Bobby Thompson, And Breugel ( after Lydia Millet)

6/23

Breugel's Triumph of Death

Last week, I attended a reading by Lydia Millet

Lydia Millet

from her new book, Fight No More. My good friend artist Heide Hatry organized an after party. My contribution was a reflection inspired by "Bird-Head Monster" from Fight No More...followed by my Apple Tree Blues....here is the reflection.....

I was a child. Can't remember how old I was. Or if I could read. I was home alone. I found a magazine. One I liked because the pages were large. And brightly colored. Worlds I felt I could step into. Live in.

But this time was different. I had no way to understand what I was seeing. Skeletons. Corpses. Demons. Pain and anguish. I was transfixed. Terrified. Traumatized. I could not look away. And I felt I could walk into this painting. This world. And be surrounded by skeletons. Corpses.Demons. I would remember this painting for a very long time.

You know when you're watching a cable tv show and an announcement contains an "advisory: portions of the following program may be too intense for younger viewers?" Like that.

Parenthetical note: When I read Lydia Millet's story, I was convinced the painting I had seen long ago in Life Magazine was "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Hieronymous Bosch, the inspiration for her story. But I know now it was "The Triumph of Death"

"Garden of Earthly Delights" by Bosch

by Peter Brueghel, the Elder.

This memory would come back   to me the first time I read Don Delillo's Underworld. The preface is set on a cold, raw fall day in upper Manhattan. At the Polo Grounds. The New York Giants are playing the Brooklyn Dodgers to determine who will meet the New York Yankees in the World Series. 

In a box on the first base side are four men. Restaurateur Toots Shoor. Frank Sinatra. Jackie Gleason. And FBI Director J Edgar Hoover. As the game winds to its dramatic conclusion, in the bottom of the ninth, Bobby Thompson hits a home run, the shot heard round the world. And hoarse voiced, sore throated Russ Hodges shouts The Giants win the pennant. The Giants win the pennant. The Giants win the pennant. I do not believe it. The Giants win the pennant. 

And from the upper reaches of the Polo Grounds grandstand, a shower of confetti begins to stream. A cascade of torn and shredded paper. And one large piece lands on J Edgar's arm. And when he looks at what has landed there, everything else in the stadium fades away. Disappears. A second page lands. He holds them together. Stares. He is transfixed. He feels every emotion that young boy felt. And knowing J Edgar, something deeper. Darker.  Desperate. We know he would later commission a copy of the painting. To study. To live with. To live in.

I think of this as I read Lydia's words.

But there's one thing more. On an old dusty slide carousel there is a picture of my not yet 30 years old father. Holding his child. The boy is wearing an oversized felt 1951 New York Giants hat. In honor of Bobby Thompson.  His first baseball cap. 

Today when I wear my vintage New York Giants reproduction, I think of my father. And Bobby Thompson. And Peter Breughel. The Elder.

So you want a king?

6/10

preparing for worship at Good Shepherd-Faith 

Today, back to Good Shepherd Faith.  As I arrive, my friend elder John Gingrich is rehearsing "Ride On King Jesus," since I decided to talk about kings today, based on 1 Samuel 8. So what about kings?

Elder John rehearsws

I'm fascinated by the American fascination with royalty.  I was in Pittsburgh this summer and along with my aunt and her husband spent hours watching the royal marriage between Harry and Meghan. Of course I was rewarded with Bishop Curry's beautiful and powerful sermon, but I wondered why this seemed so captivating for so any of us. The MSNBC reporters kept finding Americans on the  crowd who had spent lots of dollars just to be there. And the question remained....why?

Is there some kind of leftover connection to the place and culture we came from? Some lingering romance around royalty?  In a Disney kind of way? There's not many monarchs left these days. England...and maybe Wakanda?

I remember Ruth Gordon in Harold and Maude speaking of kings and kingdoms saying.."I don't miss the kingdoms, but ohhh the kings..."

Anyways, that's what attracted me to this passage today.

The people of Israel had had a pretty good thing going. A collection, confederation of tribes with judges to resolve issue between them and provide guidance. A pretty horizontal life.

But they wanted to be like everyone else. They wanted a king. God gave Samuel a pretty clear word to give to the people about what that might men..

“These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; 12and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. 15He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. 16He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. 17He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

But they won't listen and they wind up with Saul.  And the next thing you know, there'll be David. Obviously God's words were written after they had become .a kingdom.  A knowing explanation of what they got.

A word about the Bible. Wes Howard-Brook in his Come Out My People argues that there are two theologies in the Bible.  Not Christianity and Judaism, but the theology of covenant and creation and the theology of empire. That both are there and are in constant tension. Did you realize, for example, that the first five books . were written around the time of Solomon? Creating a mythic history for an emerging kingdom?  That the two books of Samuel were among the first to be written? (Really wasn't much written before then)..So we get not only the royal propaganda but the critique as well. The writers who longed for the days of the judges.

We get such a critique in Joel Baden's The historical David: the real life of an invented hero. We get a David who is somewhere between Tony Soprano and one of the Lannisters on Game of of Thrones. 

Kings.  They wanted a king.

We Presbyterians aren't much on kings.  Being anti-monarchical is in our system. (And some clergy would tell you anti-clerical as well..) We don't much like kings. Or bishops. It's at the core of our theology. We forget that that's a principle difference between us and Episcopalians, Lutherans and even Methodists.  It's rooted in the reformed perspective of the basic flawed nature of humanity. That plus our theology of stewardship of the world around us gave us a working theology for civic involvement. Thus we get John WItherspoon's name on the Declaration of Independence. And always a disproportionate number of congresspeople. (And amazingly well thought and well spoken basketball coaches like Steve Kerr...)

A couple of weeks ago I was in Chile with the  Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Chile, which broke away from the Presbyterian Church of Chile in 1973. That name is meaningful. It's the whole Johanine notion of in the world, not of the world. They courageously broke away from a church they thought was actively collaborating with Pinochet. Like our ancestors who separated over slavery.  And like the Confessing Church, the too wrote a Credo that affirms Christ as the ultimate authority over our lives. When I asked them the greatest gift that our tradition had to  offer they said democracy. And they are not far off. It can be argued that our polity was the strongest influence on the emerging US system of government.

The Occupy Wall Street occupiers who stayed at West Park were surprised to learn about the horizontal nature of Presbyterianism.

It's not the best of days for democracy. Recent studies are finding millenials...around the globe...less and less interested in democracy, One could make the case that we're in a pretty precarious position ourselves. And have been heading that way for a while.

I love the fact that its a  Presbyterian minister from Union Seminary, Liz Theoharris, who along with William Barber is one of the leaders of the Poor Peoples Campaign seeking to bring a restored moral perspective to our public discourse. This of course, was to be Martin Luther King, Jr's focus had he lived. Fifty years after the assassination of MLK...and Bobby Kennedy...perhaps is good time to pick up that mantle again.

If underneath all this you detect a (not too) subtle critique of certain monarchical trends of a certain politician, well.....it's the Presbyterian  in me...

We can appreciate and enjoy royal weddings. But we don't need kings.The one thing that  is clear to me is that it will be increasingly important to affirm that the principle authority in our lives is Jesus Christ and to him do we give the authority in our lives. I'm often amazed how at certain times, that simple theological affirmation can have profound political implications. .

May God grant us the wisdom and courage for living in our own day

Amen




 First Reading 1 Samuel 8:4-11 (12-15) 16-20 (11:14-15)

8:4Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5and said to him, “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” 6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” Samuel prayed to the LORD, 7and the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. 9Now then, listen to their voice; only — you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

10So Samuel reported all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; 12and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. 15He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. 16He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. 17He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

19But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! but we are determined to have a king over us, 20so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

11:14Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingship.” 15So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they sacrificed offerings of well-being before the Lord, and there Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.



Gospel Mark 3:20-35

20... and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” 22And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” 23And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. 27But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

28“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” — 30for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

31Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. 32A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” 33And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Here Am I

6/3

Beverley Church

Eugene has been working for hours on the feast he is preparing for the congregation that has welcomed him. He has used the fallen branches form the last heavy storm as fuel for his fire. Cut the chicken into little pieces. Prepared the sausages. Marinated his meet. His barbecue will be a gift. 

Eugene at work

After reading the scriptures, from First Samuel and Mark, I share my reflection: 

Today, again, the verses from First Samuel are one of my favorite passages. I read that passage, The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread and I say, yeah, tell me about it. It feels so true...but is it? All I have to do is think about Rev. William Barber and his partner, our Presbyterian sister, Liz Theoharris, and their leadership of the Poor Peoples' Campaign, and I think, maybe not. Maybe the word of the Lord is not rare, maybe it's becoming more present, more here, and we just need  to pay attention. They are trying to bring a new (renewed?) moral perspective to our life together as a society. 

What our Samuel  story is about is the call of Samuel, his call to ministry, to witness. It took 3 times for Samuel to figure out it was the Lord who was speaking to him and not Eli. And is answer is, Here I am. When Eli finally figures out what is going on, he tells him to say, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” And in the end we are told, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.

So I'm thinking about this and trying to figure out what it means. At the  least, it means being ready to answer when you hear the call. And I guess being alert enough to hear the call when it comes. 

I think of  the hymn, Here I am Lord...

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night
I will go, Lord, if you lead me
I will hold your people in my heart

That is Samuel's song. 

I spent last week in Chile working with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Chile. (Even that title has meaning, as in in the world, not of the world...)Back in 1973, their country had been taken over by a military junta under General Pinochet. They began to feel that some of their Presbyterian  leaders were not only not resisting but were actively collaborating with the junta. So a significant portion of the church decided to leave the denomination  and create a new church. 

They also drafted a creed that defines them as a church. And here's the important point to remember...they aren't radicals...they are in many ways very traditional evangelical Presbyterians. But their declaration that their obedience was first and foremost to  Jesus Christ had profound political implications, even as it did for the Confessing Church under Nazi Germany. Sometimes simply seeking to be faithful can take courage.

Yesterday I was in Greensboro, North Carolina. Do you know the names  Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., and David Richmond. And what happened in Greensboro? On February1, 1960 four college students from North Carolina  A&T went to the Woolworths store.

The Greensboro Four

Bought some school supplies. Then sat down at the lunch counter. And ordered coffee. What happened next was not the first but was the most influential sit in inspiring a whole wave of sit ins. At the end of an exhibit featuring the history of the civil rights movement, there's giant mural made of the  faces of people engaged in the civil rights struggle. There are several blank  spaces. Those are reserved for you. For me. For us. For our faces. The point they make, from Rosa Parks on, individuals do make a difference. What one person does, what you do...or don't do...makes a difference...

Where the sit-ins began

What happens to us when we hear God's voice calling in the night? Do we hear God's voice calling in the night? 

We each have our individual calling. Each of us has our unique ministry that no one else can do. Can we say here am I ? Can we help our brothers and sisters answer their calls?

Here am I....

After the sermon, we share our communion. And then go downstairs for our feast. Even though Eugene has brought all the tables up and out, it is too cold and windy so we will eat downstairs. There are sodas from the Republic of Georgia on the table. And salads of cucumbers and tomatoes (without leaves, Irina the musician says...) Someone has made fresh banana pudding. It is truly a feast. 

sharing a feast and breaking bread together

As we wait for the meet to arrive, I ask how people came to this church.  A lot of it has to do with proximity. Family.  People have come from American south. And Guyana. And now Russia. Pastors are remembered fondly yet with each's departure, members have left. Like so many small churches, there is sadness over what has been lost. Community members no longer here.  And yet, this faithful remnant steadfastly keeps their tradition of breaking bread together after worship. I am happy to be part of that. 



First Reading 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

1Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 2At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” 5and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

19As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord.



Second Lesson 2 Corinthians 4:5-12

5For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 8We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. 11For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. 12So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Urban Church,Global City: Iglesia Evangelica Presbiteriana en Chile

5/23

Leaders of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Chile

The Evangelical Church in Chile had its origins in a church schism that grew in the Chilean Presbyterian Church as some members began to feel the church  as an institution was not only not resisting the Pinochet junta, but had actually entered into  collaboration with its dreaded security apparatus. Perhaps not just out of fear, but out of a theological perspective regarding authority and order. (And perhaps even economic privilege.) Kind of like a Chilean version of the schism in the US Presbyterian Church over slavery on the eve of the Civil War. 

Out of that schism came a "creed" that reads like a southern hemisphere Barmen declaration.  In similar fashion, it declares allegiance  only to the authority of Jesus Christ. (I fear we are in a day and time when we need to pay close attention to such confessional statements.) The emerging IEPeCh found itself without a great store of money or property. There were no funds to pay full time pastors and few buildings. There were however, hardworking people. Mine managers, engineers and miners. Educators, musicians, health care workers. Like the Iglesia Jesus Fuente de Esperanza  in Vallerna,

Iglesia Jesus Fuente de Esperanza, Vallenar

they would build a future cement block by cement block.

Pastor Charles Escobar

Pastor Charles Escobar

is a classic example of an IEPeCh pastor. With a long career in mining, he came to his call to ministry through the discernment of his congregation. He became a second career "tent maker" in addition to his "day job". His calling was confirmed  through his wife's miraculous recovery from a life threatening health crisis. Their testimonies are profoundly moving stories of faith and healing. He has a quiet pride in the steady growth of his church with  a new education wing, fellowship area and expanding sanctuary. All built themselves with their own hands and resources. 

Vallenar itself is nestled in the heart of the Atacama Desert, it's Mars like landscape the driest place on earth. The most impressive buildings in town are the mine headquarters, the mine workers health, recreation and cultural facilities and the new hospital.  There are surprisingly few international franchise restaurants, only  a Subway. Also, no visible signs of homeless people living on the street. The city closes early on a Saturday night. On an overlook leading to the middle/working class barrio above el centro, the lights of new condos for the business and professional class sparkle and dance in the night.

It is to Vallenar the leaders of the IEPeCh have travelled from south of Santiago to close to the Peruvian border, some traveling  overnight as much as eleven hours to spend a day in a workshop on urban ministry. The workshop had been billed as urban evangelism and as much as faithful witness is a form of evangelism, that specific expression of ministry is not my calling. I am able to fairly quickly finesse that, however.

Ready for the workshop

We began by speaking of the importance of context, how every theology comes from a context. How faithful ministry responds to our context, seeking to transform the individual and society. We spoke of the current trends in global urban ministry, including:

* The movement of people from the country to the city.
* Rapidly growing income inequality and its corollaries
- Gentrification
- The growth of shanty towns on the margins of cities
* The impact of migration and resulting tension around multi-cultural and multi-religious concerns. We noted that in South America, migration is primarily an internal issue, that is most migrants come from other South American countries.
* The increasing globalization of the economy.

Each of these in their own way impact the Chilean context, but to these the IEPeCh leaders added the ongoing exodus of their youth. 

A primary focus of the conversation was seeking to discern the unique role of an historic church in the reformed tradition  in a  (still) Roman Catholic dominated culture with a rapidly growing Pentecostal presence. There was a strong feeling that our greatest gift is in a word, democracy. Meaning how our way of understanding the world and our ecclesiastical polity plus our sense of stewardship makes us unique witnesses for democracy in civil society. 

We worked on unique aspects of a theology for the city,

Hard at work

including a sense that more work needs to be done in the area of theology of built environment, what we build, where and how. How we exegete a city visually. How church steeples were once the tallest points of the city, now replaced by towers of business and commerce. 

We concluded with working on methods of determining what we wanted to do in response to what we had discovered. We used techniques drawn from classic community organizing, relationship based, built on intentional conversations. The different Presbytery groups each worked on their own commitments. 

Some congregations have already been involved with ministries of compassion and there has been (successful) coalitional work on issues of safe water in the mining region. There is also a sense that the current crisis in the Roman Catholic Church, about abuse and silence, opens up new opportunities for witness.

One woman elder, however, was very insistent on wanting to know how we, the historic protestant denominations, had failed. As we reflected on this question, we concluded that it had to do with making survival more important than faithfulness. Finances and risk management more important than risking leaps of faith.

The IEPeCh has not been, nor will be, a radical church. It is, however, a faithful church that takes following Jesus seriously. They are evangelical classic as opposed to neoEvangelical. While gently pietist, they are also aware of their calling as stewards. It is such communities  that have the strength to resist tyranny and oppression. It is such communities we need today.

The good Deacons of the host congregation provided us with good food and hospitality all day long. A true tribute to Pastor Escobar and the congregation. As dinner came to a close, there was music and song,

playing for the people

traditional songs, songs of faith, songs of Violeta Parra.

sharing music

One by one the groups would prepare to leave and make the long journey home. For a day, the far flung family had been together ...working, worshipping, sharing in fellowship.  What it means to be church.

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.

The sixth Sunday in Easter: Abide in Love

5/6 

On the way to church Sunday along Beverly Road

Back to Beverley for the first  Sunday in May....

SO finally, it feels  like spring...we're now six Sundays into our Easter journey....a journey I am so happy that we began together...a 50 day exploration of what it's like having the risen one, the living Christ, back and present  with us once again. As we get closer and closer to how we're going to have to go on without his physical presence  with us, Jesus keeps bringing the message closer and closer to the bottom line.   And for Jesus, the bottom line is LOVE, that we LOVE one another.

Hear that.  It's not about your theology, what doctrine you adhere to, what church you belong to or even what religion you follow. Do you love? That's all Jesus wants to know....

But it's not enough to speak of love...we have to do it....and we have to figure out what that means...I remember when our Presbyterian General Assembly many years ago in Hartford, Connecticut.  It's theme was Love So Amazing ( from the old hymn  When I survey the wondrous cross...) I remember the representative  from the Presbyterian Church in Cuba, Miriam Ofelia  Ortega, said No me tengo interes en amor increible, yo prefiero  amor eficaz...by which she was saying  I prefer love effective...or like that hymn based on a Native American song, in the chorus it says, They'll know we are Christians by our love.

Now that puts a little catch in things...it's kind of  like this...if someone came in here this morning, for the first time, unannounced...would they know we were Christians by  our love? What would that look like? Feel like? 

He wants us to love each other as he has loved us. And at the center of that love is laying down one's life for one's friends, exactly what he did for us.  And he tells us we are his friends...Think about that for a second...the usual and expected relationship between a human and a divinity would be that of master and servant...but Jesus wants us as friends...like, you know, What a friend we have in Jesus. We can live without lovers...some of us do that for years. But I can't imagine living without friends...

He chooses us...not the other way around...and it's all to the end that we love one another..

I find it very interesting....and very sad...how we act and treat each other sometimes...some of the meanest,nastiest fights I have seen anywhere have been in churches...I was asked by Presbytery to help resolve some problems in a church. And it's like they want the problems to be unsolvable. I said to them we're watching pictures of Presidents Kim and Moon holding hands and you're telling us this can't be taken care of? 

When planning a funeral yesterday, and this happens all the time, I heard of family members who might not come because they hadn't spoken in years. How crazy is it that we can pray for peace between Israel and Palestine and a brother and sister don't speak for years? If there's someone you haven't spoken to for years, speak to them!

Love. It's about love. And it's not a just a warm and fuzzy emotion.  It's Gandhi, inspired by Jesus developing satyagraha, soul force. And Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., inspired by Gandhi and following Jesus, who brings it back to us again. 

I spent a whole day last week in a training session for non-violent direct action as part of the Poor Peoples Campaign. It's named for the campaign Dr. King was planning when he was taken from us. Organized by Dr. William Barber from North Carolina, the Moral Mondays Campaign. I believe that the only kind of mass based movement that has any possibility of succeeding has to be one motivated by love and carried out with non-violent means. 

Abraham Joshua Heschel taught us that a prophet must come from a people and speak to that people and must be motivated by love. That was the beauty and power of Dr.King's work...he acted as if our country were capable of better, could be better, was not hopelessly evil by nature. Dr. King believed in us.  Just as Jesus believes in us and expects us to do better. 

That is the love he calls us to and wants us to abide in. And here's the truly amazing thing...so that our joy can be complete...I have learned that the two most important spiritual qualities , the  two most radical qualities, are hope and joy. And man, joy seems hard to come by some times.  If you want to know what joy looks like, remember the joy of Archbishop Desmond Tutu...in the face of the most outrageous oppression of apartheid, he smiled with joy because he knew whose he was and in whose hands lay the future. He knew he had already won. I am convinced that it was that power that finally defeated apartheid. 

(“At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.” ― Ernesto Che Guevara · )

Loving one another is both the easiest and hardest of commandments.
Couldn't Jesus  just ask us to believe three unbelievable things? 
Or say so many hail mary's or our fathers?
Or fast for 40 days? 
Or stand on our head or...

NO. Just love one another. Even as he has loved you.  And abide in that love. 

As always we shared our prayers with each other, This week including a disappeared child. We shared communion. We greeted a man in the Navy whose mother lives nearby and who drops in when he's in town. There were grandchildren. It was another Sunday in the season of Easter.

Beverly Road

First Reading Acts 10:44-48

44While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. 45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, 46for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47“Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.


Gospel John 15:9-17

9As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

12“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”

Worship with Ecclesia in Marcus Garvey Park

4/29

Dr. Brashear and Father Clyde

On the 5th Sunday if April, a mild spring day, I came to lead worship  for the Ecclesia congregation in Marcus Garvey Park.  Ecclesia worships outside every Sunday in three parks around the city. The word is broken, Eucharist celebrated and then a meal served on the altar on which communion was shared. The service begins with my friend Father Clyde consecrating the ground with holy water as he does every Sunday.

Consecrating the ground

Hymns are sung, the gospel read. Then it's time for my sermon:

You ever encounter those  people  who  want to know if you are saved? You  see them on the street, on the subway, any public place. And I'll be honest..sometimes it can worry you, right? Do I believe the  right thing? Am I going to get into heaven? How could God possibly love me? It's easy to feel that way.

I'd like to share two words of "Good News" with you today.  First from the First letter of John. (This was a really important verse to me...) When I was young and wanted to get married, I was in love and going to marry a young Jewish woman. I was a little worried about this and asked a minister friend about this.  And his response was these words:

Love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God
and...God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.  

So I want to make sure you heard that and got that straight...if you can love, if you love, you are born of God and know God and you abide in God and God abides in you...it's that simple. It's not about what ideas you believe or with what words. Or what church you belong to or even what religion. The bottom line is  love....

As for worthiness, that story  in Acts  of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch is one of my favorites.  Now on the one hand, he was doing pretty well. He was a court official. In charge of the  whole treasury of the Ethiopian queen. He came to Jerusalem to "worship", so he was already looking for something. 

BUT from Philip's perspective, the guy had 3 strikes against him already.  First, he was not a Jew. Not only that , but he was a eunuch. Which meant under their law, he was permanently unclean....like being gay or trans today in the eyes of some church people, and to top it off, he was BLACK. So when he asks Philip sincerely if he can be baptized, Philip's got to cross some boundaries.. And he does. And the Ethiopian eunuch is baptized and becomes the first non-Jewish Christian.  And the whole thing is so amazing, Philip is blown away. So blown away, he wakes up the next day in Azotus. (Which always sounded like one of those New Jersey towns to me like Paramus or Bogota or...)

Anyways, the point is...there are no bounds to God's welcome and embrace. It's about one thing and one thing only...LOVE...

When we come to the sharing of bread and cup, we all, ALL of us are invited to share in this holy meal together. As brothers and sisters. Fully welcomed. Fully accepted. And fully loved. As together we share in ....and become...the body of the risen Christ.

After the eucharist is celebrated and we have our prayers and sing more hymns and pass the peace, the service is over. Oh, there were prayers for the recently fired House Chaplain Father Conroy and Paul Ryan who fired him. The homeless people thought it might have something to do with them. It's time to share a meal (provided by my friends from West End Presbyterian).

sharing another meal

Then again, maybe sharing the meal is a continuation of the service. 

One by one the people go off in different directions...

the peace of the Lord be with you...

Amen
First Reading Acts 8:26-40

26Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) 27So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” 30So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 32Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: 
     “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, 
          and like a lamb silent before its shearer, 
               so he does not open his mouth. 
33  In his humiliation justice was denied him. 
          Who can describe his generation? 
               For his life is taken away from the earth.” 
34The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 36As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” [37And Phillip said,“If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 38He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.


Second Reading 1 John 4:7-21

7Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

13By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 17Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 19We love because he first loved us. 20Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 21The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.