May 24, 2020 - Seventh Sunday After Easter - Pouring Out Our Hearts To God

Pastor Janell preached on the Seventh Sunday of Easter's Gospel.  She imagined what it would have been like to listening to these words of Jesus for the first time. Here was Jesus, pouring his heart out to God at this moment of crisis and allowing his disciples who knew him, how they could eventually pray like this. Pouring his heart out right there and right then helps with our understanding that knowing God draws us into a new reality right here and right now. We see God as both Creator and redeemer. Jesus followed his relationship to the father as far as it could be taken.

As Pastor Janelle pointed out, the last words Jesus says in John's Gospel is "It is finished".

Pastor Janell also talked about her struggle with the Gospel, particularly verse 9, "I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours." She struggled with the passage because she thought surely God prays for everyone. She reached a resolution in her mind by reflecting on the understanding that would have been present in his listeners at that time.

This is a time when it is easy for people to engage in the dual good / bad thinking she attributed to Christian disciples during the time John's Gospel was written. People today act as if a decision must be made to stay at home and remain healthy or re-engage our economy.

This was made plain on Friday. Houses of worship around the country got a presidential green light to open immediately (and somehow do it safely. Something leaped in my heart knowing that Creator had found found our way, for now, to worship as a community throughout this pandemic. I also thought about, and prayed for, churches that were not so fortunate.

"I call on governors to allow our churches and places of worship to open right now," President Trump said in remarks at the White House on Friday. "These are places that hold our society together and keep our people united," he said. "The people are demanding to go to church and synagogue and to their mosque."

Many denominations, including Episcopalians and Lutherans, celebrate variations of the sacrament together with Catholics and other Christians. Some believers have gone months without receiving communion, and they feel they can't do so unless they assemble in person. I continue to be grateful that Creator could adapt to the new circumstances and began celebrating communion a few weeks ago, while other ELCA congregations were observing a fast from performing communions.

Churches also serve as a place where people gather for community, with the congregation becoming a second family. At a time when people are experiencing social isolation, financial hardships, grief and loss, church is where they want to turn for solace and support.

What I have experienced during this pandemic is new ways of making worship and those relationships meaningful while still missing what we shared when we worshiped together in our building  

Pastor Janell stated in her sermon that she had signed a statement by Common Table Oregon (click to link to the whole statement) and she read the last paragraph.

"Each of our faith communities will have to discern how to best serve in their unique local contexts, and we remain united by our shared values and common purpose.  Together we reject partisan narratives and false dichotomies that would pit our health versus our economy, or our liberty versus our responsibility.  Instead, we look to that creative spirit that always finds a way out of no way, and choose to walk forward in faith and solidarity with all people.  We will continue to prioritize public health, alongside the economic, spiritual, and psychological well-being of all our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable members of our society. We commit to doing so not just in loving prayer, but also through loving action."

Indeed, this is a time where we need to know how pour our hearts out to God in prayer and action as our redeemer modeled for us. No one needs to claim a constitutional right to gather to pray and worship. We can, and have, prayed and lived into being members of Christ's body without meeting in a building.