May 8, 2016 - Seventh Sunday of Easter - Instruction / Prayer / Discipline / Desire - Mother's Day

First verses of today's Gospel - John 17:20 -23: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me"

Jesus is praying for you and me here.  Martin Luther's question, "What does that mean?" immediately comes to my mind.

Pastor Michelle began today's sermon with a Meister Eckhart quote - "We are all meant to be mothers of God... for God is always needing to be born".  For her this meant we should be like Mary, willing to say yes to what God is stirring us do.

I feel there is another question, "How is God's stirring accomplished?" Will God stir us by regarding this prayer of Jesus as an instruction or command? Is this invitation to be acted on as an imposed discipline or as a deep-felt devotion or both?

In our Adult Ed several we are keeping a prayer journal.  This May 8, 2016 might be seen as a discipline or devotion.  I know many people who are strongly motivated by discipline and duty.  The accomplishment of something you would not have naturally done can be inspirational.

Duty and discipline, however, remain weaker motivators for me. For years being "forced" into attending weekly worship, as an example,  stifled any desire or delight to attend. When I thought it was strictly my duty or when I forced myself to attend, the reason for continuing became cloudy for me.  My thoughts turned to the benefits or rewards I may receive as a result of my willpower.

Fortunately God also stirs us through desire, devotion, delight, and mystery.  Personally, my energy and outlook changes when these are my heart's motivators.

The Gathering Hymn today was God is Here.  The line that jumped out for me today was "May we find in fuller measure what it is in Christ we share". The hymn lays bare something about worship that is both a strength and weakness.  When we proclaim reverently "God is here!" in this place of worship and in our meeting, it is easy to ignore the truth of God being everywhere, not just in this place.

Both before and after the service a song that profoundly connects, albeit indirectly, to Gospel lesson for me is R.E.M.'s Country Feedback. 

Country Feedback presents a vision together with life's detritus (meaningless rubble or scraps).  In the end the singer repeats over and over "It's crazy what you could've had - I need this, I need this".  Jesus prays for our Christian unity - a glorious vision, both profound and overwhelming.  And yes, it is over-the-top crazy the Christian unity that is offered to us through this prayer.  Is it essential to us?  Do we need this?  Or is saying "I need this" referring only to the irresistible excuse.  Deep with us is there another need or perspective we cannot overcome that  prevents us from ever reaching the vision?

How better to end than to sigh "Oh Life," and understand "This film is on".          

May 1, 2016 - Sixth Sunday of Easter - The Peace of Jesus Given to Us, Yet Not Given as the World Gives

Why be a Christian?

This was a question asked in the book we are focused on for our Adult Education Unbinding The Gospel.

Really?  For Everyone?

Google Why be a Christian Answer and reasonable answers are available, as in this link.  While I know from this and from debates I have attended, this is the answer for many.

Our devoted group tentatively offered answers to this question but there was a discernible discomfort.  We are used to coming up with reasonable answers.  This implies any reasonable person should, through our witness of why we are Christian, reach the conclusion that they should be Christian.  I did not reason my way into being a Christian so that is most likely not my storing suit evangelism. We have lived in a multicultural culture where our politics are so polarized we don't seem to be able to agree upon facts and logic.

The reason I start with the Adult Education session rather than worship today is that they seemed very much of the same cloth and Pastor Michelle inspired my current answer to the inquiry, Why be a Christian?

She had returned from Synod Assembly in Eugene and gave us news about the outcome of resolutions that had been voted on. She also reported being moved by a prayer Bishop Dave Brauer-Rieke gave, thanking the Lord for giving us spiritual security in the midst of spiritual insecurity.  For her, this deeply captured the spirit of the heart of the Gospel Reading Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

It is at the heart of my answer to the question Why be a Christian?  Personally, following Jesus provides something the world cannot give.  This is not something that can be described as a worldly benefit.  At times I glimpse a kingdom of heaven and at other times I only see foolishness in all of this when what the world values overwhelms me..    

My wife Mary is listening to old lectures and reading the books of Huston Smith  He grew up in China and, because of that, could make this observation:  Traditionally, every Chinese was Confucian in ethics and public life, Taoist in private life and hygiene, and Buddhist at the time of death, with a healthy dash of shamanistic folk religion thrown in along the way. As someone has put the point: Every Chinese wears a Confucian hat, Taoist robes, and Buddhist sandals. In Japan Shinto was added to the mix.  

To the western mind this seems to be contradictory.  This was the answer to what I posted in last week's blog entry about being simultaneously too hard and too easy on what it is to have a Christ-centered life.

My life is divided into what I wear in the different spheres of life.  Sometimes inspiration happens and I realize I am always wearing the different pieces of clothing, wherever I am.

Those times are, probably for good reason, not as often as I would prefer.  
                .

April 24, 2016 - Fifth Sunday of Easter - Will They Know We Are Christians By Our Love?

In the Gospel verse today Jesus makes plain his call to the disciples. “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples -- when they see the love you have for each other”

Last week the focus was on identifying who Christ is.  This week is about identifying his disciples,

Today's worship was like looking in a fun house mirror of the soul and seeing different reflections.  Pastor Michelle referenced in her sermon research by the California-based research firm The Barna Group which found that church attitudes about people in general and gays in particular are driving a negative image of the Christian faith among people ages 16-29.  A majority of  those young people in America describe modern-day Christianity as judgmental, hypocritical and anti-gay. What's more, many Christians don't even want to call themselves "Christian" because of the baggage that accompanies the label.

All this stuff is in my head after years fo working through this when the Believe group (an Oregon Synod team of lay and clergy) tried to craft how churches might try an adaptive solution rather than a technical solution.

Here is a dump of my head knowledge (which I will put this knowledge in italics for those who wish to skip this kind of understanding) starting with the differences in how church was viewed by different generations:

Builder Generation - Church is THE place.
Boomer Generation - Church is A place.
Millennial Generation - Church is NO place. 

Personally I believe this is more about cultural expectations.  The culture expected and needed church during a certain time period to be THE place.  Later it became A place for the culture and now it is not regarded as important in today's social culture.    

The key is our journey together to understand how worship can become important to others rather than simply looking at ourselves as the model.  Creator could increase action and social justice but the church will always play catch-up to partner organizations who specialize in particular actions.  

Also institutions are currently viewed with suspicion.  Since the rise of the Religious Right in politics, 9/11, the Catholic clergy scandals etc...  there is a sense that religion is mired in problems rather than any sort of solution.  

Pastor Michelle sent many of us a link where the author observed:

Now, imagine someone is looking for a church. They are looking for a church with a commitment to following Jesus at its core and they show up at a social commitment church. It would be like showing up for a soccer team that stopped playing soccer years ago, and who instead gathers for coffee and donuts with friends and family. But this gathering of people still call themselves a soccer team.

Now imagine members of that “soccer team” wringing their hands week after week over the fact that no one wants to join the team to clean up coffee and pick up the donuts. You can see why soccer players looking for a team wouldn’t join. You can see why many members of the team left a long time ago.

We talk about not having the pat answers to spiritual questions as a Creator strength and I think it is.  At the same time we need to be cognizant that we are on the spiritual journey with individuals as a community.  That journey of coming to a place of peace with the questions they do have needs to be taken with people as well,   

Heart knowledge for me.  I don't know if people would know I follow Jesus by the love I show.  I know many people who are not Christians who show greater love than me to their fellow man.

Finally back to the young people's feel about Christians.  First, I doubt this is confined to young people.  I felt this when I was young (excluding the anti-gay because that just wasn't talked about).  Now I am both too hard and too easy on myself and whether I am leading a Christian centered life because I know there are different answers for that at different times.  Mostly I feel this is a valid critique. I find I do judge and I am a hypocrite.  Isn't that part of being human?

When most of us are asked about being Christian the question assumes or implies this is more or less a permanent state.  I am reminded of a Peter Rollins lecture clip that I will leave with you here.

April 17, 2016 - Animate Bible / Grace - Love Is the Bottom Line - Jay Bakker

Katie did a great job leading the last Adult Forum in the Animate Bible series.  The presenter for the DVD was Jay Bakker, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakkers son.

Katie flipped our normal order of presentation and left playing the DVD of Jay Bakker after the group discussion.

In the group discussion we  read Old and New Testament passages about possible ways to treat your enemy. In the Old Testament God demanded enemies by overcome, become slaves or be killed.  New Testament passages described granting mercy through an understanding of God's grace and love for all.

This is where our discussion dovetailed nicely with the sermon we had just heard.  Making people feel safe seems worthwhile, yet there is a juggling act that Christians are asked to engage in.  When some Christians hear the voice of Jesus saying "To protect the sheep I will kill all the wolves" and some do not, are all Christians hearing the same Master's voice?  Perhaps this is a question of being in different flocks?

Grace with Jay Bakker was an appropriate presentation to end the Animate series.  In this presentation he revealed ways he and his family had been hurt when the Bible was used as a weapon against them but I will recommend following this link to a very emotional Bakker making a case for LGBT marriage in a church around 2007 where he demonstrated a courage I would have found hard to muster.  

I am currently reading "Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism" which we will explore as a congregation in the next Adult Education sessions for the next 40 days  This is a book is about evangelism and prayer.  For me, the author's words are catalysts for many observations and assumptions about Christianity, church life and those outside of church life, including observations and assumptions I may unintentionally make or imply in these posts.

The reason I am posting this today is that it fits in with Good Shepherd Sunday.

Early on the author, Martha Reese, compares current (2008) church membership loss with the losing streak of a baseball team.  She feels what is causing that loss is a reluctance to engage in evangelism.  She writes that a vivid relationship with God lies at the heart of real evangelism and states that "real" evangelism emerges from a trinity of honest, loving relationships:

• With God
• Within the congregation
• With people outside the church whose lives are not centered in Christ

The third relationship is intriguing and prompts questions regarding this faith sharing.  The first involves how the first two relationships are treated differently than the third.  Shifting from the word God to Christ is interesting. The second relationship is broad and would seem to include people not described in the third relationship.  There is no description or accommodation for the true identity of that congregational "flock". This leads to implicit assumptions embedded within these "relationships" including:

• People inside the church lead "lives centered in Christ"
• People outside the church are "not leading lives centered in Christ"
• People's spiritual lives must or should be centered in Christ.

Are these valid assumptions? Do these assumptions allow for strong, deep and "vivid" faith sharing with people both within and outside the church as it may traditionally be defined?  Is the third relationship an honest, loving relationship or is there more judgment than honesty contained within that definition?     .

What voice does Creator, as a flock, currently hear from Jesus regarding faith sharing and how well will we follow the voice of Jesus that we hear?

April 17, 2016 - Fourth Sunday of Easter - Good Shepherd Sunday

My Sunday worship experience was certainly colored by experiences earlier this week.

Throughout this week I reflected on what I described in last Sunday's post as the miracles of individual points of arrival.  Worship where members want or need to be spiritually journey are all launched by the same service.

Assistant to the Bishop Susan Kintner referred to this same phenomenon in a Transition Team meeting on Thursday while she passed along her knowledge from the Synod perspective on the work before us.  She talked about how intimidating it could be for a pastor to give a sermon to a hundred people, knowing each individual would hear it differently.  Pastor Michelle chimed in "And then the sermon becomes 100 different sermons."

The Thursday Transition Team's devotional came from 1 Kings 3 where Solomon asked for an understanding mind to govern and God answered "Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you."  Pastor Michelle offered another translation for 'an understanding mind" as "a listening heart".   We talked about how important "a listening heart" could be to the team's work. I prayed that our team could find God's path to that state for our future work.

Richard Rohr emails also took on a special significance as the Transition Team started inviting comgregational feedback this week.  This was part of the Rohr's Sunday text :"God's basic method of communicating God's self is not the "saved" individual, the rightly informed believer, or even personal careers in ministry, but the journey and bonding process that God initiates in community: in marriages, families, tribes, nations, events, scientists, and churches who are seeking to participate in God's love, maybe without even consciously knowing it."

Together with how the service fit with the week's events and the Animate Bible session after worship, worship today was extraordinary in it's own way,

Pastor Michelle opened with a remark about the rather bright sunlight streaming into the sanctuary. She prefaced her observation with Psalm 118:24 This is the day that the Lord has made;  let us rejoice and be glad in it.  This is a verse I now always associate with Ron and Eileen.  The verse was important to each of them and they quoted it to each other each morning before she passed away.  Ron had the verse placed on her headstone.

After the service we talked about his working through his grieving and how amazing it was to hear this particular verse quoted in worship since Ron had been thinking about it on the way to service. 

Ron also looked forward to attending the last Animate Bible session because the last session was on "Grace".  He shared with me that his second wife, Sally and he had numerous 'agree to disagree' discussions exploring God's grace and whether people were justified by faith alone or by good works as well.  Sally was a devoted Catholic and passed away in July of last year.  It was clear how Ron still  continues to treasure the their discussions and what they discovered about one another through their talks.  Deeply inspirational, as deeply inspiring as Ron's photography is to those of us who have experienced his art .

So how can communities contribute to an individual's coming to terms with personal grieving.  Does a person continue to feel a part of the congregational life when experiencing unique circumstances that others are not going through at that moment.  Does the miracle of individual points of arrival happen here as well?  For Ron, this Sunday, the answer appeared to be yes,

Good Shepherd Sunday also inspired thoughts this year about what constitutes a 'flock' that hears the voice of Jesus.  Jesus was answering the question "How long will you keep us in suspense?  If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."  He does not give a "plain" response, perhaps because the question cannot be answered if the questioner does not already know the plain answer already.

Jesus respnded "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me ".  Pastor Michelle talked about how true this turns out to be for real sheep.  During the Children's Time She made a red crepe circle around the kids with an opening near the altar.  She taught them that the opening was where the shepherd would sleep to protect the sheep from the wolves.

She went on to say how important it is that we feel safe and protected by our shepherd.  If a wolf comes, knowing the shepherd is ready and waiting to drive the wolf away should comfort us.  The sermon was a perfect setup for the Animate Bible session that followed shortly after worship.

This was a Sunday where events were not discreet and blended into one another but I will end the worship blog here and proceed to a separate post about the Adult Forum.

April 10, 2016 - Third Sunday of Easter - Catching Fish and Feeding Sheep

Sometimes sanctuary names not only the place where we worship.  The word also encapsulates the essence of refuge and rest.  This is possible because of a trust in the engagement and regard that is shared by everyone gathered together.  To borrow the language of the St. Teresa poem that we heard at Easter; each of us can feel the embrace of God through Christ who now has no body on earth but ours.

There are other times that cockpit might be a more appropriate word to describe how this building on Sunnyside can feel, at least for me.  This is the place where we are thrust into new spaces and new understandings; moved by the word, music, sacrament or others. Worship at these times takes us to our next point of arrival, the places where we most want or need to go.  These are individual points of arrival and a miracle is that each of us is moved to our individual futures by the same worship.

Blaise Pascal once wrote "Finally, let us recognize that there are two kinds of people one can call reasonable; those who serve God with all their heart because they know Him and those who seek God with all their heart because they do not know Him".  I would add two things to this quote.   One is that this can be true within one person as well.  The other is, despite how contradictory this may seem on the surface, these differences must be brought together as one.

St Peter Penitent

Today's Gospel - John 21:1-19 and The Blessing of the Transition Team brought the differences together.  The Gospel was about Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish and when Jesus Reinstates Peter.

Pastor Michelle told the story in her sermon this way:

Peter appears to be uncertain of his purpose after his denial of Jesus.  He, with other disciples, try to go back to fishing, unsure what they can or should do next.  Going back to their old way of being is unsuccessful and Jesus affirms to them later that this is true.

After being guided by his wisdom to the miraculous catch, they recognize Jesus.  He invites them to breakfast to be fed.  Jesus "reinstates" Peter by asking him "Do you love me?" in three different ways reminiscent of the denials right down to the questions and answers being given in front of a charcoal fire (which now is contributing to how they are fed).

After Peter affirms his love three times Jesus says to him, "Follow me".  We know Peter will serve God with all his heart because of what he learns here again.

After the Sermon and before The Prayers of the People - The Blessing of the Transition Team vividly, personally moved what I usually see as an "either / or" question to a "both / and"answer.  The answer to the question "Should worship be a refuge or a revelation?"  is yes.  Did I experience a profound embrace of the congregation that I'm rooted in and gives me refuge from the world in the Blessing?  Yes.  Was there also a strong sense of suddenly stepping out of an old way of being and into a future God is preparing for Creator?  Yes.  A beautiful convergence.

This was centered movement and not stasis.  The Blessing passed to the team the congregation's trust and permission.  With that the team gained a needed affirmation for laying the foundation.  Moving forward the team can help take Creator to the place the congregation wants to go.

At the heart of this blessing my trust and permission also passed to the team and to the congregation. There was a confidence, not necessarily that this work would be easy or everyone would be in agreement as we discern, but that we were bound together on the right journey for this transition.  

April 3, 2016 - Second Sunday of Easter - Jesus Appears to Thomas - Touching the Scars

Today the setting was the African and American Folk Mass, a liturgy Creator always enjoys and sings enthusiastically.  Luka on drums added to the overall sound and with Matt on piano and Jon leading the congregational singing, the music was strong today.

Pastor Michelle twice brought up Confirmation class when preaching the Gospel Lesson John 20:19-31.  I found this was precisely where it resonated in my soul for me.  I will tell this story for the sake of others.  Once again I was thrust into what I thought was a personal reaction to this John text but may be more widespread because, as Pastor Michelle preached the lesson is about faith, doubt and certainty which are undeniable areas of turmoil for many of us.

Thomas touching the scars

Personally, when I hear the story of Thomas I immediately feel chastised by reliving a memory of one Confirmation class that completely and irrationally overshadows both my thoughts and emotions. It triggers hurt, shame and anger in me.  I no longer feel all this but, like some Pavlovian bell, Doubting Thomas plays in me like a repeating musical hook I responded to in a particular way at the time and respond to differently now.

What I remember now is asking my pastor in class,  "Did the resurrection of Jesus need to be of his physical body, or could the disciples have started believing that the power of what he taught and did could go on living within and through them?"  ..

Theologically the question was awkwardly phrased.  However I was unprepared for his angry response "Of course the resurrection had to be of the physical body of Jesus.  You can't believe or think anything else and be Lutheran"  He added, "And the church certainly doesn't need another Doubting Thomas."

All these years later I don't know why or what my pastor thought or felt when he said this.  I don't think I had even reflected deeply on what I personally believed at that moment about the resurrection and the empty tomb.  Yet suddenly I was a Doubting Thomas in class.  I knew the list of Biblical characters to emulate and those serving as abject, object lessons.  Thomas was certainly on the wrong list.

My pastor's words stung so I reread the story, unfortunately with a particular ax to grind.  First I noticed what Thomas feels is never described as doubt.  He simply stipulates what it would take for him to believe what the others were telling him.  And the other disciples didn't believe the story of the women who came from the tomb, but they are not called "Doubting Disciples".  The unfairness of that label rankled me.

What I also read into my pastor's response at that time was something Jesus did not say and I doubt would have agreed with in the passage:

 "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

My pastor appeared to believe, "and cursed are the ones who don't believe. They are not worthy of the others."

It feels petty to say now but that is I read the Thomas story not as Gospel to share, but with a heart heavy with vindictiveness.

Pastor Michelle preached about believing every statement in the Apostle's Creed.  She quoted Diana Butler Bass that in a Confirmation class Bass substituted the word believe for belove which is a more accurate translation which is not used because it is not truly a word.  What a different Confirmation class that would have been for me.  To say I belove every story about Jesus moves affirmation to the heart rather than the head.

The sermon communicated that believing is seeing rather than the other way around.  Pastor Michelle observed that the opposite of faith is not doubt but certainty.  She also observed that Thomas ends up with the most beautiful statement of faith, his heartfelt "My Lord and my God".

What my pastor confronted me with many years ago was a certainty I did not know how to process or desire to accept the way it was offered.  Today came the comforting words that belief is a gift from God.  I am thankful that I no longer have an ax to grind or simply feel guilt when I hear the beautiful story of Thomas.

The congregation sang Hymn of the Day - Thine is the Glory with a quiet triumph that was in line with the words of the hymn.  Singing Come To the Table's receive from his nail-scarred hands during Communion felt like an affirmation of the grace of Jesus in the Thomas story.

The Sending Song - I'm So Glad Jesus Lifted Me was another song hat spoke to the uneven nature of our spirits and our Christian lives and how, when it happens, we are glad when we are lifted from being bound and in trouble.