​First Congregational Church
June 16, 2019
First Sunday after Pentecost, Trinity Sunday
John 16:12-15 & Romans 5:1-5 
"Divine Choreography, Deferential Joy and Deliverer of Truth"
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

About a hundred years ago, I stashed away an article I had come across from who knows where. I know it was a hundred years ago, because I didn’t have the common sense back then to include references to the stories I kept. 

It was an article about UPS Pilots - those people that do the long haul maneuvering of the packages those wonderful brown trucks deliver. The story goes, that after every flight, the UPS pilot fills out a form called a ‘gripe sheet,' which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

The very nature of some of those particular gripes seemed appropriate for this Fathers Day, because there are some dads that are so good at these sorts of exchanges. Gripe: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement. Service Solution: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

Pilot: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough. Service report: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft. Pilot gripe: Something loose in cockpit. Service report: Something tightened in cockpit. Pilot: Dead bugs on windshield. Service report: Live bugs on back-order.

Pilot: Suspected crack in windshield. Service report: Suspect you're right. Pilot: Aircraft handles funny. Service report: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right and be serious. Pilot: Mouse in cockpit. Service report: Cat installed. Very truly I tell you, part of the reason for the delight of these gripe and service reports is the simplicity of them. In regards to our scripture passages for this morning, well, that’s another story.  

 John 16:12-15 
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” 

Romans 5:1-5 
Peace and Hope
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Thank you, Andrea. There’s a word in the Danish language that is getting a little publicity these days. It’s the word hygge, and it means cozy. We all know what cozy is, mostly, but as with some words, a description fits better than a definition. So imagine a couple of your best friends and/or family members, curled up on couches, perhaps about 8:00 or 9:00 in the evening, on a cold winter’s evening, fire place crackling and popping, any number of candles silently adding to the conversation, you and your people sharing a little sweet thing and a cup of tea or hot chocolate. That’s hygge. 

Or sitting on the front porch, during the height of summer, it’s early evening, the lemonade glass is sweating on the coaster, the watermelon squares are still a little cool in their plain bowl, and neither you nor the person next to you needs to say a thing, because in between the walkers and passers-by, you both realize the depth of the goodness of the moment. That’s hygge. 

I sometimes think it’s a little easier to describe what the Holy Spirit does that to try to define it. James Packer at bible.org gave a great example of the Holy Spirit. “When floodlighting is well done, the floodlights are placed so that you do not see them; in fact, you are not supposed to see where the light is coming from; what you are meant to see is just the building on which the floodlights are trained. The intended effect is to make it visible when otherwise it would not be seen for the darkness, and to maximize its dignity by throwing all its details into relief so that you can see it properly. This perfectly illustrated the Spirit’s new covenant role. He is, so to speak, the hidden floodlight shining on the Savior. 

Or think of it this way. It is as if the Spirit stands behind us, throwing light over our shoulder on to Jesus who stands facing us. The Spirit’s message to us is never, "Look at me; listen to me; come to me; get to know me", but always, "Look at him, and see his glory; listen to him and hear his word; go to him and have life; get to know him and taste his gift of joy and peace.”

Part of the reason I thought this was a good example to describe the Holy Spirit is that it’s a real, practical example that most of us have seen in real life. Another reason the article caught my attention is that Mr. Packer reminds us that the Holy Spirit is not an “it,” but a person, a person like Jesus is a person and God is a person, which seems weird, but hang in with me. 

When the Bible writes about God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the Bible speaks of each of them in terms of “he.” If we aren’t diligent in our readings, we can miss the idea that these persons are more than genders, more than a particular kind of person. When the Bible talks about God as a father, look closely, because it’s just as likely that there is a description of God as mother close by. To be sure, my point here is not to support or disprove the gender of God, but to remind us that ours is a living God, a relational God, a God that is not like a statue with no life, but a God with depth and personality, along with energy.

Timothy L. Adkins-Jones, Senior Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, N.J, suggests that the Holy Spirit, as painted in the passage from John, is described as a sage-like presence that will care for and guide the entire community after Jesus departs, offering exactly what these disciples need in a moment of grand anxiety. 

I got to thinking about that. What is it that we long for when we are anxious and/or lonely? I wonder if often times it’s a presence we long for. Not necessarily someone to say anything, but someone that helps us to not feel alone. I wonder, too, if in our anxiousness or the chaos of a moment, we forget that God’s design was that we are never alone, just as God is never alone, because God has the Trinity, and we have God as Father, God the Christ and God the Spirit. That design that God created, it’s like the choreography of a dance. Whether it’s like the dances of grand waltzes, two-steps, or even the Twist, God’s choreography draws us into relational patterns for joy, delight and appreciation. 

That part of the Trinity that belongs to Christ is an interesting piece. We know a whole lot about Jesus, and we are generally cognizant of his part within this complicated relationship of the Trinity. But I somehow came across this idea of Christ and Deferential Joy, and it surely made me think - and perhaps you. 

Most of us know the word, deferential, as opposed to differential, which is a car part. These are some of the words my computer thesaurus used for deferential: respectful, humble, dutiful, obedient, submissive, meek, subservient, yielding, compliant. As much as some of those terms can be deemed derogatory, they are far deeper and richer than merely bad character tags. Christ set aside his royalty, his intimacy with God and the Spirit, his eternal existence, to become like us, making the way for a joy that we would never know on our own. 

On this day of shining the light on the holy Trinity, the idea of God’s Spirit as Deliverer of Truth might be a helpful understanding of this yielding, rug-cutting relationship. I don’t know about anyone else, but I can certainly remember Tom and Jerry cartoons, or Popeye cartoons or any number of old cartoons, when a character faced a decision, a little version of the character with a halo appeared on one shoulder and one with a pitchfork appeared on the other shoulder, symbolizing the choice between good and evil, so to speak. While the Holy Spirit isn’t an angelic figure that stands on our shoulders, it is that voice of truth that whispers in our hearts and minds, urging us to do the right thing and the good thing, even if those things are hard things. 

While all this glorious gab may or may not win a Pulitzer Prize for Preaching, what real difference does this Trinity thing make, and why should we care? 

We are all wired in certain ways: introverts, extroverts, musically inclined and those not as much, Swedes and everyone else. We all have unchangeable histories of upbringing and learning: survival vs. thriving, how we were or weren’t nurtured, sheltered or experiential childhoods. And we all have differing brains and bodies - for good and ill. Despite all those differences, we all have a responsibility to make the best of ourselves with what we have. 

In that Divine Choreography, Deferential Joy and Deliverer of Truth, all of them not only compliment each other, but they hone each other, so that they are more perfect than perfection. We won’t reach perfection ourselves, but we have this Holy Trinity to help us hone all of our selves, individually and as a church family, that we become the best of what God has always seen in us. 

Sometimes it means literally learning new ways of communicating, even unto asking for forgiveness and forgiving. Sometimes it's practicing that art of holding one’s tongue, especially in an age when it seems that tongue wagging is all the rage. Sometimes it’s reframing our understanding of the world, determining to find goodness where bleakness abounds, or determining to do what is right and good, not even for the sake of doing right and good, but for the sense of knowing you have been honorable and therefore able to sleep without regret. Inviting that larger than life, more eternal that we can imagine Trinity into our everyday breath and consciousness of the world allows us to take steps back when necessary, to change directions when that is needful, that humility and honor become more a part of us than words would ever need to define. As we once again realize this dance of life, in all its dimensions and effects, let us pray. 

Divine Choreographer, Deferential Joy and Deliverer of Truth, we thank you for your life, so long before ours, so long after our earthly life, and larger than we can even begin to imagine. We are grateful that you allow for our frailties and humanness, giving us opportunities to begin again and change direction whenever it is needful. For those moments we have stepped on your toes, running over your will and desire, we ask for your forgiveness. Enable us to let go of those things that we don’t have any business carrying and strengthen us for those things that need taking up. More than anything, near and dear God, help us to practice your presence in our present moments, so that when those times come on us that threaten our senses of security, we are able to resist the temptations that would lead us to apathy, disinterest and even isolation. For the blessings of you as Trinity and God and all else that you are, all your people say, Amen

​First Congregational Church
June 9, 2019
Pentecost Sunday
Acts 2:1-21 & Romans 8:14-17 
"Warm: Definitely. Fuzzy: Well, Sort Of"
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

I didn’t not actually see or hear this statement - as a whole - but I surely heard the individual words this past week. After da meat raffle, we’ll drive by da slough on the way home and have hot dish with a Grain Belt or Hamm’s for supper, don’tcha know. For those of the non-Minnesota persuasion, the translation of that statement is that  ‘after a local bar or VFW has a raffle for real packages of meat - your choice - we’ll drive by the swamp, have a casserole and a beer for dinner, ya know.’ 

I hope all of you continue to feed and nurture your passions and curiosities, because they surely make life interesting. It’s no secret that one of mine is language: how it’s different, how it’s alike, nuances and generalities. I love that the number five in English is also five in Dutch. The word “can” is the same in Danish, but it’s spelled with a k instead of a c. The Danish word for bread, brød, is not that far from the German brot. 

Just for kicks and giggles, I thought a little audience participation might be apropos this particular Sunday. So, when you hear the word Pentecost, what comes first to your mind? 
*** (flames of fire, birthday of the church, speaking in languages, wind, Holy Spirit)

Thank you all for your contributions. I wondered if anyone would make the link to the cause for that first day of Pentecost, the festival of Shauvot, celebrated seven weeks and one day after the first Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. A quicker reference is the "firstfruits of the wheat harvest.” For purposes of setting mood and atmosphere, it could be like a more spirited version of our Thanksgiving. 

Acts 2:1-21 
The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Thank you, Sonya. As for our next passage, the book of Romans is Paul’s dense, monumental masterpiece “letter” written, as Joseph Fitzmyer of the Catholic University of America describes, “to explain the gospel of the justification and salvation of Jew and Greek alike by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, revealing the uprightness and love of God the Father." 

Romans 8:14-17 
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 
17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 

Thank you, Betty. I don’t know about anyone else, but sometimes I just have to smile at God’s timing/leading. Of all weeks one could have chosen to fly to Minnesota and back, I picked the one right before Pentecost Sunday. Airports are truly one of the best places to get an idea of what that first Pentecost Sunday may have looked like - people-wise. 

Those who live here year-round, we think we have a lot of people when the line in the grocery store is longer than 2 individuals. The line I stood in for the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport security check took a half hour to clear. Even walking down concourses was like driving down an interstate - weaving in and out of the flow, depending on your destination. 

And all the variations: in fashion, hair colors, head shapes in absence of hair, facial hair expressions, eyeglass shapes and frames, and all the sorts of shoes! There were fancy people and plain ones, short ones and tall ones, skinny ones and those not so much, stressed people, those in need of a pulse check. And somehow we tend to forget that all sorts of people also means all sorts of smells - appealing and not so much. 

Then to imagine a violent wind blowing through such a crowd accompanied by fire, one can only imagine the panic and chaos that would ensue for a modern day Pentecost and security personnel. 

Then, as our passage tells us, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” I’m sure that any major airport these days has more languages flowing through them than we can shake a stick at. But, it’s the Holy Spirit part that caught my attention last week. 

The passage from Romans reminds us that those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. It is said that we don’t really become adults until both of our parents have died. Even so, we’re not children without a parent as orphans. We have God - who fathers and mothers us. The word Abba translates to Daddy or Papa. It’s the word little kids use for that person they trust to protect them. Watch any child, and it’s obvious that when they know where their parent is, they are more secure and able to live more freely.

In the Acts passage, that wind that blew through? The Greek word is pneuma, which means breath. (I had to laugh when I was thinking about this, because it made me think of the movie, My Big, Fat Greek wedding, where the father of the bride tries to link all language back to Greek words.) The Greek word is pneuma, which is not only means breath, but it means spirit - as in Holy Spirit. 

If the Holy Spirit is like breath, then it’s like air, and it’s not just a thing, but is in us and around us and keeps us alive and is a person of the Trinity. And that same Spirit makes us related, like blood makes a person related to parents and siblings, aunts and uncles and grandparents. Even in adopted children or fostered children, there is often a deep and hugely important link to those people who parent them and provide for them. 

On top of that spirit-breath connection, we have God’s love and grace connection, which all comes together in a relationship with the larger-than-life God that knows not only the number of hairs on our heads, but loves us so much, that a real person had to be sent to show us that love. Throw in the flames of the spirit that would be symbolically passed on to each of us as members of Christ’s church, we can certainly appreciate the warmth that comes in being part of such a beloved body. 

I don’t know if you could call it a warm and fuzzy relationship, however. If we are to share in Christ’s glory, then we will share in his sufferings. We aren’t likely to be crucified on an actual cross, but we will be called upon, from time to time, to stand up to the forces that seek to lure us into temptation, as Christ was tempted to easy street while in the desert. And some of us may be betrayed by one we loved and trusted. And some of us will experience people who will try to twist our words and even our actions into meanings we never intended. 

But it is God’s Spirit that will never separate us from God. There is nothing that can separate you from the love of God. Not sin, not the most horrible awfulness. Not any disbelief, or lack of faith. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. Not your suffering, even if it feels deserved, which it is not. Not jail cells of isolation, relationship cancers, or any of your failures. 

Nothing can separate you from the love of God. Not your anger at God when things stink. Not your questioning if God even exists at all. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. Not your turning away when that love feels too hot, too confining, too challenging.

Nothing can separate you from the love of God. Not when you feel absolutely nothing of God, for God is not your feelings, which are feeble and fickle.

Nothing can separate you from the love of God. Not disaster, which is not God, or triumph, which is also not God. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. You are in it like the air, like gravity. It is in you, for it is what you are made of. It's for you. On purpose. With delight. Nothing can separate you from the love of God.

Not when children say it is time to hang up the car keys. Not when people make bad decisions and you know it. When life gets too big and other people have to be called in. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. Ever. No matter what happens. That is how much God loves you. And it is ever and only as close as this air around us. So let us pray. 

God of amazing love and spirit, thank you for such love that is so far beyond us and yet lives in us. Thank you for showing us the depth of that love in the gift of yourself, in Christ. We know that sometimes we forget that you are so near us, in us, and we ask for your forgiveness when our attention fails to include you. Help us in the week ahead, God, to walk through our days with one eye on you, as a parent watches the child in their care, that we not miss those moments of grace and joy. Grow our appreciation - all of us - for the diversity of this world that brings not only a variety of culture, but a depth of connection and relativity that is as precious as your creation of each of us. For each and every blessing in this world, the one that has gone before and the one to come, all your people say, Amen. 

​First Congregational Church
June 2, 2019
7th Sunday in Easter &  Communion Sunday
John 17:20-26 & Acts 16:16-34 
"Prayin', Prayin', Prayin'
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

The temporary Sunday School teacher was struggling to open a combination lock on the supply cabinet. She had been told the combination, but couldn't quite remember it. 
Finally she went to the pastor's study and asked for help. The pastor went into the room and began to turn the dial. After the first two numbers she paused and stared blankly for a moment. Finally she looked serenely heavenward and her lips moved silently. Then she looked back at the lock, and quickly turned to the final number, and opened the lock. The teacher was amazed. "I'm in awe at your faith, pastor," she said. "It's really nothing," she answered. "The number is on a piece of tape on the ceiling.”

Our first passage is one of a conglomeration of teachings and instructions that Jesus gave the disciples. In the book of John, these teachings and instructions come after Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, but I don’t know that they were delivered all in one evening - being more than 3 chapters worth. The second scripture passage from the book of Acts continues the description of the early disciples and their “acts” of meeting, visiting and preaching while they were on their mission trips. 

John 17:20-26 
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 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. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I 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.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
-
Acts 16:16-34 
Paul and Silas in Prison
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 
She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

Thank you, father and daughter, Tom and Jennifer. Isn’t it interesting how little things stay in our brains - or not? For instance, the sermon title. Sometimes, when people are asking for prayer - in a written format - I will respond with the words, prayin’, prayin’, prayin’ and as I write or read them, the tag “raw hide” automatically follows. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an episode of Rawhide, but somehow that little part of the opening song has made its way not only into my brain, but perhaps our cultural memory, too. 

Another, non-cultural snippet is when people say grace, whether they sing it or say it, if it’s one that’s a memorized one, my brain mentally adds, ‘prayers, prayers, Amen.’ When my youngest sister was just learning to talk, and we’d do the God is good, God is great prayer, because she didn’t have all those words, yet wanted to be a part of the group, she’d say ‘prayers, prayers, Amen’ after we had said our Amen. And that’s how we said prayers in my family for a long time. 

The theme of prayer is threaded through both scripture passages this morning. Paul and Silas were going to the place of prayer and later, when they were in jail, they were praying and singing - while no doubt in pain and darkness - other prisoners were listening to those hymns and prayers. Truth be told, I’d forgotten about the prayer Jesus offered in the passage from John, and for whatever reason, it found a soft place in my heart this time around. 

There aren’t a lot of places in the world today, aside from a church, where we might hear a prayer, asking God that we be one, that God loves us. Aside from the various novels here and there, when was the last time you heard someone pray with such sentiment, “I want those you have given me to be with me where I am.” In fact, to bring the passage in just a little closer, when I draw a line with my finger, mentally say your name. Jesus said, “I want ___ to be with me where I am.” If that were the only part of the prayer we heard, we could read it as rather command-full. But we have the rest of the prayer, and it’s poignant and tender and it’s about you. (So make sure you go home and read that section again today or tonight.) 

Not all our prayers can be such intimate moments of exchange, but there’s no where in the Bible that says our prayers have to be one way or another. True, Jesus said to pray like this, and he gave us the Lord’s Prayer. But he didn’t say always or only pray like this, and so he gave us a tool in that prayer - a rather powerful one at that. 

I know I’ve said it before, but I’m still amazed when doing nursing home worship services, and someone will be there, appearing to be sleeping or completely disconnected, and when we get to doing the Lord’s Prayer, their lips may move, if ever so slightly. Going so deeply into a person doesn’t generally happen with one or two repetitions, but through the accumulated worship services, funerals, or other sorts of services that include that prayer. That truth is also shared with communion. It isn’t just one course of bread and cup that gives it deep meaning, but the regular feeding and watering of the soul, in God’s presence and with God’s family. 

Sometimes our prayers are sharp and to the point, like Paul addressing the annoying spirit in the woman from the Acts passage. Sometimes our prayers are “observed” or offered vicariously, as the prisoners in the jail with Paul and Silas. Sometimes our prayers are motivated by necessity or fear, and sometimes they are out of gratitude and oddly oxymoronic, as for Paul and Silas - in jail. 

We forget, sometimes, that God always answers our prayers - but not always the way we want. Sometimes the answers are backward and sometimes they are answered in God’s time rather than ours. But all our prayers - are not all about what we pray for - but about who they help us become. 

For instance, we are already one - today - in that we who have gathered this day and in this time, and so we are family for the next moments - whether they be big or little moments. And with Christ’s ascension back to God, which is celebrated in churches on the 40th day after Easter, this past Friday, we have God’s glory because Christ lives, as will all of us. And to a degree, as Christ has made God known to us, through his examples and words and prayers, we already understand and have some of God’s love - even if it is a thread’s worth from a huge tapestry. 

As we prepare our hearts and minds to receive Christ’ bread and cup, let us be mindful that our preparation is a prayer, too, a focusing in on Christ’s presence with us and within us and among us, the beauty and largesse and depth of that love. So let us prepare.

Communion

Holy and Reverent God, we thank you - for you, your son, your spirit, your glory, your love, your gifts of diversity and prayer and grace. Thank you, too, for Paul and Silas and all those, throughout the centuries, who have sought you through their circumstances, becoming examples of hope and inspiration to all of us. Help each of us remember those moments of prayer that have touched our lives, that they may inspire us and encourage us in our next steps and paths. For Christ’s prayers, and especially this one from John 17, may we all appreciate again, his love for all of us, and all people. For the blessing of having a God with such greatness of heart, all your people say, Amen. 

​First Congregational Church
May 26, 2019
Sixth Sunday in Easter, Memorial Weekend
John 14:23-29 & Acts 16:9-15
“We’re In This ___!”
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

Most folks have heard of the well-known book called “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” There is a parallel story, from the Bible, much lesser known, called, Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Noah's Ark. In the Cliff Notes version, Point #1 is Don't miss the boat. 
Point #2: Remember that we are all in the same boat! 
Point #3: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark. 
Point #4: Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. 
Point #5: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done. 
Point #6: Build your future on high ground. 
Point #7: For safety's sake, travel in pairs. 
Point #8: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs. 
Point #9: When you're stressed, float awhile. 
Point #10: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. 
Point #11: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

When I was working on a title for this morning’s message, I couldn’t resist the temptation to leave it open-ended. So, before going on to the scripture passages, how would you fill in the blank, “We’re In This ___!” 

Thank you all for your answers. I can honestly say I hadn’t thought of some of those. It would be equally interesting to throw out such a question at the end of the message, to see how much answers may - or may not - have changed. Until another time, we have our scripture passages. 

The first passage takes place during Jesus’ last week, according to the writer of John, during the Last Supper. The second passage takes place some time after Jesus’ crucifixion, death, resurrection and ascension back to God. 

John 14:23-29 
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 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.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.

Thank you, Dawn. For obvious pronunciation reasons, I decided that it would be easier for me to read the second passage this morning, because otherwise I’d owe someone a favor so big, I might not be able to ever fulfill it. 

I direct your attention to the map insert in your bulletin. To set this passage, the great Paul went on three journeys, the second of which is the background for our Acts passage. If you zero in on the middle of the map, you see the word Mysia, and about three names down from there, you see the name Thyratira. That is the home of the woman from our second passage. Somehow she ends up in Neopolis, which is north and west of Thyratira, across that bay of water, to the right of the word Macedonia. Neopolis is where all the big action takes place from our second passage. 

Following the two lines south and east of Neopolis, a little less than an inch or so, you see a tiny island with its name, Samothrace to the right of it. That is the halfway point and overnight stay of the great Paul, which begins more south and east, still along those two lines, at the city of Troas. 

Troas to Samothrace is a good day’s sail, as is Samothrace to Neopolis. If you wanted to drive it, the trip around the Agean Sea from Troas to Neopolis is about 9.5 hours, and one can only imagine how long it would have taken by foot. Now, back to the story.

Acts 16:9-15 
9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi
11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Sam’othrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira (thee a tree ah) named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

As you were listening to this portion of the passages, did you notice the use of pronouns? Did you notice that a good many of them were “we” or “us?” We stayed there; We sat down, she invited us. 

Although they aren’t mentioned in this specific passage, Paul’s traveling partners were Timothy and Silas. Timothy had just joined Paul and Silas. In fact, Timothy had just become an official Jew, lest people might have thought him suspicious; Timothy’s father being Greek. I wonder, being so far removed from that time, if we tend to gloss over this little part of today’s passage. 

After all, how many of us would think of getting a tattoo before joining up with a particular tech company, so people wouldn’t think you were too square or out of touch with their culture. Or how many of us would be willing to get our hair cut in a certain manner in order to join the ministry of this or any church? That concept may seem a little odd to us in 2019, but all those centuries ago, it seems that people were rather willing to go to fairly substantial measures to show their dedication and loyalty to a cause and or group of people. 

It’s interesting, too, that Paul, et al., had expected to find a place of prayer, and instead they found a group of ladies. Apparently there wasn’t time for grumbling about diverted plans, because the next thing we know, the writer of Acts is listing Lydia’s credentials and she’s inviting Paul and his buds to stay overnight at her house. 

We’re not so apt to invite strangers into our homes to spend the night, except for those family members we don’t call strangers, but sometimes, flat out strange. Or unless we’re running a Bed and Breakfast. This is, however, the perfect place to go back to our first scripture, from John 14. 

Jesus had said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” In this definition of community, Jesus reminds all of us of the Holy Trio of Relationship: God, Christ and The Holy Spirit. Even God is in a relationship of others, creating a partnership that lends strength, comfort, encouragement and companionship - in our human way of thinking. 

There is no question that there are a great number of people who are lonely and alone, and those situations tend to be observed or thought of in terms of sadness or even pity. Regardless of whether we are wired for getting our energy through solitude or through being with other individuals, we are never, ever alone. God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are always with us. Technically, we are constantly surrounded by party of love and life. And still, sometimes it’s hard to enter into that “party.”

Being so far removed from that time, we may not appreciate the oddities of the passage from Acts - the work of God being led by a woman and a man with a multi-racial heritage. From the earliest days of Christianity, God was using anyone willing, to further God’s kingdom of love and grace. 

The idea of “We’re In This Together” is an incredibly nice and even cozy thought as we sit in this sanctuary, clean, at a descent temperature, lights, and a living, breathing organist and pastor. Just turn on the tv, radio or your computer, and you will soon discover just how uncommon this scenario is on this morning where some churches are meeting in alternate spaces due to tornadoes and other people - of all sorts of ethnicities - are sleeping not in their own beds while they try to figure out how they are going to put their lives back together after the last flood that came their way. 

Regardless of our living or worship circumstances, we are all in this “life on earth” thing together. What happens to flooded-out farmers relates to us because we are all connected to each other through Christ. What happens to those who have lost their homes relates to us because we are all connected to each other through the Holy Spirit. What happens to those who lose their livelihoods due to fire or finances or any other reason outside of themselves, relates to us because we are all connected to each other through God. 

On this weekend that celebrates those who never made it out of their service uniforms, it’s hard to not think about those who gave all they had to give so that we can determine just how we join into this idea of being in this world together. For such freedom and sacrifice and charge, let us pray.

Holy, Eternal God, thank you for this day and tomorrow and all our other tomorrows. Help us recount the sacrifices of those who gave their all in allowing us the freedoms to determine how we join your ministry of reaching those who need help and grace and love. Stir our hearts to those who may need a touch of grace, a listening ear or a glimpse of recognition. Grant each of us that peace that your son spoke of, a word from your heart and mind. For all the gifts with which you bless your people, we all say, Amen. 


John 14:23-29 
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 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.
“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.

First Congregational Church
May 19, 2019
Fifth Sunday of Easter & Owen Nuske Baptism
John 13:31-35 & Acts 11:1-18 
“Not a Suggestion”
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

Before charging head-long  into this morning’s message, I have an apology to make. I didn’t realize that we missed National Picnic Day. It was April 23rd. I’m sorry I forgot to wish all of you a Happy National Picnic Day. My humblest apologies. 

That being resolved, a church had a picnic and invited the entire community to come. The Pastor placed a basket full of apples on one end of a table with a sign saying, "Take only one apple please - Remember that God is watching.” On the other end of the table was a plate of cookies where one of the children had placed a sign saying, "Take all the cookies you want -- God is watching the apples.”

A Jewish rabbi and a Catholic priest were good friends. They were at a community picnic one day and the priest was eating a ham sandwich. "You know," he said to his friend, "this ham sandwich is simply delicious. I know you're not supposed to eat ham, but I don't understand why something as good as this would be forbidden to you. Why don't you break down and try one?” To which the rabbi replied, "Sure, at your wedding."

In coming to our scripture passages for this morning, I will begin by saying that I think they are a little strange - for this particular Sunday. It’s the fifth Sunday in Easter; yes, we’re still in the church season of Easter. The past lectionary passages have included some of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances, and things have been going swimmingly - until this week. All of a sudden the Gospel passage is from Jesus’ last night with the disciples, just after he sent Judas out to do his betrayal. Then the passage from Acts skips way ahead of those earliest of days of the new church, to when the fame of the disciples was known more throughout the area. 

In my research for this message, I was reminded that the writer of Acts, like the writers of all the New Testament books, would have used papyrus scrolls, rather than sheets of paper. Papyrus rolls were unwieldy and the longest ones were about 35 feet long, just about the right length for the book of Acts in its entirety. In some ways that seems like a lot, but a lot had happened after Jesus’ resurrection, and since papyrus was expensive, Luke’s had big decisions about what to include and what to exclude in these Acts of the Apostles. 

Interestingly, Luke tells a story about a centurion named Cornelius and a vision Peter had - and he tells the story in great detail in chapter 10 of Acts, and then gives the Cliff Notes version at the beginning of chapter 11. He repeated the story on expensive papyrus. If Luke spent that much time on a couple of stories, they must have been exceedingly important and truly worth our time - at least with the more succinct version.

In case it’s been a while, the second of the scripture passages is heard better remembering that certain foods in Jewish culture were acceptable - kosher - and others weren’t. Fish could be eaten if it had fins and scales. So this excluded all shellfish and fish that had fins but no scales, e.g., shark, catfish, and eels. Meat could be eaten it came from an animal with a split hoof completely divided and that chewed the cud. So four-footed animals like alligator, rabbit, camel, wild ox were off-limits - just to name a few.  

John 13:31-35 
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
31 When he (Judas) was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 

Acts 11:1-18 
Peter Explains His Actions
11 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them.These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Thank you, Beth and John. Not many of us grew up in cultures where the idea of kosher and non-kosher was a big deal. But it’s not such a difficult exercise to imagine one’s self, being taught that Chevy’s are the best car, or Fords or Buicks, and then, one day, someone you highly respect comes along and says that Subarus are also good, or BMWs or Volkswagons. Or being raised as Lions fans, only to find out that the Vikings aren’t so horrible as one might have been lead to believe. The passage from Acts makes the way for most of us to be Christians, because not being Jewish, we are simply Gentiles. What was okay for Jews was okay for Gentiles. God’s love is far bigger than limiting it to just certain individuals, and that’s a fact much to our benefit. 

It also means that any “ism” is to be countered with love, including racism, sexism, classism, ableism, anti-Semitism, ageism and heterosexism. Love does not mean like, but it does mean treating all people with dignity and respect.

It’s interesting that the passage from John says to love one another, which without context, would mean we are to love not only those who annoy us, or push our buttons, but those who challenge us in ways that are perhaps deeply engrained. But there is a context in John’s passage - it’s the rest of the disciples that were in the upper room with Jesus on his last night. He was addressing his grown-up family, the ones who were closest to each other - telling them to love each other. 

Sometimes, I think we need those reminders that God is the God of all of us - even those who rub our fur the wrong way. And we are to especially love those who come to us in the name of Christ, because Jesus isn’t really giving us an option here. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, that one of the things I truly love about this church family are all the 180s. Some of us are conservative and some of us are 180 degrees different from that. Some of us are musically inclined, and some of us can play the radio. Some of us have extensive educational backgrounds and some of us can make magic things happen with hands and a high school diploma. 

But like any family, regardless of our desires to do well, sometimes we have to remember that a burr under the saddles doesn’t equate to removal of love. Sometimes loving is allowing the other to make their own mistakes and not hold our love for them over their heads when they chose a path we wouldn’t necessarily choose. 

I’m certainly not suggesting that there are any issues within this church family that needs this address. But summer’s coming, and heat and humidity and tourists and family, and well, let’s just say that pre-emptive prayers are perhaps some of the best things we can do in these days before thing ramp up in Benzie County. And prayers for putting forth our best heart is certainly a perfect place to begin. 

Heavenly God, thank you that you love all of us and that your door is open to each and every one. It’s just that we sometimes forget to go beyond our belief in you to living as if we follow and love you. Sometimes we’re tired or sick or sick and tired and we forget to become the love you have for the whole world. For those times we have fallen short in the past, forgive us, God. For those with whom we struggle, nudge us toward love. And for all those with whom we will come in contact in the coming week, may they be struck by the love that overflows from you, through us, and into them - regardless of how easy or difficult that may be. And most of all, God, thank you for sending your Son, who has shown us the high value of your love, as all your people say, Amen. 

First Congregational Church
April 28, 2019
Holy Humor Sunday
John 20:19-31 
“Perplexities, Humor and Other Venues of Truth”
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

Author Jack Kornfield once said, “If you can sit quietly after difficult news, if in financial downturns you remain perfectly calm, if you can see your neighbors travel to fantastic places without a twinge of jealousy, if you can happily eat whatever is put on your plate, and fall asleep after a day of running around without a drink or a pill,…if you can always find contentment just where you are, you are probably a dog.” I love this quote, not just because it’s cute, but there is a theological underpinning that is so good.

For those who have been wondering, here’s the deal. During the 15th century, Bavarian churches celebrated Risus Paschalis, a Latin term which translates as God’s Joke, or the Easter laugh. The medieval church believed that Satan could absolutely not stand laughter. At least not genuine laughter. If you laugh at the evil one, the evil one has no power over you.

Sometimes called Bright Sunday, it is said that originally, priests would sit around on the day after Easter, smoking cigars, drinking cognac, and laughing at God’s final joke on death, evil and Satan in the resurrection of Christ. Embracing the idea from the great Danish theologian, Søren Kierkegaard, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”, we celebrate Holy Humor Sunday on odd numbered years - because who wants to get into a rut? Since smoking is prohibited in public places, it would hardly seem worth the effort to celebrate communion with cognac today, she said tongue-in-cheek.

We have so many goofy expressions in our American language, from raining cats and dogs to barking up the wrong tree to not judging a book by its cover. No one is really sure of how it came to be, but I’m guessing that “pulling my leg” was not a phrase used by the ancient Greeks or Hebrews, in terms of scriptures usage. But perhaps there is a bit of “being fooled or teased” exaggeration in this morning’s scripture passage. 

John 20:19-31 
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of John’s Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Thank you, Mary. There is so much good stuff in this passage, we could spend a month of Sundays exploring them. But in light of today’s grand celebration, if the ancients had the term, I can easily see people, not in that locked room, hearing about Jesus showing up, and those folks responding with a “stop pulling my leg.” Or hearing about Jesus breathing the Holy Spirit on them, and the listeners responding with a “Holy Halitosis, Dude!” Or hearing about Thomas’ encounter with the risen Christ and responding with gales of laughter, thinking it was a joke or that maybe Thomas had a little more Passover wine that usual. 

If nothing else, this first Sunday in Easter offers us an opportunity to take a look at our human behaviors and bring them into the light of levity, reality and Christ’s resurrection. It reminds us that even though we have a written account that has no need for doubt - as for Thomas - our human nature is rather doubtful and desirous of wanting or thinking we need to see and experience life our own selves. Living life vicariously through others is often just not good enough, especially if those others are long gone. 

The reality is, however, that we don’t live in the time where the political chaos, just outside the walls of that room, were so explosive that the disciples weren’t just having a little get-together, they were hiding, in sorrow and fear for their lives because of their association with Jesus. We live in a time where we know that Christ triumphed over the grave, and yet, in all our humanity, we forget that sorrow and grief and the hard parts of life don’t have the last say. Or sadder still, sometimes we know the truth of the resurrection, but choose to stay in hopeless valleys of darkness.

This morning, this day that the Lord has made, is one in which we can step out of any such valleys into the light of healing and life. In this time, we get to sit in the joy of the Lord, in the gratitude of being able to see the humor of life, even if it is for such a short time. And when we leave today, we have the opportunity to be conscious of that light going with us into the coming week, to add the spice of our Christian witness in the living of Godly joy. 

Besides, it wasn’t only 15th century monks, but the Bible itself tells us that there is a time for everything under heaven, including a time to weep and a time to laugh. 13th century St. Thomas Aquinas said that there is a time for “playful deeds and jokes.” The great Martin Luther said, “You have as much laughter as you have faith.” and the Reformation’s John Calvin pointed out that “we are nowhere forbidden to laugh.” The Methodist forefather, John Wesley made the point that “A sour religion is the devil’s religion.” Perhaps the greatest of all theologians, the great comic strip writer of Peanuts, Charles Schultz told us that “Humor is proof that everything is going to be alright with God nevertheless.”

“A hot air balloon was floating over the countryside when suddenly the people onboard realized they were lost. Below them they saw two people walking along a road so they lowered the balloon close enough to the ground to yell out to them. “Do you know where we are?” asked the balloonist to those on the ground. One of the two folks on the ground looked up and yelled back, “You are up in a balloon, in the air!” And with that, the wind caught the balloon and they sailed back into the sky.

A little later, after getting back on track, the balloonist told the passengers, “That person on the ground, he was a Congregational pastor.” “How do you know that?” asked the passengers.” “Well,” said the balloonist, “two reasons. First, what he said was absolutely true and, second, what he said was not helpful at all!”

A little boy opened the big family bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages. "Mama, look what I found", the boy called out. "What have you got there, dear?" With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, "I think it's Adam's underwear!”

A pastor was speaking to a group of children about the resurrection of Jesus when one of the children asked, “what did Jesus say when he came out of the grave?” The pastor started to answer when one of the other children became very excited and said, “I know, I know what he said: He said, ‘Tahdah!’”

A nine-year-old theologian once explained that, “Despite the fact that Jesus preached to some Germans on the Mount, the Republicans and all those guys still put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot, and they killed him. But he came back to life again, went up to Heaven, and will be back at the end of the Aluminum. In the meantime, we’re supposed to be kind to strangers because you never know when you might be entertaining angels in their underwear.” 

 A woman arrived at the Gates of Heaven. While she was waiting for Saint Peter to greet her, she peeked through the gates. She saw a beautiful banquet table. Sitting all around were her parents and all the other people she had loved and who had died before her. They saw her and began calling greetings to her "Hello - How are you! We've been waiting for you! Good to see you."

When Saint Peter came by, the woman said to him, "This is such a wonderful place! How do I get in?" "You have to spell a word," Saint Peter told her. "Which word?" the woman asked. “Love." The woman correctly spelled "Love" and Saint Peter welcomed her into Heaven.

About a year later, Saint Peter came to the woman and asked her to watch the Gates of Heaven for him that day. While the woman was guarding the Gates of Heaven, her husband arrived. "I'm surprised to see you," the woman said. "How have you been?"
"Oh, I've been doing pretty well since you died," her husband told her. "I married the beautiful young nurse who took care of you while you were ill. And then I won the multi-state lottery. I sold the little house you and I lived in and bought a huge mansion. And my wife and I traveled all around the world. We were on vacation in Cancun and I went water skiing today. I fell and hit my head, and here I am. What a bummer! How do I get in?” "You have to spell a word," the woman told him. "Which word?" her husband asked. “Czechoslovakia.” So should we all pray.

God of Joy and Sorrow and all our days, we are truly grateful for all the gifts you give us, and certainly for the gift of laughter. Thank you for the cause of any of our laughter - your triumph over death and sin. When it seems that those negative forces are winning the day, help us to remember that none of them have the final say in life - especially in the world to come. Help us to find the balance of genuine joy while acknowledging the brokenness of the world. Remind us that we don’t have to be a dog to find contentment in this world, that you are our peace and our stay. As the great Peter Marshall said, “Let’s not live another day as if Christ were dead.” And all your grateful people say, Amen.