provides the lamb?)

Dan and I sang Leonard Cohen’s telling of this story…he wrote it at the peak of the Vietnam era…he saw sacrifice of children as not inspired by awe for wonder or wrestling with a demon or the lord…or mystery…….(I need to say, I believe we could use a draft….where all of us must share the define of our country equally…we would  all wrestle with the sense of any particular war …instead, for most of us, wars are fought by other people’ children…wearing camo sports uniforms isn’t quite enough….) 

Okay…Question one ….how would you feel?

 God honors Abraham because: 

…since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me….

One could argue, that in Jesus, this is exactly what God does….

But I need to be honest…I can’t roll with the idea that we are so bad, God requires a blood sacrifice to excuse us and set us free and thereby kills his own son…this is not someone, this is not a God  I would want to be with…this is a frightening  character…

BUT..what if God is saying…I love these people so much, i want to know them them. What it feel like to be them….I will join them in their midst…I will send my very son to live with them…show them how to live…even if knowing them, it will me cost his life…I‘ll go that far…for love…And that is a God I can go with..

Leonard Cohan doesn’t judge Abraham..he allows the mystery..and awe..to remain …when my father’s hand was trembling with the beauty of the word…

He does criticize those who sacrifice  children with no vision, no wrestling with demons or God…

And here’s where I’m easing back into the 4th of July…are there ways in which innocent children are being  sacrificed today? Or perhaps what kind of world are we  leaving our children?  I’m asking you to answer that question, talk about it with your friends…and ask what then are we to do?….

I can’t leave this without a word from Jesus..(that’s, after all, why we’re here…) Jesus says:

whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple — truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

The wife of my predecessor pastor at West Park, Evelyn Davidson believed that the LGBTQ community felt abandoned by the church …and that in Jesus name we were called to show a different face, the face of Jesus.  So she set up a water table to pass out cos of cold water to hot marchers ash the PRIDE march. Literally a cup of cold water in Jesus name…To this day, volunteers pass out water on PRIDE Sunday at the Evelyn Davidson Memorial Water Table…And so I ask you…who is hot and tired?  Who is thirsty? For water? Thirsty for love? Oh if only every child were as loved as the children I know of this  congregation…

That’s what we do…we can offer cool water in Jesus name…to ALL  and I do mean ALL God’s children…..

Let those with ears to hear, hear….

Amen

                                         ****

Our music was truly fun.

Bob, Dan and Jamie

Terry who as a teenager played for Oakdale is still there at the keyboard 22 years later. We sang Dan’s Johnny Cash inspired “C-Minus Christian” and closed with my Teddy Mape’s memorial “Rest Awhile..”

                                                                     "Rest Awhile"

                                                                             ****

I shared these words with my final prayers…

You were truly blessed by Pastor Robin…she brought love and light and laughter back here….you have courageously stayed faithful both before and after her and as you prepare for a  new pastor you bring that faithfulness as a gift…

In the future, we will need communities that can sustain themselves with or without a pastor…it all depends on mutual accountability…this is what is needed..

1.Be there for one another…always

2. Study together …with discipline and commitment

3. Worship…celebrate…share at a deep level…without reference as to how, when or where…

4. Act together…

You can do this…you have done this

Thanks for all you gave to me and my family…

                                            ****

There was time for goodbyes to so many special people. Like the Kehms, part of the glue that holds it all together.

Bob and Eleanor

(Along with so many more..) And recovering my shoes as I left to go to a Pirate game a year ago…and found them here in the same place a year later…and yes, on may way to another game today….