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Sunday, May 22, 2022

5/22/2022

 

First Congregational Church
May 22, 2022
6th Sunday of Easter
John 5:1-9
“Time and Prayer and the Aid of the Holy Spirit”
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

Two people were out hunting and come upon what appeared to be an abandoned farm. The barn was sagging, the house was in disrepair, and there were junk cars and parts lying around. The only things that made it a working farm were a few chickens pecking away and a goat wandering around. As they entered the yard, they came across an old well. One asked the other "Wonder how deep it is."

The other said, "We'll have to drop something down and listen for the splash." They look around for something to drop down the well, but the only thing close by was an old car transmission. They both hauled it over to the well and dropped it in. They counted and waited a long time for the splash. It was deep, deep one all right. They turned to leave and saw the goat was charging at them, head down, horns headed straight for them. At the last moment, they jumped aside, and the goat went right past them and straight over the side and down the well. They looked at each other in amazement.

As they started to leave, the owner of the farm came up. They chatted for a moment and eventually got permission to hunt on his land. The farmer asked, “By the way, have you seen my goat?" They said, "Your goat almost killed us charging at us. You should have had that goat tied up.” The farmer, "He was, I had him tied up to an old transmission.”

This morning, the lectionary brings us a passage in which Jesus is going to Jerusalem, but not the trip during his last week. He was going there for a feast day, probably the Passover, although we are not certain it was that particular feast day.

As Linda makes her way up here, I will point out to those using the pew Bibles, that there is an oddity at the end of verse three. There are two sorts of original documents when it comes to Bibles: by date and by quantity. The oldest manuscripts, as they are called, didn’t have verse 4. In most of the many of those discovered later, verse 4 was a part of the document. The pew Bibles have the fourth verse at the bottom of the page, and Linda will be reading the whole of it, as in the later documents.

John 5:1-9
1 Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed (and they waited for the moving of the waters. 4 From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease they had.)
5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" 7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." 8 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,

Thank you, Linda. A wealthy man threw a party at his mansion, complete with a new saltwater pool. During the party, live sharks were released into the pool and the wealthy man offered a million dollars to anyone brave enough to swim across the pool. Immediately there was a splash and someone started swimming across the pool at record speed. The swimmer jumped out of the pool, completely out of breath and everyone congratulated him on his courage. The man said, "I just want to know - WHO PUSHED ME?”

The passage this morning is unlike other healings, beginning with the pool itself. Bethesda means "house of mercy” or house of grace.” For a long time, it was thought to be a mythical place, but excavations in the 1800s and since have revealed its authenticity. It wasn’t a mineral spring or particularly holy water. And at completely random moments, the water was “troubled” - sounding almost human.

We don’t know how old the man was, but considering that life expectancy was not much more than 40 years for males, a good share of his life had been spent with his mat. Imagine the monotony, waiting, watching, hoping, while nothing changed. Unable to see that his life was more than this pool, he was convinced that life would bubble up outside of him in that magic pool.

Of course, I want to know who took him there, or did he actually live there? Who supported his ability to be there. Someone helped, but maybe that was all they could do - like each of the pieces we do in helping others. And if he was sitting there every day, then he wasn’t going to the synagogue for any spiritual healing either. It is not new news that being ill or challenged in one way or another has ramifications on other parts of our lives - including our mental and spiritual health. The Bible doesn’t tell us, but the man probably didn’t have much faith to fall back on. Add that to the lack of people to come alongside him in his healing, it makes sense that maybe he was a little defensive, completely avoiding the direct answer to the direct question with excuses.

And who would blame him, really? He’s sick and tired of being sick and tired, and maybe his answer is more defensive because if you think about it, it can feel like Jesus is suggesting that this guy’s circumstances are of his own making - his own fault.

I remember years ago, preaching on this passage, and I had used Jesus’ words for the sermon title. “Do you want to get well?” Those who remember Jack Frost, he commented - before the service - just enough so I could hear - I didn’t know I was sick! And isn’t that the truth! Sometimes we don’t know how sick we are until we start feeling better!

For this man, maybe this mysterious, chronic condition has become a sort of badge of courage that he enjoys talking about, that gives him some power or family position that he wouldn’t otherwise have. There are those folks that somehow come to enjoy their ill health, either because it’s familiar and oddly comfortable in knowing what it’s like, or that it’s the lazy way out, because getting well will take some work.

Chelsey Harmon of Calvin Theological Seminary makes a very pointed observation. “It strikes me that the attitude we ascribe to this man laying at the pool is very likely an identification with something in our own lives, revealing how we might react to being questioned by Jesus.

She goes on. “I didn’t read any of this defensive attitude in the man. Instead, I heard a man who matter of factly describes his situation. This is probably because I identify with this man physically more than spiritually: I too have physical disabilities and there have been so many times on the road of seeking healing that I have felt so very utterly alone, “without a person to help me.”

Going to a slew of doctor and care provider appointments, trying to learn about what I’m being told is going on in me, waiting, waiting, waiting, for the next specialist… it’s exhausting and it’s easy to feel like you aren’t going to make it. You struggle to change your frame of reference and your standards for your lifestyle so that you don’t fall into the trap of believing that because you can’t do things, you’re giving up.” I think there are a lot of folks who are in a similar spot.

And then we’re all wired differently. There was an episode of Chicago Med in the last months in which part of the story was around a man living in an iron lung who was somehow able to amass a fortune in his own beautiful glassed apartment. With people able to come in and help him, the man had written books - as I recall - and despite all the obstacles, was still able to maintain a positive outlook on the world, to the point of being able to help those caring for him. And I know it’s a tv show, but still, it’s a great way to see how people are created so differently.

Putting all that potential of the man aside, taking the passage at face value, the man had thrown himself on the mercy of God, - waiting for God’s angel to do what only God could do. But what he hadn’t counted on was God own self showing up. There’s no indication in the story that he even knows who Jesus is.

When it comes to Jesus, there’s no prerequisite of faith needed for this man, no going to wash in a lake first, during or after, no spit mixing with mud to cover an eye. In fact, if you noticed, the man didn’t even ask Jesus for healing and Jesus doesn’t help the man into the water. No introductions, no real small talk, no sermon. Just a question.

He doesn’t heal anyone else, and we don’t know why this particular man was chosen out of the rest. Nor do we know the inflection of Jesus’ voice - was it a challenge or an invitation or a simple query? Jesus’ deep compassion - in all of the Gospels - for the sick and disabled is always upfront and center, correcting cultural misunderstandings at every opportunity. He doesn’t respond to pain or illness with contempt, mockery, or condescension, nor does he tell a sick person that their illness is their own fault.

We don’t know about all those others there that day, but for this one man, Jesus speaking to him means that the man is no longer alone, that he is being acknowledged as a human being, with the right to make his own decisions, even if those decisions are not necessarily in his own best interest. I’m still trying to learn the lesson that my niece and nephew, despite having a most amazing and wise aunt, get to make their own mistakes, just like I did when I was their age.

Jesus doesn’t tell the man, “Your faith has made you well,” because that would be a lie. Notice that Jesus doesn’t dwell on the man’s past; he doesn’t dredge up the loss and waste of the thirty-eight years the man can’t get back. And notice that he doesn’t heal the man on the man’s terms — by helping him into the pool when the angel stirs the water. Jesus simply tells the man to get up and walk. And he does.

Methodist founder, John Wesley, traveled 250,000 miles on horseback, riding twenty miles daily for forty years, and preached forty thousand sermons. Compared to 40,000, my mere 1,200 sermons sound inept. Wesley produced four hundred books, knew ten languages, and at eighty-three was annoyed when he could not write more than fifteen hours a day without hurting his eyes. At eighty-six, he was ashamed that he could not preach more than twice a day. He complained, in his diary, that there was an increasing tendency to lie in bed until 5:30 in the morning.

If we take all this magnificent knowledge and insight and put it together, we have some amazing opportunities for reflection. We can dip our toes into the stubbornness and defensiveness at the idea that we have more to do in our maturation process, that this knowledge will require effort to change, and that change isn’t always giant and horrible. Sometimes it’s Jesus kicking our butts a bit and telling us to get up off our () mat.

And even this whole scenario carries a tinge of radical evolution: there was Jesus - healing - on the Sabbath - and telling the man to carry his mat - also forbidden to do on the Sabbath. And yet, what a way of showing us how to respect our own selves, that we are worthy of better and greater - regardless of the day or time. That we are not people of “as soon as” life. Like children say, “As soon as I get big, grow up, I will ….” As soon as I graduate, get a job, get a better job… As soon as I retire. As soon as he changes the way he acts. As soon as she apologizes.” The thing is, there will always be another Pool of Bethesda.

We are not the people of “on hold.” And oftentimes, it’s not even so much that our circumstances change, but our way of being, seeing, acting, speaking, and thinking changes. Circumstances are important, and they do affect us. But we are more than them. Life is not to be found outside our various situations or circumstances but within them.

Jesus’ question doesn't imply that life will be easy, but it can be more manageable if we drain the power of the pool over us. Through “Time and Prayer and the Aid of the Holy Spirit”, we get glimpses of that sort of healing in others and ourselves, healing that is oftentimes nothing like we envisioned. Better than. The question might be a little uncomfortable, but the answer is very likely to be heavenly. And so we should pray.

Gracious, Healing God, thank you for coming to us, simply, individually, genuinely, and treating us with the dignity of being able to make our own decisions. Enable us to reflect your respect and dignity to those around us so that we might all glitter with the sparkle of wholeness and mercy and grace. Give us sharper vision when looking at our histories, to see the effects of time and prayer and the aid of your Holy Spirit to bring us to this place in our lives. And may that vision encourage us into the future - all your children - as we all say, Amen.

Sunday, May  15, 2022

5/15/2022

 
First Congregational Church
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Fifth Sunday in Easter
John 13:31-35
“Divine Delight"
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

If I were a bettin’ person, I’d bet that most of you all have never heard the story of Horville Sash. Horville had a humble job in the offices of the largest corporation of the world. He worked as the gofer in the lowest reaches of the building doing what he could to help other people do their jobs, but often he wondered and thought about the floor just above his.

Then came a day when Horville found a bug scurrying across the floor. As the mailroom clerk, Horville had only bugs to command - to bully. He raised his foot to flatten the helpless speck. "Spare me." The bug spoke. A speaking bug? Horville spared the bug and his reward was a wish. "I wish to be promoted to the second floor." Done. Horville's boss told him the good news that very day. Horville marched to the second floor as MacArthur and Patton rolled into one.

Wait. Horville heard footsteps on the ceiling of floor number two. There was a third floor. A higher level meant higher wages and more power. The next day, Horville rose to the third-floor job of sales coordinator. But he wasn't satisfied, he now knew there were other floors, many others and the promotions were like kerosene to a flame. He went to the 10th floor, then to the 20th, then 50th, and the 70th. Horville sat by the indoor pool on the 96th floor.

The next day Horville discovered, and it was only by chance, a stairway leading up - to another floor? He scrambled up the stairs on to the roof. He was now the highest, the most powerful. And content. Horville headed for the stairway.

Just as he turned to go back down to his office he saw a boy near the edge of the building with his eyes closed. "What are you doing?" "Praying." "To whom?" The boy answered, pointing a finger skyward, "To God.”

Panic gripped Horville. Was there a floor above him? He couldn't see it. Just clouds. He couldn't hear the shuffling of feet. "Do you mean there's an authority above me?" "Yes." The bug was summoned, "Make me God. Make me the highest," he said. "Put me in the type of position that only God would hold if he were on earth.”

The very next day, Horville began work as a gofer in the basement!

The context of this morning’s scripture passage was Jesus’ last night, after he foretold of his betrayal. When Judas took the bread of indictment and Jesus told him to quickly do what he was going to do, Judas took off.

John 13:31-35
31 When he (Judas) was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man 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 all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Thank you, Peg. This week we hosted the Ministerial Association meeting, comprised of the pastors of many - most of - the churches in Benzie County. We were commiserating over the news that there would be no Baccalaureate this year due to disinterest, while reminding ourselves that there are some things that will not go back to “normal” after covid, even though normal is only a setting on the washing machine. Then one of the pastors shared a recent statistic that Benzie County is not only the least churched county in the state but in the nation.

Whether that statement is true or not, there is a myriad of reasons why people avoid congregations of faith, and we could spend a few hours regaling tales of people we know, or knew, that parted ways with organized religion. But the thing is that we need communities, places where we belong, with people who belong to us, perhaps most especially places of worship, lest we turn into persons we never wanted to be.

I know I’ve used this illustration before, but it’s like a perfect diamond on a sunny day. Fred Craddock tells the story of a restaurant owner who was going around to various tables to see how everyone was doing. When the owner, Ben Hopper, came to the table with Craddock and his wife, who were on vacation in Tennessee, the owner asked Craddock what he did for a living. Being an ethical vacationing preacher, Fred said he taught homiletics at the graduate seminary of Phillips University. (Homiletics is the art of preaching. And yes, it’s a thing.) At that point, Ben Hopper pulled up a chair and said, “Well then, I’ve got a story for you.”

"I was born not far from here, across the mountains. My mother wasn’t married when I was born, so I had a pretty hard time. When I started school, my classmates had a name for me, and it wasn’t a very nice name. I used to go off by myself at recess and lunchtime because the things they said to me cut me so deep. What was worse was going to town on Saturday afternoons and feeling like every eye was burning a hole through me, wondering just who my father was.

"When I was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to our church. I would always go in late and slip out early. But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in the church on me.

Just about the time I got to the door, I felt a big hand on my shoulder. I looked up and the preacher was looking right at me. ‘Who are you, son? Whose boy are you?’ he asked. I felt this big weight coming down on me. It was like a big black cloud. Even the preacher was putting me down. But as he looked down at me, studying my face, he began to smile a big smile of recognition. ‘Wait a minute!’ he said. ‘I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God.’

With that, he slapped me across the rump and said, ‘Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.’ The restaurant owner looked across the table at Fred Craddock and said, "Those were the most important words anybody ever said to me, and I’ve never forgotten them." With that, he smiled, shook hands with Craddock and his wife, and moved on to another table to greet old friends.

And as he walked away, Craddock – a native Tennesseean himself – remembered from his studies of Tennessee history that on two occasions the people of Tennessee had elected to the office of governor men who had been born out of wedlock - as if that makes any difference. One of them was a man named Ben Hopper.

Without knowing, we may be sitting next to a Ben Hopper, needing someone to recognize the familial resemblance - here or in the grocery store or at the beach or wherever. (But don’t slap people across the rump. It’s just not a good thing to do anymore.)

I came across a little snippet this week from a person named Michael P. Green. He said, “The sign that you followed Abraham was circumcision. The sign that you followed Moses was keeping the Sabbath. The sign that you followed John the Baptist was that you were baptized. The sign that you follow Jesus Christ is that you love one another.” (I thought about dropping a microphone and walking away at this point, but I didn’t want to be mistaken for a comedian and rapper.)

Within the book of John, there are two other passages that parallel this one that sits between them: one that includes Jesus’ words to wash one another’s feet, and the other in which Jesus talks about laying down one’s life for one’s friends. The love of which Christ speaks spans the mundane to the heroic. And it is by seeing that love acted out that others will know we are Christ’s disciples and that it is possible to live to a higher standard in this world and that it makes a difference.

Chelsey Harmon, of Calvin Theological Seminary, introduces all of us to a Puritan, Thomas Goodwin, who lived in the first 80 years of the 1600s. In Ms. Harmon’s research of this theologian, she uncovered his belief that heaven isn’t a place, but being fully in God’s presence.

In Thomas Goodwin’s words, love is God’s delight. God delights to love us, and God delights in our love for one another. (Note - we’re not talking about “liking” one another - or love based on emotion, but on a decision to love.) He goes on, “God delights when our lives share God’s love because it shows 1. that we trust God’s love to be enough, 2. we relish God’s love and God relishes us relishing God’s love.”

Mother Maria Skobt-sova’ was a Russian Orthodox nun who was also part of the French Resistance during WWII. Although she ended up dying in at Ravensbrück concentration camp, she described the “job” of loving one another, not really as a job, but as a way of seeing, thinking of each person as an icon. Icon paintings guide focus and attention to Christ, not by looking at the icon, but through it. Her point was that seeing each person as an icon, to be honored and venerated, helps us to sense the whole world as one church, with us as windows that have the holiness of the living God upon us.

There are certainly instances and individuals that may seem - from our side of eternity - well beyond deserving such love. I’ve struggled with that - loving someone who seems like they are beyond the pale.

Maybe it’s not very noble, but I can come up with a starting point, dipping my toe into God’s Divine Delight for such a person that seems so vile or unworthy in my eyes. I can at the very least, pray that they have a good night’s sleep.

It doesn’t cost anything, there’s no skin off my nose, I can pray it with all the genuineness of heart, and we are all the better for it. When that prayer settles, it changes to God grant me the ability to pray for more for this same person or what needs my prayerful thoughts and time, and for God to take care of what is not my business. And if that is helpful for someone, so be it. We are all called to love one another.

I don’t know if it caught anyone else’s ear, but the passage begins with Jesus saying, “Now is the Son of Man glorified.” Now - after Judas fled the upper room to go forward with his dirty business. We don’t know if Jesus’ thought included the disciples falling asleep while he prayed and the prediction that Peter would betray him, but “now” that Judas was to do the great evil of relationship betrayal, now Jesus feels “glorified.” It sounds wrong, but the nature of our glory lies in sacrificial love - love that lays our desires from revenge to apathy on the altar of loving one another.

In the opening line of a recent Steve Garnnerss Holmes poem, he started by saying, “Love is not a feeling but an act, a movement of the heart from here to there, of gratitude and reverence for someone, a commitment to their well-being, to share space with them in the circle of being, to being co-members in this Body of life. It is a giving-and-receiving of being. In other words, it is Divine Delight, which is not the same as Turkish Delight, which seems to be like jello squares, so there’s that. So we pray.

God of all Love, thank you for so loving us, that you delight in us. Help us to allow such depth and domain of love to flow over to all those who need to be reminded of their Divine Delight, even should it rub our fur the wrong way. Thank you for being so much more than an icon or an impersonal religion police officer. Help our hearts to love as you love, however that has to happen, that this world can be what you’ve seen it to be, mainly because you do your job and we do our jobs. For loving us and showing us how to love, despite our imperfections of loving one another, all your people say, Amen.

05-08-22 Sunday Sermon

5/8/2022

 
First Congregational Church
May 8, 2022
4th Week of Easter
Acts 9:36-43
“Living This Age”
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

I ran across a couple new hymns this week that could possibly show up in a future version of our spiral books. “It Is Well with My Soul, But My Knees Hurt.”  “Nobody Knows the Trouble I Have Seeing.”

It is said that Winston Churchill once said, “They begin the Evening News with ‘Good Evening,’ the proceed to tell you what isn’t.
There is also the story that tourists visiting an old, historic church in Alexandria, VA had a tour guide who pointed to a pew and said that George Washington had attended a worship service in that very church, sitting in that very pew. A reverent silence fell over the tourists, and the guide went on to say that church services in Washington’s time were very lengthy, often lasting three hours or more. The reverent silence was shattered when a tourist in the rear loudly proclaimed, “So George Washington slept here, too!”

In all seriousness, I came across a line from the Greek philosopher, (Hair a cly’ tis) Heraclitus, who said no one enters the same stream twice. That’s one I may add to the wall behind my desk. No matter where we are in this world, we are never in the same place twice, simply because any subsequent times we came to that place, we are different simply because of the life, experiences and people who have influenced us since the previous visit.

Acts 9:36-43
36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”
39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

Thank you, Sharon. Part of the interesting aspect of this passage is its similarity to Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter and Jesus’ best bud, Lazarus from the dead.

In Jairus’s situation, he asked Jesus to come and heal his daughter, so Jesus did. In Lazarus’ situation, Mary berated Jesus for not having come sooner, that he might have healed him. So raising Lazarus from the dead could have stemmed from a lot of reasons, but for now, we’ll just recognize it’s link to our passage. In Tabitha’s case, Peter wasn’t asked to heal Tabitha, but just to come, maybe to share the difficult time with her friends. It seems that no one expected anything more. Expectations and realities - all so different - with remarkable familiarity.

It’s interesting, too, because this day is also Mothers Day, and of course, that means that each of us is here with a vast array of emotions regarding the said topic - and each year that goes by, our relationship to Mothers Day changes, sometimes dramatically - in good and not so good ways. Jesus raising this person to live again can spark so many emotion receptors, and uffda, that’s a lot of stuff in this room. Which is also a part of this passage.

In another “different” but same place at the river of life, from the situation in Ukraine to a bomb in Havana to Supreme Court leaks to tornadoes and the multitude of other situations, there are emotions that we bring to this death-bed, birthing bed of life - topics that also affect how we hear or turn off this passage.

Whether we are beaming with pride and joy this day, or just hoping that we can keep it together long enough to get out the door, I’d like to share this one piece of truth that I’ve learned. Regardless of where we are on this river of life, there is always one thing, even a very minuscule thing, most times a very basic thing, that can not only shed light but instill hope.

Part of that piece of truth is that there are some parts of our human nature that don’t change, and that’s not such a bad thing. When Peter arrived at Tabitha’s house and the women took him upstairs, without looking back in a Bible - do you remember what they did? They showed Peter the robes and other clothing that Tabitha had made while she was still with them. The same thing is often done at funerals these days.

Whether it’s a beloved teacup or fishing rod or other objects of association, we are often keen to share the joy and preciousness of such articles with those around us. Participating in some of the traditions of life can help us release stress and satisfy our souls in ways that can be beyond words.

Another little nugget of light that comes from this passage isn’t as instantly recognizable but is equally important. We don’t catch it as quickly when we focus on this woman’s name in Aramaic. But when we think about her name in Greek, Dorcas, then we may begin to catch more familiarity. Do a Google search of Dorcas, and you get over 8 million results, many of which have something to do with ministry from food pantries to education to the underserved around the world.

I think it was Scott Hoezee of Calvin Theological Seminary that likened the meaning of Tabitha and Dorcas to a gazelle - in both languages - that today’s person was fleet of foot to help those who needed help. More specifically, there is a subspecies of gazelle named dorcas gazelles - that stand about 2 feet high. That idea of swift helpfulness is one that has survived and thrived all these years later, probably much to Tabitha’s surprise. And it begs the question, what will survive us, long into the future, despite our histories? Just the other day I was thinking that a good sermon title would be: What will your biography be titled? Not for today’s sermon, tho.

The teacher was helping one of her kindergarten students put on his cowboy boots. He asked for help and she could see why. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn't want to go on. Finally, when the second boot was on, she had worked up a sweat. She almost cried when the little boy said, "Teacher, they're on the wrong feet."

She looked and sure enough, they were. It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on, this time on the right feet.

He then announced, "These aren't my boots." She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, "Why didn't you say so?" like she wanted to. And once again, she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet.

No sooner than they got the boots off, he said, "They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear 'em." Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry, but she mustered up the grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again. Helping him into his coat, she asked, "Now, where are your mittens?” He said, “I’ve stuffed ‘em in the toes of my boots.”

Next time you help - or watch someone help - a little person struggle with their boots, allow that moment to remind you that sometimes we need to dig a little deeper to find the truth, truth that is neither good nor bad, but information that can bring a sliver of light to that moment.

The interesting thing - about finding that little flash of hope-instilling is how that one piece - that mustard seed of hope light - brightens the path of other little hope lights - and we begin to see larger pieces of hope light - some of those “slivers” lasting long after we are gone.

I was reading an article the other day that the term “mama’s boy” is a flex, not an insult to a new generation of men. For so long, the emasculating term, mama’s boy, was about power and control over others deemed weaker than the one hurling the insult. Today, living in this age, bringing all the pain of the past to the present, looking for the nuggets of truth and light, we become part of the healing of the world and the hope of tomorrow - hope that turns agony and pain into pride and healing.

And that’s how we demonstrate how to follow Christ while following Peter’s steps, in helping someone who is - not so much physically - dead - but emotionally or spiritully - to rise up to new life. Living this age, coming to this passage - at this time in our lives, and taking that one sliver of hopeful truth back to our everyday lives helps all of us live as better followers and inspirations for others to join us.

I was given an article by Dwight Zcheile, one that Rev. Petteys referenced while he was filling in for my sabbatical. At the end of the article, it said, “In an Age of Authenticity, people are looking for authentic expressions of spirituality, community, justice, and hope. That is a good thing. May the church meet them there with the Good News of Jesus.”

This passage can be about a lot of different things, but it is certainly one that gives us the incentive to take the pieces we have and offer them to others as they can use. Jesus isn’t even mentioned in this passage, but allowing this section from Acts 9 to encourage our connections with one another, helps us all live this age to the best of our abilities with all that God has given us, the good along with the not so good.

We may think that our realm of influence isn’t all that great, but that is a flat out mistake. Just during this hour together, just within the confines of these walls, there is so much of the world right with us. From the astounding array of people that come through the door, to family and friends near and far, all our little pieces of light and truth have untold ripple effects. The person next to you may live most of their time miles from this place. Your recognition of them, noticing them, will go with them, and will be shared with others, just because we bothered to look at someone to really see them, to hear their stories.

Living this age, regardless of knee or shoulder condition, or where we are at the stream, living this age is the honor and privilege to join with God in bringing about the world God has seen for us. So we’d better pray.

Holy, Mothering God, thank you for all the ways you reach out to us, regardless of our backgrounds, successes, or failures. Thank you for the slivers of hope-filled truth that somehow grow and expand, that allow us to live in our current moments, doing the best with what we have, for you. Forgive us indifferences and laziness and even our naiveties, and inspire us through those moments that give us awe in our ability to be a part of you and your greater vision. For the blessing of being messengers of your healing and grace and wholeness and light, all your people say, Amen.

05-01-22 Sunday Sermon

5/1/2022

 
First Congregational Church
May 1, 2022
Third Sunday of Easter
John 21:1-19, Acts 9:1-20
“Not All Scales Are About Fish”
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

One of the silliest jokes that always seems to make me laugh is the one that questions, what you call a fish with no eyes? Fsh. And what do you get when you cross fishing tackle with an old, smelly sock? Hook, line and stinker. And lastly, what did the pastor say when everyone was getting upset at her fishing puns? I really should scale back.

Before we get to this morning’s scriptures, there is a little clarification that may be a bit of help. There is a reference to someone called “the disciples whom Jesus loved.” We don’t know - exactly - who that is. I think most scholars figure the Beloved Disciple is John - one of the twelve disciples. But there are other thoughts - that it might even be Lazarus, Mary Magdalene or some other unknown priest or disciple, even James, Jesus’ brother or cousin, depending on how the word is translated.

In part because it’s not used in any of the other three gospels, there is thought that maybe the writer of John - used it in modesty. Martin L. Smith, a member of an Anglican religious order for men, thinks that it might be that the writer of John deliberately obscured this person’s name, so that the intimacy of the relationship with Jesus might paint a way for us to have such a relationship with Jesus. Whatever the reason, that’s who the Beloved Disciple is - or isn’t.

One of my own observations is that we catch Simon Peter jumping into the water in this passage, but we don’t always connect the dots that this is not the only time Peter is doing something in the water when Jesus is present, meaning Peter and Jesus “on” the water in a different scene.

John 21:1-19, Leo Hughes
Afterward, Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. 6 He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.
9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." 11 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." 16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."  17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

18 Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go."
19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"

Thank you, Leo. This passage made me think of a lovely little song from Fiddler on the Roof. Those able to have seen some of the Benzie County Community Chorus shows of yester-year may remember Dick Haan and Ginny Freeman singing “Do You Love Me?”

The main character, Tevye, is romantically nostalgic as his daughter, Hodel, is getting married. As he ruminates about the “new world” in which they live, in which love is a high priority in a marriage match, Tevye asks his wife, Golde, “Do you love me?”

Golde, in the midst of wedding preparations, plans and details, replies, “Do I what?” Tevye asks again, Golde begins to become exacerbated with his questioning, so she tells him that the - other - trouble in town is making him upset; that he should go in and lie down. That maybe it’s indigestion.

One of the best moments is when Tevye asks again, “Do you love me?” and she answers him, saying he’s a fool. Tevye - in Dick Haan’s rich bass voice and a half smile on his face says, “I know. But do you love me.”

Golde replies that for 25 years she’s washed his clothes, cooked his meals, cleaned “his” house, given him children, milked the cow, and that after 25 years, why are they talking about love right now.

They reminisce over their fear and shyness when they were married as their parents said that they’d learn to love each other. So Tevye asks again, does she love him. Golde’s answer, “I’m your wife” is not just about the obvious, but the experience of their time together.

But then Golde starts to think. For twenty-five years I've lived with him, fought with him, starved with him. Twenty-five years my bed is his. If that's not love, what is? Tevye continues, “Then you love me?” Golde: “I supposed I do.” Tevye: “I suppose I love you, too. Then, as only in musicals, they both sing to each other the same thing. "It doesn't change a thing. But even so, after twenty-five years, it’s nice to know.

Before Rob gets here to read his passage, I’ll point out that this passage takes place about three years after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Early in the passage, there is a reference to the Way - the group of people who followed Jesus, even after his human life was over. I don’t know who coined the phrase, but one of the ways Congregationalists refer to our practice of following Christ is - the Congregational Way. Interesting….

Acts 9:1-20, Rob Jones
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's
disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5 "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. 6 "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.

8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything.

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. 11 The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight." 13 "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."

15 But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord--Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here--has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. 20 Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

Thank you, Rob. I think it interesting, the pairing of these two fairly well-known passages that are such vivid scenes, even 2,000 years later. Jesus asks Peter and Saul to trust him - even when the possibilities are so crazy big, verging on the impossible. Even though Jesus “knew” everything as God's son, maybe his humanity “just needed to know” if Peter loved him - like Tevye. And maybe the divine Christ’s question wasn’t about Saul’s sight, but how far the soon-to-be Paul would go to ‘receive his sight’ - and I’m not talking about his literal, physical sight here.

So often, even in today’s world, I hear people wondering about the things that happen to them, linking them to a test that God is giving them, to test their worthiness. Truly - I think that’s the wrong way to approach those hard situations. I don’t think that the God of infinite love is about testing us, but about wanting us to know how much God loves us. I wonder if “our struggles” are really only about us struggling, rather than realizing that whatever is going on in our lives that we are sitting in the presence of God, however that is. Maybe the scales on our eyes are not about cataracts or character or how we see ourselves and others, but realizing - God. (pause)

Holy, Eternal, Gracious God, when we realize those times in which scales fall from our eyes and hearts, we are grateful. When we forget or are too busy to see you around us and in us, forgive us. In that strange way that happens when scales of our limits fall away and we can take deeper breaths, thank you. Enable us to help scales fall away - in all the big and little ways we can, especially as we live as Easter people of new life. And for the expansive sight that heals and restores, all your people say, Amen.

Holy Humor Sunday, April 24, 2022

4/26/2022

 
First Congregational Church
April 24, 2022
Holy Humor Sunday
Psalm 126
“Holy Humor Sunday: It’s Not What You Think”
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching


When Forest Gump died, he stood in front of St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter said, “Welcome, Forest. We’ve heard a lot about you. Unfortunately, it’s getting pretty crowded up here and we find that we now have to give people an entrance examination before we let them in.”

“Okay,” said Forest. “I hope it’s not too hard. I’ve already been through a test. My momma used to say, ‘Life is like a final exam. It’s hard.’”

“Yes, Forest, I know. But this test is only three questions. Here they are.” 1) Which two days of the week begin with the letter ’T’? 2) How many seconds are in a year? 3? What is God’s first name?”

“Well,” said Forest, “The first one is easy. The two days of the week that begin with the letter ’T’ are Today and Tomorrow.” St. Peter looked surprised and said, “Well, that wasn’t the answer I was looking for, but you have a point. I give you credit for that answer.”

“The answer to how many seconds there are in a year is twelve,” said Forest. “Twelve?” said St. Peter, surprised and confused. “Yes, sir. January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd. . .”
St. Peter interrupted him. “I see what you mean. I’ll have to give you credit for that one, too.”

“And the last question,” said Forest, “What is God’s first name? It’s Andy. I learned it in the church by singing “Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me, Andy tells me I am His own.” St. Peter opened the gate to heaven and said, “Run, Forest, Run!”

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But it can also be that sometimes, one cannot improve on what is already stellar. Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford of Heritage Presbyterian Church of Acworth, (Ack-worth) Georgia began her sermon like this.

“There are a lot of words we use to describe God: Creator, Omnipotent (All-Powerful), Lord, Loving, Present, All-Knowing (Omnipresent), All-Seeing (Omniscient), Ruler, Amazing, Victorious, Wonderful, and the list goes on. Many of them come from our understanding of God revealed in the stories of Scripture, and, of course, our own experiences of the divine. And yet, with an immense vocabulary and wealth of resources, there is one word I think we don’t often include in our list of acclamations for who God is: funny. If such an adjective strikes you as odd, you’re probably asking “does God have a sense of humor?” If so, what does that even mean? Our image of God tends to be more serious, more stoic, and more dignified than a God who rolls around giggling.

And yet, over and over again, scripture tells us about a God who sends God’s people out with shouts of joy and jubilation. To be filled with such joy must mean that there is also brightness and lightheartedness to God. And given the immense playfulness of the works of God’s hand, I would argue God has got a funny bone or two. Take a look at creation. From the aardvark to a colorful array of flowers, God has a creative touch that crosses over into whimsy or even ridiculousness. Given God’s interaction with people throughout the biblical narrative, I would also argue that God has to have a good sense of humor in order to put up with the ridiculousness that humankind has created.” (Perceptive lady)

In the celebration of this First Sunday after Easter, one might be tempted to think about God’s “humor” or joy is related only to the New Testament. Somewhere around 600 years before Christ’s birth, there was a war in which Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah were captured and Solomon's glorious temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. It would take roughly 50 years before a new temple would be built, and it may well have been the completion of the new temple, or sometime shortly thereafter, that this Psalm was written. The Negev that will be mentioned is the Negev desert in southern Israel.

Psalm 126
When the Lord restored the fortunes of[a] Zion, we were like those who dreamed.[b] 2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. 4 Restore our fortunes,[c] Lord, like streams in the Negev. 5 Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.

Thank you, Marti. Since there’s an element of name-dropping this morning, it’s interesting that one of the important comments about laughable joy comes from the book of Ecclesiastes. “There is a time to weep and a time to laugh.” St. Chrysostom is said to have said, “Laughter has been implanted in our souls.” The great Aquinas said there s a time for “playful deeds and jokes.” Luther said, “You have as much laughter as you have faith,” and Calvin pointed out that “we are nowhere forbidden to laugh.”

Francis de Sales: “humor is the foundation for reconciliation.” I don’t know which Wesley, but one of them said “A sour religion is the devil's religion.” Danish theologian Søren Kierkegaard, “Humor is intrinsic to Christianity.” Flannery O’Connor, “Christianity is a strangely cheery religion.” It is interesting that some people stay away from this service because it is deemed irreverent. I’d think that it’s more about discomfort.

It may seem awkward or insensitive to take a Sunday to focus on the joy that stems from God’s great joke over death when you put it against the backdrop of those who are dying, the injustices of the world, the pain and sorrow that weigh people down.

Mrs. Abraham, Sarah, laughed at the news that she was to have a child in her old age, right in the face of outlandish possibility. And when she had the baby, she named him Isaac, which means, “He laughs.”

Rev. Milford, from earlier in this message, wrote that “laughter is a holy act, connecting us to one another.” What other holy things connect us to one another? Communion and Baptism. How often does it happen that a celebration of life, a funeral or a memorial ends up including stories, often rather funny ones, that cut through the tension of grief, opening the way to remembrance? And thank goodness for those moments, because without such stories and laughter, it is possible to be overwhelmed to the point of really hard and even harmful stuff.

I think one of the biggest misconceptions about Holy Humor - on any day of the week - is that it’s silly, or an insult to the higher intellect. Holy Humor can be those things, but it can also be the recognition of making a day better - or brighter.

Someone on social media wrote “I was searching for a parking space in the city where parking spaces are rare. Just as I found one and set my blinker another guy coming from the other direction set his too. We looked at each other undecided. Then I signaled a rock, paper, scissor game through my window. He immediately understood and we played one round. He won the game so I still had no parking space, but the interaction made my day!”

We can’t buy joy, except that we can buy fishing poles, and that’s almost like joy. We can’t buy happiness, but puppy kisses come pretty close. And every once-in-awhile, even a television commercial can cause our hearts to rise and our in our soul we can say, “It is well.”

Christ’s resurrection wasn’t a glorious magic trick or a sideshow intrigue. It is a serious event that reminds us that we can take ourselves more lightly, along with the others around us, and maybe, just maybe, through some prayer and work of the Holy Spirit, we might be able to help this world out of the fear and angst and hopelessness that can so easily enable us. For that, and a million other reasons, we can pray.

Holy, Holy, Holy God, thank you for sending your son, for your presence with him - and us - and his resurrection to eternal life. Thank you for the assurances and peace that is too often difficult to express. Help us to embrace the fullness of the life you’ve given us - not just today or this week, but in all our days - even the ones in infinity. Enable us to allow our hearts to allow contentment and peace and delight to leak into our daily lives, that others may also live so fully. For all your answers to our prayers, all your people say, Amen.

Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022

4/26/2022

 
First Congregational Church
April 17, 2022
Easter Resurrection Sunday
Scripture: Various Gospel Verses
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

Scripture Compilation (T: Matthew, K: Mark, L: Luke, J: John)
K16:1-8 Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, M16:9-11 the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons., Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body.

K16:1-8 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb, L24:1-11 taking the spices they had prepared. K16:1-8 On the way, they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” L24:1-11 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. T28:1-8 Suddenly there was a great earthquake!

T28:1-8 An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. T28:1-8 His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. T28:1-8 The guards shook with fear when they saw him and fell into a dead faint.

T28:1-8 Then the angel spoke to the women. T28:1-8 “Don’t be afraid!” he said. T28:1-8 “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. T28:1-8 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. T28:1-8 Come, see where his body was lying.

J20:11-18 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. L24:1-11 As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes, J20:11-18 one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying.

L24:1-11 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. L24:1-11 Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone alive? L24:1-11 They went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus.

K16:1-8 The women were shocked, but the angel said, J20:11-18 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. J20:11-18 “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

K16:1-8 “Don’t be alarmed. K16:1-8 You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. K16:1-8 He isn’t here! K16:1-8 He is risen from the dead! K16:1-8 Look, this is where they laid his body.

L24:1-11 Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.” L24:1-11 Then they remembered that he had said this.

T28:1-8 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples, including Peter, that he has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you to Galilee. T28:1-8 You will see him there K16:1-8 just as he told you before he died.” T28:1-8 Remember what I have told you.”

J20:11-18 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. J20:11-18 It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. J20:11-18 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. J20:11-18 “Whom are you looking for?” J20:11-18 She thought he was the gardener. “J20:11-18 Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” J20:11-18 “Mary!” Jesus said. J20:11-18 She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).
J20:11-18 “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. J20:11-18 But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

T28:1-8 The women ran quickly from the tomb, K16:1-8 trembling and bewildered, T28:9-10 And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. T28:9-10 And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him. T28:9-10 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! T28:9-10 Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”  

T28:1-8 They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. K16:1-8 They said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.

J20:1-2 They ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. J20:11-18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” J20:11-18 Then she gave them his message.

K16:1-8 briefly reporting all this to Peter and his companions, M16:9-11 who were grieving and weeping. J20:1-2 She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” M16:9-11 But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.

J20:3-10 Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. L24:12 However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. J20:3-10 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. J20:3-10 He stooped, looked in, and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in.

J20:3-10 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. J20:3-10 He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. J20:3-10 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. J20:3-10 Then they went home.

Thank you, Phil. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m coming to appreciate - more and more - the combination of all the Gospels when it comes to Holy Week, especially Sunday. The writer of Mark says there was one angel. Mark has a short ending and a long ending. Luke has two angels. John spends very little time with the women at the tomb but gives us that intimate moment of recognition between Jesus and Mary. By and large, the Gospels were written some thirty years after Jesus’ last week. What do you remember about April 17, 1992?

And then there have been a few things that have happened even since last year even. From the road being rebuilt in front of Family Fare, to masks on masks off, to the Ukrainian war, to the loss and gain of individuals in our own families and that of this church family, a lot has happened. So it’s good to be reminded of our roots, when it comes to the scripture passages, and the reminders we get from them.

I confess that I did something I’ve never done before: I went to Meijer’s on Good Friday afternoon. I had some unavoidable dental surgery about noon, and feeling well enough, there were some things on my list that would be good to get while I was there. Oh, my heavens! It was packed! If Christmas carols had been playing, one might have thought it was Christmas rather than Easter.

While I was passing along that area in the main aisle near the seasonal, aka, summer stuff is, there were oodles of people around the pallets of candy and Easter-mabobs. It was interesting that there were no jelly beans or those malted milk ball eggs. Not a package to be found. Easter Snickers, Easter Kit Kats, all those sorts of things were there, but no jelly beans. In full confession, I know they had them in previous weeks, but there was nothing left, that’s for sure.

So maybe the candy bars were all that was left - the eggs being sold out. Or maybe there has been a shift in the Easter palate. Whatever the reason, it was different. And we don’t always do well with different or change. One of the best understandings of how we deal with change is in the famous line, especially as it pertains to churches, is “Change? My grandmother gave that lightbulb.”

It’s true that churches can get stuck sometimes, just like any other living entity. But that’s why it’s good to go through Holy Week and Easter, to be reminded of the Good News of that which is foundational and unchanging: God’s overwhelming love and grace to and with a world of individuals that don’t always warrant those things.

It’s not even that we’re so bad all the time, but just human, in need of One who is greater than ourselves, because having the responsibility of life - all life - is way too much for any of us to handle on our own - as mere mortals.

The God who raised Christ - and us - is not One that creates us and then leaves us alone, but is with us in each and every breath we take: in us and outside of us and all around us.

We celebrate, too, that this God we worship isn’t vindictive or pedantic, but gracious and faithful. And God created us to be in relationship not just now, but for eternity. So God gave Christ - for that one point in time - as well as the Holy Spirit - for all the points in time. God - and Christ - didn’t have to go through all the events of that last week, but chose to do so, that we could know all that grace and love.

God allowed for all that surrounded Christ’s last week so that we could know that we are not alone or unloveable but deeply loved - beyond comprehension, beyond the everyday love we experience with those around us, which, in turn, can give us the strength to go through even the hardest moments that life can present to us.

I read of odd behavior that happens between Canada geese and hail. Apparently, instead of trying to shield their heads, the geese pointed their bills skyward, directly into the path of the hail. The geese point the smallest surface area of their sensitive bills, the narrow tip, into the hail — minimizing the impact and the possibility of getting hit.

When we look at Christ’s last week and all of God’s love for us, it’s like we point our beaks at life’s difficulties, exposing the smallest surface area of our hearts to pain and disappointment, minimizing pain’s impact. We’ll still get hit with the hail of life from time to time, but practicing our faith and strengthening our relationship with God and the three persons of God allows for the hardships of life to be lived through. And if that was all that our faith would do, that would be well and fine.

But strengthening our divine relationships makes our human relationships just that much better, too. Revisiting Holy Week, Christ’s death, and resurrection helps strengthen our muscles of care, our tendons of understanding, and our bones of compassion.

Our God is an awesome God, who reigns, and will do so forever, loving us eternally with more heart than we will ever be able to comprehend. And we know this because of an empty tomb. So shall we pray?

Holy God, Holy Christ, Holy Spirit, thank you for loving us with all that you have. We sometimes fail to fully appreciate the enormity and impact of such love, but this day reminds us to at least take a glimpse of it all. Thank you, Christ Jesus, for doing what we could not have done, bringing down the barriers to the very One who created us. And to you, great, Holy Spirit, help us to ride on the waves of this love long into the coming weeks. For such love and all your blessings, all your people say, Amen.

Palm Sunday, April 10, 2022

4/10/2022

 
First Congregational Church
April 10, 2022
Palm/Passion Sunday
Luke 19:28-40
“The Big ’T’ of Faith” (Trust)
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

I don't have confidence or trust in elevators anymore. They always seem like they're up to something, but they also let me down quite often. Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

If I were to tell this story as I have read it before, I would use the term “old lady” for the woman in the story. That term is way too close to home, not to mention sexist and ageist, and not polite at all. So there was a woman who was pulled over for speeding. The officer gets out of his car and goes to her window. “Is there a problem, Officer?”

“Ma’am, you were speeding.” “Oh, I see.” “Can I see your license please?” “I'd give it to you but I don't have one.” “Don't have one?” “Lost it, four years ago for drunk driving.” “I see ... Can I see your vehicle registration papers, please?”

“I can't do that.” “Why not?” The woman says, “I stole this car.” “Stole it?” “Yes, and I killed and hacked up the owner.” “You what?” “His body parts are in plastic bags in the trunk if you want to see.”

The Officer looks at the woman and slowly backs away to his car and calls for backup. Within minutes five police cars circle the woman’s car. A senior officer slowly approaches her car, clasping his half-drawn gun.

The senior officer says, “Ma’am, could you step out of your vehicle, please?” The woman steps out of her vehicle and asks, “Is there a problem sir?” The senior officer says, “One of my officers told me that you have stolen this car and murdered the owner.” “Murdered the owner?” “Yes, could you please open the trunk of your car?”

The woman opens the trunk, revealing nothing but an empty trunk. The Senior Officer asks, Is this your car, ma’am?" “Yes, here are the registration papers.” The officer is quite stunned. The Senior Officer says, “One of my officers claims that you do not have a driving license.”

The woman digs into her handbag and pulls out a billfold and hands it to the officer. The officer examines the license, looking quite puzzled. He then says, “Thank you, ma’am. One of my officers told me you didn't have a license, that you stole this car, and that you murdered and hacked up the owner. She replied, “And I bet he told you I was speeding, too."

If I was a betting woman, I’d bet a lot of cash that Jesus didn’t speed into Jerusalem on that famous Sunday. For one thing, there would have been way too many people there for the Passover celebration, some scholars estimating between 200,000 and a million individuals. Then don’t forget that there would have been hundreds and maybe even a million sheep and goats, because families would purchase one, take it home until it was the day of Passover, to be cared for a loved, washed and groomed and played with until it would be given up for the sacrifice.

We don’t know what the weather was like, but there was probably a fair bit of dust in the air with all that movement, and there weren’t port-a-pots like we have, so there was the smell aspect, too. The cherry on the top was the talk of this Messiah that was quickly becoming a hero, the one who would free everyone from Roman tyranny. The day was nothing like the pictures we’ve grown to associate with this famous day.

Luke 19:28-40
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[a] “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Thank you, Judy. Imagine that you were one of the two disciples tasked with getting the colt, or the donkey as other gospel writers called the beast of burden. Imagine, even today, going to a farmer or ranch owner and telling them that “the Lord needs it.” I can’t imagine a person alive that would wonder just what kind of kool-aid you were drinking.

The wild thing is that the animal owner didn’t resist the request. What was going on his or her mind and heart? Did the Holy Spirit do something to this person that allowed perfect strangers to take a valuable animal for who knows what purpose? What was it that allowed this livestock owner to trust that you and the other disciple would use the animal the way the Lord had need of it? Wouldn’t the most logical thought from the livestock owner be that you and your accomplice were really stealing, that this request from the Lord was a ruse, and that he was getting scammed?

And there wasn’t just the doubt that would have accompanied you on your task, but the history of all the crazy stuff Jesus had done. Changing water into wine, healing people, speaking to outcasts, raising a dead person to life. What on earth would he do with a colt or donkey?

In any of the accounts of that day when Jesus returned to Jerusalem, there was a whole lot of trust going on, and I think we miss it all too often. And it was a trust, not based so much on history and familiarity, but because Jesus was who he was - and continues to be.

I’d be willing to guess that we human beings have always had trust issues. Maybe we’ve trusted too easily and been hurt too often, so we find it hard to trust. Or the rampant fear that runs unchecked in our world makes trust a casualty.

If I’d ask for people to raise their hands if your trust with another person has been broken, I’d guess that probably every hand would go up. That’s when we are reminded of how delicate and treasured trust is and how hard it can be to be restored.

And then there are those times in our lives when our trust is questioned. I don’t remember specifics, but over the last few years, events have taken place or things said to me that sound like - to this brain and heart - like I can’t be trusted. Even after twenty-three years of living here, ministering here, working here, it hurts when someone feels like they can’t trust me.

I’m not looking for pity here, but to acknowledge that lack of trust happens, and sometimes it’s not really about anything that I’ve done or not done, but because of something going on in the other person’s life that makes them fearful of trusting someone else to have their best interest at heart. Nine times out of ten, when I’ve remembered to think about that one finger-wagging at me has three pointing back to the one that seems to be struggling with trust, I’m reminded that we all struggle with issues - at least from time to time - that cause us to wonder about humanity.

We don’t know what Jesus was feeling or thinking as he rode into Jerusalem, but at the very least, he would have felt the unrest in the air and known a little about the desire for someone to right the wrongs of Roman domination over the Jewish people. Being Jesus, tho, I’m guessing that he had some sort of understanding or idea that things weren’t going to end well that week. How many times had he foretold his death and resurrection?

As much as Jesus might have doubted God’s leading, Jesus trusted - even when he knew it wasn’t going to end well at all. Even as the events of that holy week unfolded, at any point in time, God being God and Jesus being Jesus, could have called the whole thing off. There was a lot on the line, for sure. All Jesus had to do was to say, “Uncle,” or “Abba,” or “Yahweh,” and God, being respectful of all our desires, even if we don’t get them, would have honored Jesus’ request to stop. But Jesus trusted that there was a bigger purpose, a bigger plan and that he was a part of it.

When the news is full of people hurting one another and horrible deeds are done or happen to innocent people, our hearts and minds and souls can take a beating, and we can wonder why we even bother to care anymore. That’s when we have to summon our knowledge and faith that God can be trusted, that ours is not a god of mistrust, but one upon whom we can trust - even if the way looks as dark as it did for Jesus back then.

I don’t doubt that God gets disappointed when our trust relationships are broken. But those moments are exactly why the glue of grace was created, to put it back together, even if it’s not exactly the same as it was before.

Trust, feeding our trust, and strengthening our trust is nourished when we grasp the length and breadth and depth of Holy Week. Even though we won’t gather together in person for services this Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, I encourage you to find a computer and a few moments of time each of those days, to flex your own trust muscles as you observe those of Christ. If you don’t have a computer, let me know. I can hook you up.

Three chapters before the one of today’s scripture passage, as he was trying to explain what was coming down the pike for all of the disciples, Jesus said, “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”

That absolutely profound and lovely pastor at First Congregational Church of Frankfort says, “This week is our time of work in building our trust, walking in Christ’s grief, that we are able to more fully engage in the deeper celebration of the Easter Resurrection.” In fact, she has invited all of us to go through this week with a sense of it being a gift from the One who created us to have emotions and to experience all of them. And we can trust the process of this week, because God holds it, supported by Jesus and the Holy Spirit. So shall we pray?

God, Jesus, Spirit, thank you for partnering with us to experience a deeper and meaningful way of life, as well as our relationship with you. Strengthen our trust, so that it becomes stronger, as a friend that goes with us on our journey of life. Thank you for trusting us to do good and to offer our best, even when you know the potential for our failure. And then thank you for the glue of grace that can restore that which is broken and allows for the celebration of you and each other, in ways that may be new and richer than ever before. For these gifts and all your blessings, all your people say, Amen.

04-03-2022 Sunday Sermon

4/3/2022

 
There is a book entitled, “Break a Vase” by Richard Meyer. In it, he tells the story of Bob and Elizabeth Dole. Apparently, while on the campaign trail, Bob Dole received a letter in response to an article that appeared in a magazine in which Bob and Elizabeth Dole were making their bed together.

The writer of the letter to Mr. Dole expressed his disappointment that Dole would allow himself to be photographed in such a "compromising" position, making the bed with his wife. Senator Dole wrote the man back, saying, "You don't know the half of it; the only reason Elizabeth was helping at all was because the photographer was in the room."

In the previous chapter of John’s Gospel, Lazarus had died, Laz’s sister, Mary, had lashed out at Jesus for “letting” him die, and Jesus ultimately raised Laz to life again. Against the background of all that happening, the chief priests and Pharisees were meeting to figure out what to do about this Jesus guy, because if people started following him, turning their allegiance from Emperor Tiberius to Jesus, then the Romans could come and take away the Jewish temple and ultimately, their nation. While conspiracy was slinking around in the background, Jesus, Lazarus, Mary, Martha, and others were celebrating life.

John 12:1-8
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.[b]” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you,[c] but you will not always have me.”

Thank you, Laurel and Mason. One of the joys of my time away was doing what many adults of all ages have done throughout time, watching middle school and high school weekend basketball tournaments. So one early Saturday a.m., watching 14-year-old boys do what 14-year-old boys do on a court, I happened to tune in to a conversation between a mother and her little daughter next to me. I wrote it down, word for word because it was so good.

Out of the blue, the little girl says, “Mom, yesterday I had an itchy thing on my shoulder.” The mom asked, “Is it gone now?” The little girl said, “Yes.” And that was it. It cracked me up as it was so random, so disconnected to the moment, yet so very important. And the deeper joy was that the mother looked away from the game to interact with the little girl, validating her and accepting the little “gift” from the girl’s everyday life.

There are so many instructional bullet points in today’s passage, but a couple we maybe don’t always think about are 1. the setting and 2., Jesus’ acceptance of the gift.

This glimpse into a single episode of Jesus’ life took place in an easy two-mile walk from where Jesus grew up in Jerusalem, Bethany being the hometown of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. For reference, that’s from here to the causeway on the way to Elberta. Even without bicycles in his day, I’d be willing to bet that Jesus knew Bethany pretty well, being a kid without television or gadgets and needing something to occupy time.

Being one of the siblings’ best friends, Jesus probably didn’t just recline at the table with the others like what one might have done at weddings and accompanying degrees of politeness. Maybe the siblings’ abode was more of a second home to Jesus.

During my time in Minnesota, I stayed mainly with my dad at this southern suburb of St. Paul home. But between every weekend and every other weekend, I would spend a few days with my sister, who lives an hour away from dad, in a northwest suburb of Minneapolis. The two houses are very different from each other, and yet at each house I slept in a room that they called “my” room. And to make for easier references, I even referred to those rooms as mine.

The houses are obviously not mine, but I had a little space in them where I could escape if necessary, lay my head down in peace and navigate even beyond their homes because of the rest I was able to enjoy. The last week of my time away I spent at an Air B and B in Boyne City, where I, again, had a space that allowed me to put my feet up and unwind at the end of the day - if not for entire days.

I have to admit that I cut my time short at the B and B by a day, because I was really missing my own bed. Yes, I was curious about how the parsonage looked after it’s amazing transformation. But more than anything, I was wanting that place I call home. I think that happens to a lot of us, at the end of trips, when we’re eager to get back to the familiar and comfortable.

I don’t know if everyone has caught on yet, but for a long time, I’ve referred to this gathering of people as a church family, in part, because that’s what we are. But also, because in our coming together as often as we do, it becomes a second home for all of us, that allows us rest, even if sometimes it’s not in our favorite pew, even when someone different sits next to us, because this is “our” space, even if there are people here with whom we might have differing opinions on topics from potato chips to politics and beyond. Whether watching from a special place at home, or here in person, this space is really important and special and vital to the living out of the rest of our lives.

I’ve been thinking about this day for weeks, anticipating the joy of being home with all of you, and doing the sacred thing that we do as followers of Christ in communing with one another. Envisioning this day came easily as I visited different churches that had some sort of significance in my BF days - Before Frankfort.

Regardless of the number of people I knew - or not - in any given church, it was so interesting how I was welcomed - or not. I walked into one church where I knew only two people of the couple dozen attending that very cold day, and they were the only two people who interacted with me. No one invited me to coffee, there was nothing in the bulletin to invite me in. How we operate with this space we call home is important, too, because there may be people wanting - needing - to be part of a family, just like we are.

There is some dispute among Bible “experts” as to who this particular Mary was who anointed Jesus’ feet, and her identity isn’t maybe so crucial as Jesus’ response to Judas. It’s easy to understand the money aspect of Mary’s gift, but there is also Jesus’ acceptance of her gift and the subsequent acceptance of Mary into this setting.

Dining in Jesus’ day was a little different in that they literally reclined - lounged on one arm, on cushions the ground - around a table. If you are eating like that, your feet are likely the furthest part of your body from the table. So Mary’s anointing was at the fringe of the gathering, maybe in a non-verbal way of asking to be allowed “into” the family eating together. Telling Judas to leave Mary alone certainly carried a great deal of significance on the surface, but just below the surface, it was an even larger and more crucial response.

It’s easy to appreciate the idea of home, especially in a time when having such a place is hard to find for a lot of people - regardless of income. A lot of times, we come close to the topic of home with Mothers and Fathers Days, but then, they can be a little loaded with emotion. Today’s passage is not without emotion, either. But we have this time to think about our own spaces and our places in those spaces - and here - and to pray for and give God praise for our places of restoration and refreshment.

And we have this meal this day, the one that Jesus gave us, one for which most of us just have to receive. Whether we are the usual meal maker or someone else in the household is, there is that point when everything is ready and it’s time to ‘come and get it.’ It’s time to prepare our hearts as we come to get the meal that reminds us of sacrificial, eternal love and grace and mercy.

Communion

Let us pray. Holy God of home and hearth, heart and honor, thank you for claiming us and preparing for us and being with us as a valued person in our lives, regardless of where we call home. We pray for those who have lost their homes this week, their places of safety and rest. Send your Holy Spirit with special gifts of good sleep and peace and comfort, regardless of specific situations, that we may all meet our tomorrows better equipped to help others in our lives. Thank you for your Son, who showed us over and over, what love looks like and what it means, including us in that love - that love in which we are always “home.” For these and the food of the earth we bless to your name, all your people say, Amen.

Rev. Dinah Haag was on a sabbatical leave January 1, 2022 - March 26, 2022

4/3/2022

 

Sunday Sermon January 2, 2022

1/4/2022

 
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