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First Congregational Church
May 24, 2020 7th Sunday in Easter, Memorial Weekend John 17:1-, Acts 1:6-7, 1 Peter 4:12-13 “In and Through and For and With” Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching One of the best tools to engage a group of people of any age is to ask a question. So - how many feet are in a yard? It depends on how many people come to the barbecue. Another great tool to engage people is to tell a story. So one day, a small boy was staring at the names on the wall of an old church when the pastor noticed him. “What are you looking at?” asked the clergy person. “All those names. Who are they?” the boy asked. The pastor nodded, and said, “They are the reason we have Memorial Day. They are those who died in the service.” The little boy considered that, then asked quietly, “The 9 o’clock service or the 11 o’clock?” There is the obvious connection of that joke to this Memorial Weekend. But the lesser known connection is something that came up this week. I think that in the 150 plus years of this church family’s existence, there were times, on and off over the years, when there was a Sunday morning service and then another service that same evening. Actually, it was Rosemary who mentioned the difficulty of the sermon’s video getting hung up last week while she was watching on Facebook Live. But it didn’t phase her too much because the video was just fine when she watched it later, after it was posted, which she referred to as the second service. So for all those who catch our second service today, don’t forget to leave your mark on the comment section after watching. The official Church calendar contains all the official holidays, such as Christmas and Easter, and some lesser known ones, like Epiphany and Ascension. Ascension Sunday is the fortieth day after Jesus’ resurrection - always a Thursday, the day when he appeared before the disciples and then rose up into the heavens, to take his seat at the right hand of God. Most of us tend to overlook the Ascension, but in fact, it is the final act of completion, Jesus’ final home-going. The first of our scripture passages alludes to that Ascension. John 17:1-11, from the New Living Translation gives us Jesus’ preface to his ascension. In the Gospel writer John’s version, Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem, and in the days following that arrival, Jesus did a lot of teaching and praying. Scripture John 17:1-11 New Living Translation (NLT) The Prayer of Jesus 17 After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. 2 For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. 3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. 4 I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. 6 “I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me. 9 “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11 Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. Our second passage comes from Acts 1:6-8, just after doctor Luke’s brief summery of Jesus’ forty days - after his resurrection - again from the New Living Translation. Acts 1:6-8 New Living Translation (NLT) The Ascension of Jesus 6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” 7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Part of the contemporary appropriateness of that passage is the apostles’ question: “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore your kingdom?” It’s rather like the question in many states, “Governor, when will the time come for you to free us from our homes and restore our kingdoms?” Or the question, “Pastor, when will the time come for you to free us from our homes and restore church services?” Jesus’ answer is just as “on” today as it was then. “Only God knows!” But you will receive the Holy Spirit and you will be my witnesses who tell about me.” In other words, God’s got it all in hand - and church is not about a building. Our third passage is 1 Peter 4:12-13, the New Living Translation. It comes from the apostle Peter’s hand, to console the Jewish Christians in Rome and other places within Asia Minor, to encourage them in their sufferings under harsh rulers. 1 Peter 4:12-13 New Living Translation (NLT) 12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. It’s always interesting how it would seem as if Someone had arranged a certain scripture passage for a certain day. Certainly, that Someone works through many someones on committees that delineate what we call lectionaries - a three year, rotating, set course of Bible passages. Each day - not just Sundays - usually includes an Old Testament passage, a Psalm, a Gospel passage, and something from the rest of the New Testament. Interesting that that the 1 Peter passage says, “don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.” When it goes on to say, “Instead, be very glad - for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory,” some folks like to take those words to mean that God causes things to happen so that we can learn the lessons we’re supposed to learn. And somehow, people also take particular situations as if God were singling out that individual for reprimand. I wonder if the larger picture is of Peter reminding the recipients of his letter of a passage from the book of Ecclesiastes - that there is “nothing new under the sun” - the idea that history repeats itself more times than we can imagine. Again, irony being such a fun vision, the local paper posted this in their 100 years ago section this week. Remember - it was printed 100 years ago. “Memorial Day is almost here - the day which is most strongly twisted into the heartstrings of the nation. It is the day when with solemn ceremonies we dedicate anew our love and fealty to the defenders of the nation and in loving memory decorate our soldier graves with fairest flowers.” The obvious part of that little section is its link to Memorial Day. But “the day which is most strongly twisted into the heartstrings of the nation,” that could be any of the last nine weeks - give or take a few days. In the midst of grilling plans and Zoom calls and cleaning the garage and chilling on the front stoop, we will have moments to recall that we are in Christ, that Christ’s prayer is for us, because we belong to God, and through the Holy Spirit, we have power to do our own ministries with God and through Christ and the Holy Spirit to do some rather big things - things we may not consider big to our own selves, but that are monumental to others. We have the opportunities to reflect on those who have given their all for our sakes, and in those reflections, understand ongoing pains and griefs, and can treat each other a little more gently. On any given day, we have the honor to work in and through and for and with Christ as we do to the least of God’s children, we do to Christ. We have the amazing power of the Holy Spirit to ask anything in Christ’s name and it will be done - maybe not right then, maybe not exactly the way we want, but in God’s time and manner, the power of our prayers is in God’s answers of them. So we will evolve into a church family that will do things differently, perhaps becoming more compassionate and embracing of differences as we morph into this new body of followers of Christ. In those morphings and changes, perhaps we will become a little more forgiving and understanding that ‘my way’ is not the only way and God will love us still the same. As we step out into this still evolving world, let us pray. Long and Loving God, we thank you that you give us missions and purpose. Help us to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit - that has already been given to us - to be the people you’ve seen us to be - kind and compassionate and forgiving and embracing the beautiful and pieced together, seeing you in the world and the world seeing you through us. Bless our week with the sense of doing what we do in and through and for and with you. And all God’s people say, Amen. First Congregational Church
May 17, 2020 6th Sunday in Easter John 14:15-21 “The Vision of Love and Truth” Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching This week, I read that the word Lexophile" describes those that have a love for words, such as "you can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish”. And "To write with a broken pencil is pointless." The article also said that there is an annual competition sponsored by the New York Times to create the best, original lexophile. So those of you new to this church family and who have been keeping up with these Facebook Live messages are perhaps getting an idea of what is coming next. When the smog lifts in Los Angeles U.C.L.A. I got some batteries that were given out free of charge. A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail. And my new mantra: I’ve always had a photographic memory but it was never fully developed. This morning’s scripture passage follows on the heals of last week’s passage which described part of the time during Jesus’ last discourse to the disciples, according to the Gospel of John. Jesus had told them that he was going away, and the disciples were struggling with that notion. They wanted to go with him, so they asked where he was going. Jesus’ response what that they did know where he was going - he’d just spent three years telling them. And after three years, for whatever reasons, they were still struggling in their understanding and acceptance of Christ’s course. But that wasn’t the end of Jesus’ address. Last week, Jesus laid down the first layer of a double layer cake. This morning, he lays down the top layer. Scripture John 14:15-21 Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Acupuncture is a jab well done. That's the point of it. When chemists die, they barium. I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, and then it dawned on me. I was able to catch a podcast Bible lesson from BibleProject.org yesterday, and don’t you know, the timing was amazing. It was a lesson about hope, Biblical hope, and how it’s different from optimism. And basically, the difference is that Biblical hope is anticipation in a person - God - despite what is going on, whereas optimism is anticipating through a situation and believing in the best possible outcome. Biblical hope - anticipation and person - God / optimism - looking for the silver lining. In terms of our passage, Jesus is giving the disciples that Biblical hope and anticipation through himself - and a promise to send another “person” after he’s gone - which is, of course, the Holy Spirit - or the Spirit of truth, as he says here. Within that idea of Biblical hope, it is not only about a person - God - but also about that person’s character. In the Old Testament, the prophets, like Isaiah and Jeremiah, would readily admit that there was no evidence that things would get better, but they encouraged the people to choose hope in God anyway. Years ago, I happened to attend or share a wedding with one of my predecessors, Dick Stoddard. Being at that right place and right time, something he said struck me, perhaps because I have never married, but it is still true of friendships. He said that getting married was choosing to love your spouse each and every day - first thing in the morning until the last thing at night. His emphasis was on the choice that the couple was making and would make everyday a promise to keep. Hope, not optimism, is a choice we make everyday, to take sides with God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit, to believe that God will bring about a future that is as surprising as a crucified man rising from the dead. I'm reading a book about anti-gravity and I just can't put it down. When she saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she'd dye. The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine last week is now fully recovered. Tim Mackey, from BibleProject.org said, “Christian hope requires us to get up again tomorrow to a world filled with instability and sickness, and yet choose patient trust in God, knowing that things may not get better.” That seems like one tall order. Without a shadow of doubt, I know with every fiber of my being that I am not the only person that wishes for some aspects of February to return - or even last summer or fall. There is a sort of anticipation in the air, that feels like we’re holding our breath, that maybe we’re getting ready for a big celebration, or that a newscast would say that everything is all better now. Back in February, we could hug, we could shake hands, we didn’t have a mask or gloves as one more item to think about before leaving the house for the store. Christian hope is not that things will return to 2019, but that God has a plan for us that is even bigger than, more liberating than raising a dead guy to life - eternal life. God’s promise of that free, unending life is exactly the same as it has been since the beginning of time, and we can bank on the fulfillment of that promise because of God’s previously fulfilled promises - of a child born to a people needing a Messiah and Savior - and that child growing into his position as Son of God and Son of Humanity. A + B = C. Promised Messiah + Resurrected Christ = God’s vision of truth and hope, out of God’s love. Police were summoned to a daycare center where a three-year-old was resisting a rest. I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me. When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate. Hope is not wishing. Hope is confidence that God’s future is already present - said Steve Garnaas-Holmes. Robin Shope was one of those teachers we read about every so often. She taught in Lewisville, Texas - remedial reading to teenagers who, because of their behavioral difficulties, were still in junior high school. (Having been a teacher, I can’t imagine how hard that would be.) She said, “Many were gang members, lived in single-parent families, or struggled with learning disabilities. Failure, anger, and lack of confidence and self-discipline were their constant emotional companions. Why should they try? Who cared about them?” Robin prayed over each student, each day, never really knowing if her efforts would ever pay off. She also had a “rewards” box in her room, for those who made genuine effort over the course of the week. Tony was one of the hardest to handle. He was a Hispanic teenager with a hot, 16 year old temper, still in the eighth grade. Naturally, like one more ingredient to the stew, Tony was the leader of the class. Everyone took their cues from him. There came a day when Tony had a good day, so Robin invited him to choose something from the rewards box. After sorting and sifting, he finally brought out a small American flag. When other kids started snickering at him, he began to wave his flag in the air, and naturally, the class was beginning to fall apart. At the end of her wits, Mrs. Shope said, “Tony, if you don’t put that flag down, I'll have to sing to you. And believe me, you won't want that!” As any teacher - and most everyone can guess - Tony kept on waving the flag. So in a shaky voice, she began a song from church: "Joy is the flag flown high from the castle of my heart…” The students quieted, seemingly mesmerized. Tony laid his flag on the desk; his dark eyes watched Robin as she sang. Was he angry? "And the King is in residence there…" The last notes died away. The class was silent. "I haven't heard that since I was a kid in Sunday school," Tony said. "Do you know any more songs?” "Uh…" Robin was astonished at his reaction. He seemed completely sincere, even a little vulnerable. "How about ‘This Little Light of Mine'?" another boy suggested. "We used to sing that at my church." Her students had attended Sunday schools, churches? She didn't even have time to ask, because a teenager in the back of the room had already started the next song. Together, in that most public of school environments, everyone sang one hymn after another; they were reminders of a younger, more innocent time in their lives when they had been filled with hope. "Jesus loves me, this I know…." Robin looked at their faces, heard the sweet purity of their voices, and blinked back tears. After that day, the classroom climate changed. If everyone behaved, then "Sunday school singing" would take place at the end of the day. Robin took requests, connected certain songs to lessons, and exulted at the enthusiasm her teenagers now showed. She gave thanks to the unknown pastors and Sunday school teachers who had planted these seeds in her students. Often she caught Tony's eye during a special phrase and saw that the meaning had touched him too. No one from the principal's office ever reminded Robin that what she was doing was technically against the law. Tony and some of the others graduated at the end of that year, and Robin lost touch with them. Occasionally, she wondered about Tony. Had those daily moments of relaxation and spiritual peace had an influence on him, enough to keep him from falling back into the ruthless street culture? She would probably never know. God had other plans. Ten years passed, and Robin continued to teach remedial students. One day she pulled into a car-repair shop to have some work done. The manager of the shop, a handsome young man, greeted her and took her information. He seemed vaguely familiar, but Robin couldn't place him. She was struck by his good manners, but mainly by the sparkle and joy in his eyes. As he finished the paperwork, the man looked at her. "You don't remember me, do you?” Robin hesitated. He smiled. "I'm Tony.” "God reached me through those songs we sang," Tony told her. "I wanted my life to mean something. So I went to mechanics school, and I go to church every week now, and"—he looked around proudly, then back at Robin—"don't give up on kids like me. Keep praying!" 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Closing Prayer Let us pray. Holy and Amazing God, thank you for your vision of love and truth. Thank you that we can count on your truth, on your steadfastness, on your promises. It’s not been easy lately, and there have certainly been harder and more difficult times in the history of this world. And we know that all through those times, you have been with us - with your Spirit of truth and love. So give us eyes to see your truth this week, in ways that comfort and settle our anxious optimisms, that they become more real Biblical hope in you. For all your promises - fulfilled and yet to come - all your people say, Amen. First Congregational Church
May 10, 2020 Fifth Sunday in Easter John 14:1-14 “Questions and Answers” Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching A mother mouse and a baby mouse are walking along when suddenly a cat attacks them. The mother mouse shouts “BARK!” and the cat runs away. “See?” the mother mouse says to her baby. “Now do you see why it’s important to learn a foreign language?” Larry’s mother had four children. Three were named North, South and West. What was her other child’s name? Just in case you were thinking it was East, it was Larry. Sometimes we are so very human, thinking one thing, when we missed a really important thing in understanding the whole thing. While this morning’s scripture passage doesn’t mention a single mother, it surely has a great many questions and answers - of which many mothers are most familiar. It is part of Jesus’ Farewell Discourse - the teachings grouped together in John, chapters 13-17, right before Jesus’ arrest. Perhaps not knowing the specific time, but knowing - in general - that his time was soon to come to an end, it almost appears as if Jesus is giving the disciples a review of what he’d been teaching. Scripture John 14:1-14 Jesus Comforts His Disciples 14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” Jesus the Way to the Father 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. It would be so rewarding, to know the tone Jesus used that day. (Understandingly: “I am the way and the truth and the life.”) (Loudly: “I am the way and the truth and the life.”) (Softly - “I am the way and the truth and the life.”) (Angrily: “I am the way and the truth and the life.”) But then again, maybe it’s good that we don’t have his emotions to get in the way of his words. There’s a book by Augusta Gregory on Irish mythology, called “Gods and Fighting Men,” which have some wonderful questions and answers. What is whiter than snow? The truth. What is the best color? The color of childhood. What has a taste more bitter than poison? The reproach of an enemy. What is best of a champion? His doings to be high and his pride to be low. Irony is definitely one of my favorite experiences of thought and reflection. I had settled on the title of Questions and Answers for this message, and not three hours later, I happened across a Youtube video of Johnny Carson interviewing Lucille Ball - back in 1974. They got to talking about Lucy’s children, and Johnny asked her if her kids were doing well. And Lucy’s answer was “Yes. They’re learning. They’re making their mistakes on their own.” When Johnny asked if she still exercised a certain amount of control and gave them advice, she said, “No. I’ve given them all the advice I can give them. And I’ve given them all the training I can give them. They’re out on their own.” When Johnny pressed her further, asking if she would give them advice if they came to her about appearing in a nefarious sort of film, she said, “No, because they’d already know the answer.” So often, I think we know the answers to questions. We just don’t think we know. Or our minds are so crowded with stuff, it’s almost like when a computer gets too full of information that there isn’t enough space left for the machinery to do it’s job. Sometimes we need to ask questions, to receive answers, because our human spirit needs reassurance and comfort. I wonder if the disciples - having been on a whirlwind, three-year mission trip, had brains that were spinning with the miracles and teachings and healings they had experienced with and through Jesus. Maybe they knew, but didn’t think they knew the answers to Jesus’ questions. Maybe they knew the answers, but the answers frightened them and they needed his reassurance that everything would be okay in the end. A lot of us have had almost all the training and almost all the advice we need to be grown-up followers of Christ, even though we all have more to learn. We’ve had good Sunday School teachers, we’ve had close friends that operate out of Christ’s love and grace. We’ve had remarkable pastors. And sometimes things come our way that make us question our situations, things that make us uncomfortable in what we know them to be. Sometimes, when a person - we’ll use the name, Joe - comes to me for advice, I turn the situation around on them, asking them to imagine that they have a friend or a child in a similar circumstance. What would you, Joe, tell the one asking for the advice? Because I’m rather certain that most of us already know the stuff we need to do. So often, such questions are more about anxiety or fear than they are about information. Please don’t hear this as a blast on asking for advice. It is far from that, and Lord knows we’ve often been far more stoic than we’ve needed to be. Sometimes we need the outside thoughts of a friend or expert to help us develop good and sound philosophies and theologies. None of us have all the answers to all of life’s questions. But there are times when our human nature steps up and takes over what we thought we had all in order. Most people don’t realize that Ole’s wife, Lena, is a real estate agent. One day she wrote an ad for a house she was listing. The house had a second-floor suite that could be accessed using a lift chair that slid along the staircase. Working against a publication deadline, Lena wrote: "Mother-in-law suite comes with an electric chair.” Karoline Lewis, Professor of Preaching at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN, pointed out that this passage can often be construed as a map or “diagram, something to get us to the right location.” Or Jesus saying, “‘I AM the way and the truth and the life’ can become an indication of God’s judgment, exclusion, and absence.” “No one comes to the Father except through me,” rather than a word of promise, becomes a declaration of prohibition. But God already came, was, is and ever shall be present in the life and ministry of Christ. “If you know me” is a condition of fact, “if you know me, and you do.” These are words of comfort, not condition - for the disciples as well as for us. Steven Garnaas-Holmes follows that thought. “This is not a treasure map for conversion, not a filter to screen out unbelievers, no “One Way” directions to some secret entrance to the favor of God. Jesus speaks not to unbelievers but to us who already believe. We want to know “the way.” There is no “way,” Jesus says, no set of instructions, no formula, no Thing You Do to get to God. He says, “I am the way. Me. Not beliefs about me, but me, myself.” We don't come to God on Jesus' coattails, behind him, or beside him, but through him. Inside him. Be Jesus. Be God's self-giving love embodied in the world. That's how you come to God. Be God's love for you (yes, yourself!)— which becomes God's love for the world. Get right inside that love. Move through it. We don't get close to God by our beliefs, even our righteous obedience. We get close through love. Love is the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to God except through love.” And most of us “know” that the way to God is through love. Sometimes we forget it. Sometimes we toss it aside like a dirty rag when we believe our own righteous indignation at this, that or the other. Sometimes we’re so busy doing nothing and everything, we forget to stop and breathe - to breathe in the Holy Spirit. If you’ve been watching anything these days, you’ve undoubtedly caught a glimpse of little parades celebrating birthdays or particular individuals. And sure enough, there was one here in Frankfort yesterday, celebrating a most wonderful 90 year old. There’s joy and excitement and regardless of what else is going on, there is often a smile from us - the ones watching the parade. When we stop, and close off the rest of the world, even for just a few moments, and breathe in the Holy Spirit, in that pause, angels may parade through the neighborhood of your soul. That’s the love that takes us through to God, to that place of comfortable anticipation of the place with many rooms that Jesus has prepared for us. So as we pray our way into the coming week, I’ll encourage you to close your eyes, breathe out all the possible air you can, and then breathe in - deeply - into the very toes of your being - and know that what you are breathing in is the love of God’s Spirit. Closing Prayer (Breathe out - in) Holy and Mothering God, we thank you for mothers, mothering people, those who help us learn the stuff we need to be good and mature people. You know even better than we do - how we forget those important lessons, or pretend that we don’t have to abide by them, or that we can make up our own rules to play in this game of Life. So forgive us, when we are reckless and insensitive to what people have done for us, on our behalves. Help us to honor them - and you - in living lives that reflect good answers - and questions. Thank you for your forgiveness and grace, love and peace, and all the other gifts you give us. Help us to be wise and strong and resilient followers of your heart. And all God’s people say, Amen. First Congregational Church
May 3, 2020 4th Sunday in Easter John 10:1-10 “Life Metaphors" Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching Scott Hoezee, of Calvin Theological Seminary, told the story carried in various newspapers about a woman from Missouri who was startled out of a dead sleep one night by some desperate cries of “Help! Help!” You know how it is when you awake to some sound: you are not at all certain whether you really heard something or if it was just a dream. At first she thought perhaps her husband had cried out, but he was sleeping soundly next to her. Then suddenly she heard the cries again: “Help! Help!” Finally she threw back the covers and headed downstairs toward their living room. “Help!” went the plaintive voice yet again. “Where are you?” the woman replied. “In the fireplace,” came the rather shocking answer. And sure enough, dangling in the fireplace with his head sticking through the flue was a burglar, upside down and quite snugly stuck! The police and fire department got him out eventually, though not before having to disassemble the mantle and some of the masonry. Perhaps the best part of the story was what this woman did in the meantime. She flipped on all the lights and videotaped the whole thing. I don’t know what the two talked about while waiting for the police and company to arrive, but had I been she, I think I would have hauled out a Bible and given the crook a pointed reading of John 10: “Verily I tell you, anyone who does not enter by the door but climbs in another way is a thief and a robber!” It’s a good - and relevant - ending, but when it started out, I truly thought that this would be the story about a man - waking up at night, hearing faint cries for help. Getting out of bed to see what was going on, the homeowner finally realized that the cries were coming from the front yard. Still trying to figure out the reason for such a plaintive plea, the homeowner eventually made his way to the big tree in the front yard with the swing on it - near the street light. The homeowner asked the man why he needed help. The person on the swing said, “I need a push!” This morning’s scripture passage has nothing to do with fireplaces or swings, at least of what I’m aware. I did discover, at an interesting internet site called generationword.com that the passage we will hear in a moment probably took place between October 15 and December 25, right before Jesus’ final month in Jerusalem. Experts disagree on the number of people in Jerusalem at that time, but it was probably somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 people. For reasons of comparison, Traverse City’s population is about 15,000 and 144,000 people in its micropolitan area. Frankfort’s population is about 1,200 in the winter time. All this is to say that it Jesus and the disciples were probably on the edge of town, where they might see farms and sheep and donkeys and fields. Scripture John 10:1-10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. As I thought about this passage, it came to me that 1. life is full of metaphors and that 2. those same metaphors are prone to getting mixed up. If you’d have been able to be here in person, you might have noted the top of the bulletin’s Order of Worship page, right under the Meditative Sentence at the beginning. It is a quote by Mardy Grothe, author of I Never Metaphor I Didn’t Like.” She said, “A metaphor is a kind of magical changing room — where, one thing, for a moment, becomes another, and in that moment is seen in a whole new way. As soon as something old is seen in a new way, it stimulates a torrent of new thoughts and associations, almost as if a mental floodgate has been lifted.” Penandthepad.com says that the difference between an allegory and a metaphor is that an allegory uses a narrative - or story - to express an idea or teach a lesson, while a metaphor uses a word or phrase. One of my favorite little books is Hinds Feet on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard, which is an allegorical novel, filled with metaphors. After her encounter with the Good Shepherd, Much Afraid, the main character in the story becomes Grace and Glory. I believe that sentence is laced with allegory and metaphor, but I don’t know that I’m smart enough to dissect it. In our scripture passage, there seem to be two metaphors: sheep and gates. From the deep, dark past of my memory, I seem to recall hearing that one should not mix metaphors in writing or speaking. If you are speaking about a topic on rocks, you really shouldn’t use examples of cows or comedians in discussing the topic. Unless you could bring the topic together with a comical cow statue carved from stone. Ordinarily, sheep and gates don’t have a lot to do with one another, so logically, they wouldn’t be used in the same paragraph. But sometimes, what appears to be mixed up, simply requires a little shearing of custom and time. In the west, we are used to seeing sheep, cattle, cats - wait, no, not cats - herded into pens and the farmer or keeper shuts the gate and that’s about it. In the Middle East, especially back in Jesus’ day, sheep pens didn’t have gated doors. When night came, and the sheep were herded into the pen, the shepherd laid down across the opening and slept there, so that he - or maybe she - would know if a sheep would try to get out or a predator would try to get in to the sheep. Once we have that l little piece of information, the paragraph about Jesus, sheep and a gate makes all kinds of sense, which is a single metaphor, rather than two. It’s not certain that this was the intent Jesus had in mind. But the passage is fluid enough that we can hold both images in creative tension, as Scott Hoezee from Calvin Theological Seminary says. What is certain, as the remarkable pastor at Frankfort Congregational Church says, is that being protected and lead to sustenance is what leads to that place of blissful peace - what is called shalom in Hebrew. Mr. Hoezee also pointed out that “Ordinarily the gate or door needs to be moved aside, it has to yield and give way, in order for a person or a sheep to pass into whatever the gate encloses. But in a sense isn’t this what Jesus did by coming to this earth?” That remarkable pastor at Frankfort Congregational points out, that in raising Christ, God lead him to that place of shalom that is foreign to us mere humans - like showing up for breakfast on the beach with the disciples and showing up to a couple of disciples in their walk to Emmaus and all the other post-resurrection appearances Christ made. While all of this information is well and good, what difference does it make when a person’s business is looking to fall into bankruptcy? And what difference does it make - Jesus calling himself a gate - when a child’s teacher is having a rough go of the covid virus, while trying to keep her family safe and her students engaged? For one thing, Christ is a living gate - not some dead wood gate that can be destroyed by termites, blade or fire. Our God is a god of Life - with a capital L - even when it doesn’t look like it. We have a God who understands when our hearts hurt, when we are frustrated and worried. And as the passage says, God knows our name. And our God understands the fear that wolves cause us - fears not only of things we can see - but things that are invisible to us like viruses. Amid all those sneaking and stalking fears, our Shepherd and Gate promise us love and power and a presence that cannot be eradicated - even when those promises seem to be so far fetched and unrealistic. As so often happens, one of my favored writers of inspiration put out a wonderful one this past week. Stephen Garnaas-Holmes wrote, “Resurrection is the unkillableness of love that nothing can stop, not even death and despair. Resurrection is when we love to the bitter end - even when it's really bitter, and really the end, and God carries it on anyway in a grace we can't see because the love we have is actually God and God is eternal. Resurrection is what gives us the audacity to get all up in the devil's face with joy and kindness and hope, and laugh at all his threats, and love people as if there were no tomorrow precisely because - there always is one, and it's always God.” In our every day lives, metaphors can get so mixed up. Truth can get mixed up. Reality can get misshapen or misconstrued. We can so easily succumb to the idea that we are powerless and ineffectual. But our God knows your name. Calls your name, when life is easy and when it’s hard. Like a shepherd who knows which sheep tend to graze away from the flock, or knows which sheep are more susceptible to parasites or foot and mouth disease, our Shepherd knows our propensities and loves us through them - despite them. A person named Patty Wipfler wrote on Facebook this week. “At nine in the evening you may feel like you got nothing done all day long. But if I’d been shadowing you, I could list a hundred quiet acts of caring that you are too tired to remember.” For those feeling badly about being tired-while-not-doing-anything, I came across an article this week on vice.com titled, “Allostatic Load” is the Psychological Reason for our Pandemic Brain Fog.” The article cited the repeated and collective hits of elevated stress hormones is the exhaustion not of body - but of brain. If there were real people in the pews today, I know I would witness a collective sigh of silent “thank God!”s. And to give it it’s needed levity, I’m going to be calling it Covid-Brain from now on. And you’re welcome. What ever the threat, whatever the fear, our Shepherd doesn’t flinch, doesn’t back away. Our Shepherd may get a little frustrated at times, trying to herd people with cat mentalities, but our Shepherd is also patient and understanding of our brains and hearts and souls. Our Gate-Keeper is available to us - whether we are on the mountaintops or in the valleys or the hills in-between - protecting us from wickedness and weirdness we sometimes don’t even realize is lurking around the corner. Whether we have the Covid virus, Covid brain, painful backs, broken hearts, cancer scares, or any other human malady, we also have a Shepherd who knows our hearts and how to comfort our hearts, if we listen to the Shepherd’s voice. So shall we pray. Closing Prayer God of mystery and mundane, thank you for giving us the ability to evaluate our situations as best we can, for the ability to hear and know the sound of your voice and for the freedom to make our way into your circular arms of protection. Thank you for being the gate of shalom, and for the moments you give us to reflect on that gift as well as the moments we can practice weaving them more deeply into our lives. Forgive us when we get headstrong and willful, and lead us back to our safety in you. Heal our worries and anxieties, clear our clogged thoughts and restore to us the shalom that you desire for all your people. For all your grace and love and goodness, all your people say, Amen. First Congregational Church
April 26, 2020 Third Sunday of Easter Luke 24:13-35 “20/20” Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching When Ole vas a young boy, he vas walking down a gravel road with his grandpa, Sven. Ole accidentally took a misstep and fell to the ground, cutting his knees. Grandpa Sven gently bent down and began to clean the wound, removing the little pebbles now embedded in Ole’s skin as he cried. Ole had alvays heard adults talk about it, but he finally knew vat dey vere talking about. It vould be de day dat Ole never forget the pain of his first kid knee stones. Lena and Katrina were walking through the park. Lena says to Katrina, "Awww. Look at that poor little dog with one eye!” Katrina covers an eye with her hand and says, “Where?" Normally, I try to read scripture passages from an actual Bible, because it lends a bit of credence that is rather valuable. As I read through this morning’s passage from Luke 24, it just begged for interaction, so I’ll approach is as if you were in my brain. (For some of you, this could be terrifying. For others, it may bring a level of insight you might have suspected for a while.) And just so you’re clear, when it is my thought, I’ll use a hand gesture to clue you.) Scripture Luke 24:13-35 On the Road to Emmaus 13 Now that same day (Now just a minute. Which day? The day Jesus fed 5,000 plus? The day Jesus rode into Jerusalem? No - a much more nonsensical day - the day Jesus revealed himself to disciples after his three days in the tomb!) Now that same day two of them (not pharisees or scribes, but disciples) were going to a village called Emmaus (which means “warm spring”), about seven miles from Jerusalem (just a little 2.5 hour walk). 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. (Disastrous hearings, excruciating crucifixion, horrendous grief, days of silence, miraculous empty tomb, Jesus’ appearance to women) 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him. (Who or what kept them from recognizing him - God? Their own absorption in their situation? How often is that true for us? If we are brothers and sisters with Christ, then a little piece of him walks along side us - all the time.) 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” (Paranoia part of brain: Was this going to be a trick question? Why did he ask - to get one or both in trouble?) They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” (Seems that they forgot about the rule of not talking to strangers.) 19 “What things?” he asked. (One would wonder why he asked that question, except that it 1. could help Jesus understand what they knew and perhaps fix any misconceptions, and 2. helped them articulate something that could therefore become more real. You learn the most about a subject when you have to “teach” it to someone.) “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. (It has been said that these three words are the saddest in all of scripture: we had hoped.) And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” (Actually, that’s a really good synopsis of the previous week. How many of us could do that well - even with a little time to think about it and not off the cuff as it seems here?) 25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. (How foolish you are…. What is the worst thing someone could say to you - and why? For the uber sensitive, Jesus going on to explain the prophecies meant that he wasn’t so upset with them in particular, otherwise he would have kept on berating them. How often do we take things to be more personally than we should?) 28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. (As the risen Christ, was he more God than human at that moment? If that were so, isn’t it an interesting thought that plain, everyday, hurting men could change the Divine Christ’s mind with a mere question? Or did he know they would ask?) 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. (Before going on with the reading, what does that action say to you? What memories does it conjure up for you - taking bread, giving thanks, breaking, giving it?) 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. (I wonder how long they were silent and frozen still?) 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Two thoughts: hearts burning within us? = heartburn? and, Seriously? It sounds like such an intellectual question, almost indifferent. Okay, since Luke was a doctor, maybe he was used to highlighting facts over emotions. But still! If Mozart, or Buddy Holly or Prince showed up at dinner, how many of us would be able to resist picking up the phone to call someone - anyone - to tell them after the guest of honor left?) 33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. (At once - there’s Luke’s emotion.) There they found the Eleven and those with them, (how often do we focus on what we think we see in our mind’s eye, rather that what is really in the picture, that is eleven vs. a small crowd?) assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. —- After all that thinking and wondering, my brain was drawn back to that line, “we had hoped.” Frankfort’s Trinity Lutheran pastor, Rick Stieve, made a powerful connection. “We had hoped Benzie County could have been spared - of the virus…. We had hoped to have our wedding in May. Just a thought. Where does our Hope lie now that our expectations have been crushed?” Great question. The passage doesn’t actually say that the disciples had crushed expectations, aside from the part where Luke wrote: “They stood still, their faces downcast.” Even so, it’s not hard to “see” them as broken-hearted. They were hoping for a redeemer, and it looked like they got a ghost. Except, looking back on all of it, we all know that that’s not exactly the way it was - or still is. They say that good vision is 20/20. Why aren’t those numbers 50/50 or 67/67, I don’t know. But they also say that hindsight is 20/20, and boy, if that isn’t true! Hindsight, while leading itself to lessons learned and good for instructional purposes, it shouldn’t be given too much time. We only glance at the rearview mirror - we don’t keep our eyes on it - unless we’re parked. Glancing back keeps us from getting stuck. And time is surely ripe - to get stuck. With acknowledgement to my best-internet-friend-guy-whom-I’ve-never-met, Steve Garnaas-Holmes, this past week he wrote, “It’s early spring in these woods, bare trees like quiet old women wearing little girls' green things. But in the cities, silence, and grief. Some days I want to lie down in ignorance, deep in the not yet green grass, bury my face in the cold unknowing dirt, not seeing more than a foot or two, that's all I want to see. I get down there just to look and the brook flows on, I can hear it, and overhead long haul geese passing by on their way north, farther north than I imagine, where spaces open out in a different kind of quiet, and even the small birds nearby in the shifting trees above the prayerful grass sing on and on.” —- And while you’re down in the grass, and rolling over onto your back, looking at the clouds and blue skies and occasional birds, you get to thinking. In another of Steve’s poems this week, “Only afterward do you know it was the Beloved, who draws near so silently, invisibly, so much - not about God’s self - but you, it was hardly God there but the empty space of a divine loving gaze — until after, when your heart speaks, burning with a Presence, and you know, and learn to say each moment, especially the most abandoned ones: Welcome, Beloved, whom I do not see, even whose very absence is full of your presence.” Welcome, Beloved, whom I do not see, even whose very absence is full of your presence. In the middle of making dinner, or working on taxes or cleaning up the yard, see if you can give that one a whirl this week. “Welcome Beloved, whom I do not see, even whose very absence is full of your presence.” Times can be tough - and this Beloved presence can still be recognized. Times can be long and lonely - and this Beloved presence is there, in this very, precise moment, and this moment, and this moment. The disciples that day were not in a classroom or a designated Zoom meeting, but on the road, walking, talking, wondering about the future, reviewing the past, and as they did so, Jesus doesn’t come in with a white board and laser pointer or even a power point presentation, but a conversation. Not a pronouncement or discourse, but a conversation. Senior pastor at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, David Lose, said it so well. “Sometimes, it’s enough just to see Jesus, or to hear of his resurrection, or to be promised his presence. And sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it takes longer. Sometimes the move from doubt, fear, and grief to faith, hope, and love takes both the time it takes to walk from one town to another and the opportunity for an open and honest conversation.” As with any relationship, our relationship with God can go for long periods of normal discourse. “What do you want for dinner? I don’t know. You decide.” That sort of normal discourse. But sometimes, we have opportunities for more directed, more candid conversations. “So, about that thing last week. You know, the one that just sort of floated by? It got stuck. And I’d really like to talk about that.” That sort of directed, candid conversation. If ever there was opportunity for us to have candid and direct conversations with God, this is certainly one. This time, when so much can seem bleak and uncertain and anxious, this is a good time for taking a few minutes and a box of tissues - just in case - and have a good heart-to-heart with God. Let God have it all: the pain, the sorrow, the grief, because there has been pieces of that all over the place, even if we haven’t realized them as such. And let God have all the frustration, anger, or all the good stuff, like gratitude and regard. And here’s the secret: then just sit there. Let the tears fall, if they want to. Let the heart slow as it needs to. And then listen. Above the geese discussing their long-haul trip and the cardinals wooing their intended, listen to what you know God would say to you. Or if someone came to you and deeply needed to hear some good advice - whatever you would say to that person - hear it as God’s words to you. So often, we’ve seen what we need to see, we’ve heard what we need to hear. We simply have to recognize that which God has for us. As it is right in beginning anything, let us pray. Closing Prayer Holy and Spectacular God, thank you for the absolute gift of renewed hope. Thank you for trees wearing green things and flowing brooks and divine glances. Give each of us the space this week to set a spell with you, to have good conversation and to recognize the truths that we need to hear. Whether we converse in sunshine or within a dry place of warmth, adjust our vision in that way that only you can, that we might have 20/20 vision - of you and this world and this life - regardless of the condition of the lenses or frames. For all your moments of quiet and contemplative conversation - however they transpire, all your people thank you with our great, Amen. First Congregational Church
April 19, 2020 Second Sunday after Easter "An Inexpressible and Glorious Joy” 1 Peter 1:3-9 Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching After being injured in a peek-a-boo accident, I was transferred to the I.C.U. With so many sporting events being cancelled, they’re having to televise the World Origami Championship. It’s on Paperview. Many of you know this amazing place called Benzie County, and how Mayberry-esque it is and our main UPS guy, Steve, who is never without a smile or good word. In fact, the menu at the local Asian restaurant states that the Szechuan Calamari is endorsed by Steve the UPS guy. So Steve dropped off a package last week, and we exchanged a couple of pleasantries through the cracked door with the glass window. I asked him how he was doing, and he mentioned that the mask thing was working out really well for him. So far, he’s got $500 in cash, a few sets of keys, a couple credit cards and a Mercedes. One of his co-workers totally fell for his joke. And those of you who know him can see the big grin that he always wears behind his new black and white polka dotted face mask. Norm Linville of Maplewood (MO) Christian Church, asks and answers the question, ”Why have Holy Hilarity Sunday? Because we're Easter people, celebrating the resurrection. Because everyone who is trapped in the tomb of defeat and sorrow needs to hear the joy of the Good News!” For centuries in Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant countries, Churchgoers and pastors played practical jokes on each other, drenched each other with water, told jokes, sang, and danced. Early church theologians (like Augustine, Gregory of Nyssa, and John Chrysostom) supported the idea that God played a practical joke on evil by raising Jesus from the dead. "Risus paschalis - the Easter laugh," the early theologians called it. This morning’s scripture passage comes from the time when Christian Gentiles were scattered around the Middle East and Mediterranean for various reasons. The passage is part of a letter that was passed around, probably most often read aloud at church house meetings. Unlike so many of the other New Testament letters which were written by Paul, 1 Peter was written by Peter - the impetuous, brave and energetic fisherman. It is a letter of encouragement, to bolster the faith of those who are suffering - and the words are as relative today as they were then. 1 Peter 1:3-9 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. It has been documented that "One day Groucho Marx was getting off an elevator and he happened to meet a clergyman. The clergyman came up to him, put out his hand and said, 'I want to thank you for all the joy you've put into the world.' Groucho shook hands and replied, 'Thank you, Reverend. I want to thank you for all the joy you've taken out of it.’ It might be easy to think of this day as flippant, or not as worthy to be celebrated as other holy days. David Meredith of South Oldham Church of the Nazarene in Crestwood, KY makes this very pointed point. ”No wonder the Pharisees, who seem to have been always wholly serious, had to have Jesus put down. He couldn't be allowed to go on indefinitely standing everything on its head and making their piety look ridiculous. Why, in the end, they might even laugh themselves, and that would be the ultimate catastrophe. Pastor Jim Arends of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in La Crescent, MN, said, “This gives us a chance to celebrate the joy of Easter in a fun way a week after we’ve celebrated it in a glorious way… That spectacular pastor over there at the First Congregational Church in Frankfort, MI says, “We can be joyful and even a little silly and still be respectful of those who aren’t able to be in that joyful place at the moment. We can embrace the unexpected as ways to see the world differently and learn lessons that we might not otherwise have done.” Gosh, isn’t she amazingly wise? And to make her point, 6. there is this old photo, from a winter long ago, and in a place far away, where the man is standing next to the top of a telephone pole. Funny, but not funny - then and now. If we allow it, humor can allow us to see particular points of view we might have otherwise missed. 7. And besides, if God is watching us, the least we can do is be entertaining, as the person running in a chicken suit demonstrates. It’s interesting how much of the celebration this day is centered around “looking.” For people with macular degeneration or other visual impairments, please know that this last statement is not so much about eyes as it is about our brains and hearts - and what catches us - often off-guard. 8. There is a person who “saw” the delight of a green, smiling frog umbrella with big eyes - in the midst of plain red, black, grey and white umbrellas. Life-giving joy popping out against the regular sea of life. 9. There is the gravestone with a handheld weeder/digger implement that I photographed at a cemetery not too far from here making a testament to the simplicity of relying on other humans to play their part in this game of life. A summer or two ago, I happened to be relating a story about a kayaking trip my sister, Barb, and I took - to our dad, Waldo. I was telling him about how it was the last trip of the day, so it was starting to get a little dark, and there wasn’t anyone else on the river. Partway through the trip, we saw a deer cross down-river and I whispered to my sister that we needed to be quiet, because there was apt to be more deer. And sure enough, within a couple minutes, we floated into a scene that I hope I never forget. Having not yet crossed the river, a set of triplet deer fawns, being watched over - probably by their mother - were frolicking on the edge of the river. They were chasing each other, hopping and jumping in and out of the water and doing those things that so many babies do. And our hearts were full. As I was explaining this scenario to my dad, who grew up on a farm and would have been witness to such scenes, Waldo commented that there are lots of animals that like to play. And it struck me how 1., not only was dad right, but 2., that animals play not because they have to - like they have to hunt or eat or sleep. It is a choice that they make. Like the choice we get to make about how we deal with life - especially a life that belongs to God, because we don’t belong to death. I wonder if God gave us the gift of joy and laughter - just so God could hear us, because isn’t listening to a baby laugh sometimes just the most luscious thing to hear? Night before last, I happened across a video by a couple from England that relish pranking each other and aside from whatever the prank is, the wife’s laugh is just contagious. And I belly-laughed like I’d not done in a long time. Long after I shut down the computer, I was still smiling about not only the video - but the deep joy from it - like one of the most satisfying meals you’ve ever eaten, or the best trip you’ve ever taken. Some of us haven’t belly-laughed in a long while - and for good enough reasons. And the irony of this Holy Humor Sunday being smack-dab in the middle of a pandemic is not to be dismissed. God has designed us to be whole people - which includes pieces of sorrow, and sadness, slivers of seriousness and being alert, along with pinches of joy and delight and being able to balance the weight of the world with the comedy of life. For the younger ones viewing, it is highly likely that one day you will appreciate the fact that our lives are one part sleeping, one part working, a little bit of eating and a whole log of looking for things I had just a minute ago. Knock, Knock. Who’s there? Gladys. Gladys who? Glad it's Sunday, aren't you? So shall we pray. Closing Prayer God, first of all, thank you for Sundays, if for no other reason, to help us maintain what day of the week it in in this season of looser schedules. Thank you, too, for defeating death, that we may be embolden to laugh at the things that may seem to rob us of life - of living in the here and now. Help those who need a good belly laugh to relish it as fully as they possibly can. Help those of us who are wondering about that Inexpressible and Glorious Joy that Peter wrote about, that we might find it or experience it again - with every fiber of our being - even if it is found without laughter. Free all those in tombs of defeat and sorrow with the mere words of your Good News. Strengthen us in trusting that you have all things in hand, even when it so doesn’t look that way. Give those who are working long and hard these days moments of respite in humor or delight, that they may continue the work you have for them. And for the gift of making us whole, complicated, marvelous, and unique people after your heart, all your people say, Amen. |
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