Now, today is Father’s Day, when I’ve often used this time to talk about my dad who has played a pivotal role in shaping my faith. But I’d like to honor another father who taught me how to use this faith with purpose and meaning. He was an Irish immigrant named Vince who embodied these nine qualities like it was a second skin.
 
Before we go there, I want to point out that Paul used the singular tense, fruit, not fruits, to describe the actions of the Spirit. This tells us that they’re not independent but interconnected.
Moreover, they’re not our actions but are the Spirit, who works through us.
 
It’s like a bowl of fruit salad, where you put watermelon, pineapple, strawberries, and other fruits into one bowl to make one meal. For the record, my father-in-law would have a good joke about me comparing him to a bowl of fruit salad.  
 
Starting with the last fruit on this list, Vince embodied ​SELF-CONTROL. Unlike the horrific stereotypes of Irish men, he didn’t drink or fight. He never lost his composure when faced with a tough challenge. Even in the most difficult moment of His life, Jesus also exercised great self-control. He possessed the power to end his suffering, but instead Jesus stayed focused on the job he was sent to do.
 
Self-control helps us from getting run over by life’s challenges. It keeps us rooted in what is right. And prevents our desires from leading us astray from doing God’s will. And it also produces GENTLENESS, the next fruit in our salad.
 
Although he was a big man, with an even bigger personality, Vince was a very gentle human, with a tender and mild disposition. From the way he cradled his grandchildren to how he treated his employees, Vince always showed forgiveness and grace over anger and revenge.
 
Much like Christ who said, "I am gentle and humble of heart," Vince never insisted on having his own way but often yielded to others.I think this spiritual fruit is often ignored because it makes us seem vulnerable and weak.
 
By watching Vince closely, I learned the strength of gentleness, especially as it reveals our FAITHFULNESS, a spiritual fruit that helps us live our life in accordance with God's will at all times. Jesus did this to a fault, even when it costs him his life.

​If you knew Vince, then you knew he wore his faith on his sleeve much like Jesus did – not in a pious way, but in the many ways he helped others.
 
Because of his faith, people could depend on Vince and trust he would always do the right thing. That’s how he was faithful to what God was calling him to do. As I’ve stated before, “Church is a verb. Faith an imperative. Christianity an action.” Christ gives us the Holy Spirit to help us remain faithful to these tasks.

watch the message here

I think Paul gives us this list so people will know our faithfulness by the fruit of GOODNESS we produce.

​As Benjamin Franklin said, “One does well by doing good.”  If that’s so, Vince did really well. A good father. A good husband. A good brother, uncle, and friend. The examples of his goodness are way too long to go through, but if you can think of a good deed, there’s a good chance Vince did it.
 
Summarizing Jesus’ ministry Peter stated, "Jesus Christ of Nazareth...went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). That was Vince who never took his eye off the One who describes himself as, “the Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep" (c.f. John 10:11-18).

We’d all do well by taking Paul’s advice to imitate the goodness of Christ who constantly revealed God's glory and grace in the world through the Spiritual fruit of KINDNESS (c.f. Philippians 2:3-8)
 
Kindness is a kind of holy sacrifice; a willingness to give to others above and beyond what we own them. Jesus was the poster child of kindness. Healing, feeding, and forgiving others without ever asking for anything in return. On the night he was arrested, Peter cut off the ear of the high priest's servant. Instead of worrying about himself and what’s to come, Jesus reacted with kindness and compassion; immediately healing the man who was taking him to his death.
 
Although Vince trained as an Army medic, I don’t recall hearing any stories like this. But countless times I witnessed true kindness in the way he cared for “the least of these.”  The homeless, the widows, the orphans, the in-laws like me.
 
If you met Vince, you were met with kindness, that at times  ame with a lot of PATIENCE – an often-overlooked spiritual fruit. I asked Kathleen to describe her father’s patience. She said, “He listened, didn’t rush to judgment, gave you the benefit of the doubt. He was very good about making sure you were heard.” Are these not Christlike qualities?
 
Jesus always exercised great patience with his disciples. Always quick to show God's mercy and grace. Paul wrote, “I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him.” (1 Tim. 1:16)
 
We have all benefited from Christ’s immense patience, haven’t we? One such benefit is receiving Christ’s PEACE – the spiritual fruit of wholeness and completeness that comes from knowing God’s love for us.  Jesus is the incarnate promise of God’s love, the perfect peace made visible to us. 
 
In many ways Vince a peaceful man. he showed God’s love in such a way that made you feel like everything would be alright. As a father of nine, he knew what it meant to be a peacemaker. Whenever he caught the children fighting, he’d make the hold hands and sing, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me...”
 
Like most parents discover, when there is peace in the house you rejoice. The that’s because in this fruit salad, peace and JOY co-exist as one. More than a feeling of great pleasure and happiness, spiritual joy is a state of being undisturbed by the negative things in life once you realize God's grace and love for you.
 
Growing up in a poor farming village in Ireland, Vince knew the difficulties of life. He knew struggle and suffering and sacrifice. He may not have had the luxuries that his children enjoy today, but he was rich in ways most of us could only hope for. Vince’s joy was not dependent on his circumstances, but on what God’s love and grace had done for him.
 
No matter what space he found himself in, Vince always brought joy with him to share. Always quick with a smile. And even quicker with a joke or a song. Always with love in his heart to give away. Jesus told His disciples that his joy will remain in them, and it will never run out (John 15:11). My father-in-law took that to heart, because that joy stayed within him to the very end.
 
The joy Christ gives us comes from God, whose steadfast LOVE for us is the first fruit of the Spirit. Love is God. God is love. God’s love created us. And God’s love has saved and redeemed us.
 
Just as branches of a tree or a grapevine have to be connected to the trunk in order to bear grapes or apples, we are connected to God’s love through Christ who gave away this fruit as if it could never run out.

Thus, Jesus tells those who follow his way, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments and I will abide in you” (John 14:15). 
 
“This is my commandment” he said, “that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34).

When Jesus told them, “There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for his friends” (John 15:13), our Lord went on to show us what that means for us today; setting aside our own desires, to follow God’s will and way.
 
Just as God shows love to us, we too are called to love one another – without condition, or any thought of receiving something in return.

So, it is in the sacred space of Anamesa we must always keep our focus on Christ Jesus who said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
 
Between the fruit and the vine, the Holy Spirit moves in us and through us allowing Christ’s light to shine among us so the world can see what God’s love looks like.  And give God all glory.
 
This Advocate is a great gift given to us. With it, we can do anything Jesus did, and so much more. Whatever space you find yourself in today, keep your heart and mind open to follow the Holy Spirit who leads you along the pathway of God’s righteousness.
 
Because, like Paul would come to understand, “all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God” (Romans 8:14).
 
As God’s children it’s up to us to go out into the world to bear the fruit of God’s Spirit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

​This is how we church and co-exist as one family; living, and loving in this heavenly fruit salad that we called life.
 
 

Work Cited
https://www.ucg.org/good-news/the-perfect-example-of-the-fruit-of-the-spirit-jesus-christ
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holy-spirit/what-are-the-fruits-of-the-spirit.html

I started this blog to find ways for us to be more like Jesus. I chose the name Jesus Not Jesús believing if we could approach all people as sacred and holy beings - like we might with someone holy and sacred like Jesus- then maybe we wouldn’t be so quick to judge, harm, shame, cheat, or kill those strangers in our midst.

​I’ve never been an immigrant. But I do know what it’s like living in a place where people make sure you know you’re not wanted there. One such place was a church. Imagine what our communities could gain if we approached every Jesús or Maria or Muhammad as if we were standing before the Divine. After all, we are all made in the same image of the Divine.

​Henri Nouwen wrote a lot on the subject of compassion, towards others and ourselves. Today I read this from his book You Are The Beloved that got me thinking about the simple acts of kindness we can show towards one another like Jesus taught through his words and deeds.

Nouwen wrote, “And so we ignore our greatest gift, which is our ability to enter into solidarity with those who suffer. . . Those who can sit with their fellow man, not knowing what to say but knowing that they should be there, can bring new life into a dying heart. Those who are not afraid to hold a hand in gratitude, to shed tears of grief, and to let a sigh of distress arise straight from the heart can break through paralyzing boundaries and witness the birth of a new fellowship, the fellowship of the broken.”

It’s in the way we meet one another in their pain, suffering, hardships, and need that we do the greatest miracles - healing others and ourselves. It’s in the space between me and the other that the Divine is seen and felt, fully alive, both divine and human.

Compassion is not easy work. It’s a lifelong journey that takes daily practice. But this is how we are called to be in this world fully present and fully alive. This is how peace spreads across borders, love through families and communities, and hope throughout all eternity. It simply begins by looking at another human and seeing the image the divine within them. And doing so may you also see that image reflecting in you.

​In the church calendar, today is Trinity Sunday -a time when I am supposed to speak on the Triune relationship between God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is not an easy task. The church actually split over it.

Again, Jesus gives us a pretty solid clue when he tells Philip, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me. If you don’t believe that, then look at the works I’ve done.”

​It seems Jesus is one with God because he lives out God’s word perfectly. And God is one with Jesus because those who keep the commandments God abides in them. Jesus shows us how this works in that everything he says and does reveals God’s glory and grace to the world.

In the space between the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit moves with action and purpose, making Jesus’ words and deeds come into fruition. The three work together as one to bring healing and restoration into all of creation. That’s the Holy Trinity in a nutshell.

There’s a lot more to it as you might imagine. But I want to talk about something else Jesus said when he was answering Philip. He said, “If you believe in me, the Spirit will move through you so you can do the works of the Father like I do.” Then he adds, “you will do greater things than these.” And that, my friends, is the church’s mission in a nutshell our call is to do greater things than Jesus.

God the Father needs us to participate in the Kingdom of Heaven. God the Son comes to us in the flesh to show us how to do it. And God’s Spirit is given to us to do what he did, so others will know the way of God’s righteousness and follow suit.

​But this spirit is only given after the Son ascends back to the Father. And therein lies the problem for the disciples. They don’t want Jesus to go away.

Years ago, a very dear friend of mine was redoing his will. He and his wife had chosen Kathleen and I to care for their child should anything ever happen to them. On one hand, that’s a great honor. And a great responsibility. But it’s also a great weight for me because I know that in accepting this responsibility also means losing a great friend.

The disciples have been with Jesus pretty much every day since he called them to follow him. They’ve worked together, sat around the fire together, laughed and broken bread together. They were Jesus’ best friends. Partners in his ministry. Now, he tells them “I’m going away without you. You got this.” The Twelve don’t want to hear that.

Jesus assures them that it’s going to be okay and in fact they should be happy that he is leaving them because they will receive this great gift, an Advocate, who will help them do things they never could imagined themselves doing.

The same is true for us today. The same Spirit given to the first church is the same in this church. With that said, let me quote this warning from Spider-Man who said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Between you and me, this feels like a set up for failure. An impossible mission at best. I’d love to be able to turn water into wine, or heal people’s diseases, but I can barely manage my honey-do list my wife makes for me how will I ever do greater things than Jesus? I know my limitations and weakness, my lack of focus and how lazy I can get. How does God expect me to save the world?

But here’s the thing, Jesus isn’t sending us out to do the impossible. He’s sending us out with God’s Spirit because with God all things are possible. Jesus is connecting us with the Father so we too can move like the Son and the Spirit with meaning and purpose, to heal and restore the world.

watch the entire message here

​To quote Barbara Brown Taylor from last week, “The same Spirit of God that had entered Mary and given birth to Jesus, has entered those who believed so that God could be born again.”

As the church, our job is to be the bearers of God’s Holy Spirit out in the world. How we define ourselves begins with how we allow the Holy Spirit to move in and through us like it did in and through Christ who loved without conditions and forgave without restraint. 
 
It’s in this space between you and me, God’s Spirit moves like our own breath – encouraging us to proclaim the gospel; to produce the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
 
We all possess the abilities to be like Christ because it’s not so much you and I doing the work, but Christ who is in us. Scripture tells us that it’s his faith that does all the heavy lifting. Our faith just opens the door for him to move about.
 
In giving us the Spirit, Christ is giving us his power, his consciousness, his wisdom, and strength. It’s not us, but Christ through us who befriends the outcast, heals the sick, speaks up for the marginalized, and stands up against the sins of the empire.
 
I think that’s why Jesus says all we need to have is faith the size of a mustard seed to do great miracles. A little bit of time, or a little bit of energy, can help a person out of a jam. A little patience can bring about great peace. A simple smile, or a few kind words, can calm someone who is anxious. It doesn’t take much for God to come in and do a lot of good through us.
 
Church is a verb. Faith is an imperative. Christianity is an action.  To follow Jesus is to be like him, every day, in all that we say and do.
 
It’s about showing his heart through acts of mercy, generosity, and love. It’s about being his visible body to the poor and hurting. It’s about being his hands for someone to hold on to when there’s nothing else. This is what healing and restoration looks like in the Kingdom of Heaven. This how miracles happen every day. This is how the face of Jesus is seen in every space we enter.
 
It only takes a little faith to receive the same Spirit that empowered Jesus to act and inspire. The only thing stopping us from doing what he did, is ourselves. We all have limiting beliefs that we are not good enough, smart enough, strong enough, or faithful enough to be of service to God. But between you and me…we are.
 
I think Jesus made that perfectly clear when he entrusted his ministry to us. Jesus knew what he was doing, ordaining us with the Spirit of God, to keep his mission going. He empowered us to do the undoable.

If you want to forgive someone who has hurt you, Jesus believes you can.

If you want to heal a broken relationship, Jesus tells you to go for it.

If you want to cast out the demons of anger, hatred, and violence, then do it in his name.
 
Through Christ, we’ve been given all that we need to do greater things than these. Like Paul wrote, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13). 

​It’s only a matter of time that the Apostles will understand just how powerful of a gift this Spirit is.
 
Following Pentecost, Peter and John went to the temple to pray. On the way, they met a man who had been lame since birth. Every day, the man sat at the gate of the temple and begged for alms. When he saw the two Apostles about to enter, he asked them for a handout. Peter looked the man in the eye and said, “I don’t have a nickel to my name, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth stand up and walk.”
 
They reached out and pulled the man up. Immediately his ankles and feet were strengthened. And this man, who had never walked a day in his life, began jumping and leaping and praising God as he entered the temple all on his own. Everyone who saw him “were filled with wonder and awe.” (c.f. Acts 3:1-10)  
 
A lot can happen in that space between you and me, if we are willing to awaken our hearts to the work of the Spirit. Just as we breathe in and out, so too does the Spirit move between us to do the healing work of God in the world.
 
In closing, I would like to remind you of one more thing Paul said. “It’s not me who lives, but him who lives in me.” Through Christ, God invites us to become a part of the power of the Holy Trinity; moving as God moves. Loving as Christ loves. And being actively present, just like the Holy Spirit is all around us.
 
If we show up and allow Christ to be seen between you and me, then we will bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. And so much more.

It’s hard sometimes, for me to speak of God’s Holy Spirit with words because what words could really do it any justice? I could go on and on about the feelings, the unexplainable and the mystery of the Holy Spirit at work in my life, but that too would require words. Instead, I have always relied on other people’s words to be my own. After speaking of the Holy Spirit for Pentecost Sunday, I was sent these words below that I felt deepened my words. And these words I would like to share with you. They came from a daily devotional that I receive from the Center of Action and Contemplation, which is lead by Richard Rohr. He borrows them from Grace Ji-Sun Kim. He’s what she had to say…in her own words:

In a beautiful sermon on Pentecost, Barbara Brown Taylor describes this scene like this, “Before any of them could defend themselves, that mighty wind had blown through the entire house, striking sparks that burst into flames above their heads, and everyone of them was filled to the gills with God’s breath.”
 
In one giant divine breath, the Christian church was born. And those who inhaled it, well…their life would never be the same again.
 
It’s not unusual to speak about the Holy Spirit as the breath of God. The Greek word for "spirit" is pneuma, the same word for "breath." And in Hebrew the word is “ruach,” which has many meanings; including “wind, breath, and spirit.”
 
Breath has gotten a lot of attention these last two years – mostly because of COVID and wearing masks for long periods of time. But for me, it was until the tragic death of George Floyd that made me realize the only time we really think about our breath is when we run out of it.
 
Wind is another story. It tussles you and slaps you, screams and howls at you. It can bite you, break you, and even blast you away. Wind can generate enough power to light up a city, and destroy it at the same time. Wind is wild. And wildly unpredictable. And it’s hard to ignore.

At a very young age, my dad taught me how to sail. Part of this training was learning how to read and understand the wind. I would set sail in the Gulf of Mexico the way most kids rode their bikes; daily, excitedly, and recklessly.
 
I remember one quiet summer morning I took our catamaran out by myself. As I drifted over the placid waters, I trimmed the sails and manipulated the rudder to capture what little wind there was. Gliding slowly, my mind began drifting further and further away from the shoreline.

​The gentle lapping of the water against the boat, had me so completely relaxed that I was caught completely off-guard by a sudden gust of wind that came out of nowhere. It filled my sails with such intensity that it caused the boat to flip over.
 
While I believed I was old enough to set sail on my own, I knew I didn’t weight enough to right the boat. So, I sat and floated in the Gulf of Mexico, wondering where that wind had come from and where it was going.
 
Pentecost is our reminder of how God’s Spirit can catch us off guard, tip us over, and turn our world sideways. Although she might leave us feeling adrift at times, God’s Spirit never abandons us. In fact, she’s always so close to us that we often forget she is there.
 
Henri Nouwen wrote, “In the Holy Spirit, God comes to be as close to us as our own breath.” To think that God’s Spirit is more intimate with us than we are with ourselves.  

In that space between inhale and exhale, the Bible tells us that Spirit of God is always present, “praying in us the gifts of love, forgiveness, kindness, goodness, gentleness, peace, and joy…the kind of life that death cannot destroy.”
 
But here’s the thing. We can feel the wind kiss our cheeks. We can smell hints of coffee or mint on someone’s breath. But how do we know that the Spirit is here?

I like to think that just as we can see leaves rustling on trees or our breath in the cold morning air, we can see God’s Spirit whenever we see acts of love and kindness happen in the world. I think this is what it means to be ‘church.’
 
I think Jesus would agree that random acts of love and kindness are the best ways we can worship and glorify God.  And it’s the Holy Spirit that empowers us to take the love that has been given to us through Christ Jesus, and breath it out into the world.
 
As Barbara Brown Taylor put it, “The same Spirit of God that had entered Mary and give birth to Jesus, has entered those who believed so that God could be born again.”
 
You see, in that room in ancient Jerusalem, God wasn’t becoming incarnate in one body. Instead, God breathed life into a universal body of believers who inhaled the breath of the Spirit, just as Jesus had, and “used their own bodies to distribute the gift.”

Pentecost is not just a one-time event any more than it is an annual birthday celebration. It is the very gift of life from God that needs to be celebrated and shared every day.
 
Every breath we take is a reminder of who we are as a church and as believers. Thus, every breath we release says something about who we are and what we are about.

If we inhale God’s spirit of love and forgiveness, then we must exhale God’s spirit of love and forgiveness; just as Jesus did from his first breath in Bethlehem to his final breath on the cross at Golgotha.  If we speak the name Jesus, if we use our breath to call ourselves Christians, then every breath we are given must be used to tell his story through our words and deeds.
 
In the space between our inhaling and exhaling, God moves in and out of us. With one divine breath, God fills the lungs of ordinary people like you and me to empower us to do extraordinary things. How will we use that power to inspire and execute acts of mercy, kindness, and justice in all the ways we love?
 
As Keri Day writes, “The Holy Spirit is a subtle power. It’s the secret force behind all beauty, truth, and goodness; every act of kindness and compassion; every wise insight and every noble decision.”  When the church lives faithfully in the Spirit of God’s love, “every need can be cared for and every painful circumstance can be met.”
 
This is how one gentle breath can turn into a mighty wind that can move with such force that it catches the world by surprise, and tips it over towards the righteousness of God.
 
Between the horizon and the shoreline, I sat on the pontoon of my capsized boat. As I dangled my feet in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, I felt a light breeze kiss my wet skin; reminding me I was not alone. God was with me.

Before my parents could send out a search party for me, an elderly man in a rusty old fishing boat puttered over to help right me over. As I grabbed the tiller and trimmed the sails, I found just the right amount of wind, breath, and spirit to sail smoothly and safely home.
 
If these last few years have taught us anything, it’s that unexpected events happen every day. We can fear capsizing or running aground. Or we can settle into the truth that God doesn’t stop breathing in us; empowering and guiding us to proclaim the good news of God’s redemptive love in all that we do.
 
Between each inhale and exhale, God moves in us and through us. By this normal, everyday action, God transforms us to become living, breathing, thriving vessels of love and grace wherever we are.
 
I believe this was God’s intention for us from the very beginning. Nothing has changed since the Spirit of God hovered over the darkness and breathed all of life into existence. As we sit here, in Anamesa, we are a part of this divine breath.
 
When our Lord let go of his last breath on the cross, God took it, and strengthened it into “a holy hurricane” that burst into flames above the disciple’s heads and filled their gills to capacity. Like Barbara Brown Taylor notes, “It was as if God wanted to make sure that Jesus’ friends were the inheritors of Jesus’ breath.”  In the same way, God used the Spirit of the first church to ignite something amazing in us.
 
We must ask ourselves how will we turn our gentle breath into a mighty wind that can set the world on fire? How will we move with such Christ like force that it breathes life into new kinds of communities where justice and equality are the new norms?
 
Our Lord gave us this Spirit to do good in the world. How will we use our gifts of breath so others can see God’s glory in and all around them?
 
We know what Jesus did. He loved, healed, forgave, redeemed. The disciples took that spirit and created loving and lasting communities around the world. We’ve been given this gift for a reason.
 
How will we inhale and exhale the divine love of Christ upon one another?
 
How will we use each breath to speak Christ into our communities where there is hurt, pain, suffering, and darkness?
 
How will we inhale life and share it abundantly with each other, just as Jesus did by loving God, loving others, and serving both?
 
 
 
 
Works Cited
A refresh of an original sermon entitled Wind. Breath. Spirit. (May 15, 2018)
Bartlett, David L., and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting on the Word: Year B, Vol. 3. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2007.
Day, Keri. We Need A Pentecost. May 3, 2018. www.christiancentury.org/article/critical-essay/we-need-pentecost (accessed May 18, 2018).
Nouwen, Henri. Bread for the Journey: A Day Book of Wisdom and Faith. New York: Harper Collins, 1997.
Taylor, Barbara Brown. Home by Another Way. New York: Cowley, 1999.

First of all, the only point of a gun is to kill. That’s what it was designed for. And that’s what it does. Let’s not pretend they named it an assault rifle for some other reason. An assault is an act of violence done to someone. You can argue these weapons of death are for protection, but the only way a gun will protect you and your loved ones is if you are willing to pull the trigger and kill someone. God has made it pretty clear, that killing is a no-no.
 
Speaking of commandments…Our obsession with guns is nothing shy of idolatry. If you are offended by me saying that know that I don’t care. These facts offend me and ought to offend you. America has more civilian-owned guns than it has citizens. We are 25 times more likely to die by gunshot than any other country in the world. Gunshots are the leading cause of death in children.  
 
As far as I know, we are the only country that supports an organization whose only job is to protect the gun industry. With the blood still fresh on the linoleum floor of Robb Elementary, the NRA is meeting to discuss new ways to spin the same old story.  “It’s a mental health issue.” And my favorite, It’s not guns that kill people, it’s people.” We’ve heard their lies. And they don’t work anymore.  The right to bear arms doesn’t give you the right to bear false witness. Another no-no of God’s.
 
Gun advocates want us to believe that the only way to protect ourselves from gun violence is to arm ourselves with more guns. That idiotic logic has helped produce more mass shootings this year than we’ve had days. It’s gotten so out of control that the phrase “gun violence” has become synonymous with the name America. It’s time to go in a new direction.
 
The 2nd Amendment isn’t a sacred document. Nor is it more important than any other amendment. Or our right to live, and to live a life with liberty to pursuit a life without the fear of getting shot.
 
So to every politician and voter who call themselves Christians, remember the word of Jesus who said, “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little children who believe in me, you’d be better off if a great millstone were fastened around your neck, and you were drowned in the sea.”
 
On this Memorial Day, I light this candle in honor every child of God whose light has been extinguished by a bullet. As it flickers, may it remind us all of the Eternal light for which they are now a part of.

Most humans don’t train for these kinds of events. When Joe Garcia got the news, his heart didn’t just break, it shattered. While putting flowers on his wife’s makeshift memorial, Joe suffered a fatal heart attack - leaving their four children instantly orphaned. Their names are: Cristian, José, Lyliana, and Alysandra.

There will be more names added to this list if something isn’t done to ensure everyone has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But I fear nothing will.
 
Zara Rahim tweeted, it’s “Insane how the only notable change since Sandy Hook is that kids are now formally trained to hide, barricade doors, fight, or run for their lives. That was the solution. Too literally put the responsibility on kids to figure it out and wish them good luck.”

How many more must die before we say this is enough?
 
If you’re like me, then you’re probably suffering with compassion fatigue. Trying to keep up with the latest trauma is leaving even the most faithful feeling helpless and hopeless.
 
I’m tired of feeling this way. I’m tired of grieving for this insanity. The Bible doesn’t tell us not to grieve, but we must not grieve as those who have no hope. But this week, it doesn’t feel like that anymore.
 
As I searched the bible for a word of scripture that didn’t sound cliché, something jumped out at me that gave me a glimmer of hope. It was a name that I had never really noticed before. It’s from the lectionary reading for today. (Read Revelation 22:8-16 here.)

I think we can all agree with John who reminds us that the darkness is filled with evildoers, immoral people, murderers, liars. People who not only prey and kill innocent children but also people who turn a blind eye to it, or worse, gaslight it for political power.

No matter how bleak the world gets, no matter how dark the night becomes, we will always have light of Christ, our Morning Star, ushering in a new day. 
 
For those of us who are in a dark place right now, here’s what I reminded everyone on Easter morning - God does some pretty amazing things in the dark. Between dusk and dawn, God is not asleep but hard at work. The psalmist writes, “He who keeps you will not slumber” (Ps. 121:1).
 
When we set our eyes upon the Morning Star, we are reassured that the darkness never wins. Death does not have the final word. God does.
 
In Christ, we know a new day is dawning, but not yet. This is the paradox of our faith. We long for a new heaven and new earth that Jesus promises. But until that day comes, we are called to navigate this dark space – by abiding in him, living out his word in the world.
 
That word is love. And that love is the light of Christ that shines upon us; exposing the darkness for what it really is. As the church, the very body of Christ, we must let his light shine brightly through us if we are to confront and conquer evil. This is no easy ask.

Thankfully, Jesus does not leave us helpless. He has armed with all the power of the Holy Spirit to tear down the systems of injustice, and destroy the idolatry of guns, power, and greed. 
 
We have what it takes to demand sensible gun laws and to vote politicians out of office if they are unwilling to create those laws. We have what it takes to ensure every child has the chance to let their potential shine brightly. The same power that was given to Jesus himself has been give to us to transform a dark world into the loving light of God. But what good is that power if we only keep it to ourselves?
 
We can no longer stay silent, fearing the dark shadows. We must stand up and act out by shining the light of Christ on the real evils that are infecting our communities, our country, and this world.

If Easter has taught us anything, it’s that the night may rage for a time, but it will always succumb to the light. As it is written, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
 
During our time of suffering and pain, we are not alone. We have each other. And we always have the indwelling love of God with us. Whatever darkness you’re experiencing right now, I invite you to hold onto the truth that God is love, and such love is eternal. Just as love comes from God, so too does it return to God. When we die, we will lose everything that life gave us except for the gift of love.
 
The million dollar question is how will you use that gift of love today? How will you shine Christ’s light so brightly that people will be drawn to its warmth?
 
If you believe gun violence is a mental health issue, then what will you do to make sure that people receive the health care they need. If you are tired and worn out from living in fear of gun violence, then what are you going to do to put an end to it? If you think the life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is important for us as a nation, then what will you do to ensure that every life gets a chance to experience it fully?
 
Jesus says, “See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me to repay according to everyone’s work.” What we do today, matters. In this sacred space of Anamesa, we must always remember that our actions, like Jesus’ own name, will echo throughout all time and space.
 
There is an eternity behind us. And an eternity ahead of us. But it’s here, in this moment, we expose the darkness for what it is by shining the light of Christ, our morning star, so that all of God’s children can live to see another day.
 
 

Inspired by a message by Bryan Chapell from The Hardest Sermons You'll Ever Have to Preach: Help from Trusted Preachers for Tragic Times. Zondervan. Kindle Edition, 2011.

If you have been a part of our church movement, then you know I talk about love ad nauseum. The reason behind it is simple. The world needs more love.  We’ve tried the way of hatred and it has failed us. Maybe it’s time we try something different. So, until love becomes as natural to us as breathing, I’m going to continue to preach about it every chance I get.
 
We started this church on the founding principle of loving God, loving others, and serving both. This is not an original idea. In fact, some 50 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Apostle John wrote these words.
READ John 14:22-27 here
 
This passage is part of Jesus’ famous farewell discourse. A tough talk our Lord has with his Apostles to prepare them for what was to come.  He prepares them for the future by telling them to be mindful of the present. The way they do that is by keeping his words. If they continue to live into his teachings, Jesus assures them that God’s Spirit will always be with them.  And wherever God is, so too is peace.
 
Historians believe this gospel was written sometime between the 80’s-early 90’s of the first century. A time when house churches like ours were popping up all over the Roman Empire. As Jewish Christians were being evicted from their synagogues, the fledgling movement had to find ways to define themselves, while defending themselves from abuse and attack.  Jesus knew the best line of defense would be to stand firm in what he had taught them.
 
What was true way back then, is still true for us today. Empires still exist. People still attack one another in the name of religion. Hatred is still a thing. And the call to love is still our calling.
 
Jesus knows that even if the world no longer sees him in the flesh, they will see us making his love visible as we live out his words in that space between us and them. And according to John, this means keeping his commandments; washing one another’s feet; loving and serving one another.
 
Sallie McFague describes the Christian community as “midwives of divinity.” By making the words of Christ our own we are able to give birth to God’s love wherever we are. But here’s the thing. We can’t truly love God unless we love God’s world and all that is in it. The two go hand in hand.
 
With all the hatred and vitriol infecting our daily lives, it seems we’ve lost this sense of love, at least for our fellow human beings. When these first church communities came into being, love was thought of as “the giving of the self.” Today, it seems too be the opposite. We’re more focused on what we can get instead of what we can give. Jesus makes it very clear that love is the rule for living with God, and the best way to do that …is to live out his words - giving ourselves to one another.

Like I said, Anamesa was founded on the principle to love God, love others, and serve both. To achieve this, we will need the constant presence of God in our midst.

Let us not forget that the same Spirit of God that was given to Jesus himself is also given to us so that we can make God’s love visible just like he did. 

Love is Anamesa. Love is how we fill the space between us and them.
 
Love must be the Spirit by which all that we do is done. Love must be the priority of anyone who claims the name of Christ. 

Love is the power that can transform hatred, because wherever there is love, there is God’s healing presence.
 
Michael Curry describes love as “an action, with force and follow-through…it’s the only thing that has ever changed the world for the better.” Then there was Martin Luther King who said, “I have decided to stick with love because hatred is too great a burden to bear.”
 
If you need to remember anything from today, may it be this: choose love.
 
It is extraordinary power that propels us towards doing the work of Christ in the world. We’ve tried hate and it has failed us. Christ showed us, love wins.

If we want to see change in our world, then we must make love the epicenter of life because in the absence of a physically present Christ, it’s still the best way for others to experience and feel the indwelling presence of God’s grace in the flesh.
​
We are all living in a war zone where hatred, violence, greed, and selfishness breed nothing more than pain and suffering, mass shootings, and the suppression of minorities. In recent years we have seen a rise of racism, nationalism, and xenophobia. People are hurting and hating others because where they’re from or who they love. 
 
Hatred has failed us. It’s time we do something new. It’s time to embrace Jesus’ love ethic. He taught us, by showing us, what complete love is all about – compassion, kindness, and infinite patience. Wherever we show these things, we know that Jesus is there too. Because those who keep his word, He and the Father, “will come to them and makes a home in them.”

Standing before a crowd of prisoners Johnny Cash said, “All your life, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate. I choose love.” We are standing at a crossroad and must decide which way to go.

Will it be the way of Jesus? Or the way of the world? Will we embrace what Jesus taught and make a positive change in our communities? Or will we convince ourselves that Jesus didn’t really mean what he said.
 
The church has enough hypocrites who say they “keep Jesus’ words” and yet their actions say otherwise. But I think Jesus would agree with me when I say you can’t stand for love, if you continue to support laws and industries that make money off hatred, fear, and violence.

Just as our Lord always put inclusion, justice, kindness, and mercy above his own needs, so to must we do the same for each other – especially for those who have nothing to give in return.
 
It’s in that space between us and them, we can hear Jesus say, “They will know you belong to me by the way you love one another.”
 
The world is looking for Christ.  Who among us will bring him into being? Canadian poet Rupi Kaur wrote, “To hate is an easy, lazy thing. But to love takes strength everyone has but not all are willing to practice.”
 
Who among us is willing to take that risk of being hated and rejected by standing in Christlike love? Who among us is willing to leave the center and go to the margins, to be the visible presence of God to those who are suffering and mourning?

We all have the strength to love. But who among us has the faith to act?
 
This can be a difficult and scary decision. But let us not forget what our Lord said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

Instead let us live in this moment, holding fast the Word of God who has come to us in the flesh, and make this space between a place where God’s heart is open to anyone who wishes to enter.



​
Work Cited
​Bartlett, David L. and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting On The Word, Year C , Vol. 2. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009.
Curry, Michael. Love Is The Way: Holding on to hope in troubled times. New York: Avery/Random House, 2020.

Another gentle reminder from the great Henri Nouwen:

“Listen to the Voice of Gentle Love”

“Listen to your heart. It’s there that Jesus speaks most intimately to you. Praying is first and foremost listening to Jesus who dwells in the very depths of your heart. He doesn’t shout. He doesn’t thrust himself upon you. His voice is an unassuming voice, very nearly a whisper, the voice of a gentle love.

​“Whatever you do with your life, go on listening to the voice of Jesus in your heart. This listening must be an active and very attentive listening, for in our restless and noisy world God’s so loving voice is easily drowned out. You need to set aside some time every day for this active listening to God if only for ten minutes. Ten minutes each day for Jesus alone can bring about a radical change in your life.

“You’ll find it isn’t easy to be still for ten minutes at a time. You’ll discover straightaway that many other voices, voices that are very noisy and distracting, voices that do not come from God, demand your attention. But if you stick to your daily prayer time, then slowly but surely you’ll come to hear the gentle voice of love and will long more and more to listen to it.”

If I were to ask you to describe what heaven looks like, what would you say? Streets of gold? Ornate mansions? Everyone wearing white robes? My mother-in-law told me she believes heaven is an endless seafood buffet. But John makes it very clear that the sea is no longer.

Of course, Revelations is a book full of symbolism. You might recall me saying that the sea, or water, in ancient Hebrew texts is symbolic of chaos. So, according to John we can say good-bye to chaos, and suffering and pain. God is moving in making a home among us.
 
This should be good news. But I think too many Christians have kept heaven at a distance. A place we go to when we die.  I’m not suggesting this is wrong. But if our focus is only on “going to heaven,” then there’s a good chance we might overlook the fact that heaven has already come to us.
 
If we are to believe the bible, then through the incarnate Christ, God has already come to us to usher in the kingdom of heaven. The way I see it, heaven is anywhere and everywhere God is.

​Like I said, I believe God is here, propelling us forward in this sacred space called life. So, while it’s good to keep our eyes focused on what is to come, it should not blind us to what’s going on right now.
 
If you want to see heaven, then all you have to do is open your eyes and see God in your midst. But don’t just take my word for it. Sitting on the throne of God’s glory and grace, the Holy One declares, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” It’s between these two marks of time, God comes to us to dwell among us.
 
It is here, in the middle of the story, between the beginning and the end of our life, we’re called to live into our Christlikeness, our own incarnate goodness. We are called to live this way not because we are afraid of missing out on some great party in the afterlife, but so that God’s glory can shine through us right here, right now, in Anamesa.
 
There is a lot of hurt still happening, a lot of pain and suffering. There are a lot of people who are blind to their own goodness muchless the greatness of God. As followers of Christ, we are to give God glory by being the glory of God in all that we do if only so that others can see God in their midst and do the same.
 
Thus, we must always be mindful to the world around us, and our actions and reactions within it. Wouldn’t you know it, the Bible gives us some direction on how to do just that. The prophet Micah writes, “O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
 
Isn’t that what Jesus was all about? Isn’t he the poster child of justice, kindness, and humility? The gospels are filled with stories that support this claim.

watch the message here.

In Matthew 8, a leper approaches Jesus to be healed of his affliction. Because of God’s own law, this man has lost his family and friends, his job, and even his community. He’s been sent away to die alone, all because of his disease.
 
What we might think this is an archaic law, but it’s no different than how we treated people with different skin color, or who were inflicted with HIV? It’s what we continue to do with people with COVID. It’s been said, “A man is called selfish not for pursuing his own good, but for neglecting his neighbor’s.”  
 
This weekend, there was another mass shooting which, according to the reports, was racially motivated. What unjust laws do we still protect that cause others harm? What unfair practices do we support that keep our neighbor from being made well?
 
Many preachers like to say, “What would Jesus do?” But I think it’s more important to ask, “What would I do to Jesus?”
 
What would I do to stop Jesus from becoming a victim of gun violence? Would I be willing to wear a mask or get vaccinated if I knew I could potentially infect our Lord? God has come to us, to live among us. Shouldn’t this say something to the way we “love thy neighbor?”
 
Also in Matthew’s gospel, the only judgement Jesus speaks of is based on what we do or do not do to the least of these. In other words, in the space between the Alpha and Omega, what we do matters.

As Jesus’ own life exemplified, there’s nothing more important in human life than to love and be kind to others. Like Mark Twain mused, “Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
 
The leper approaches Jesus and says, “Lord if you choose, you can make me clean.” Jesus looks upon this man, sees what injustice has done to him, and simply says, “I do choose.” Jesus saw the leper through the lens of loving kindness which made him move with compassion to heal the man.
 
Although God’s own law states no one could touch a leper, Jesus placed kindness and mercy above the law.  Shouldn’t we do the same? Isn’t our goal to be more like Jesus who humbled himself by putting this man’s needs before his own.
 
Jesus didn’t help the man for his own selfish ambitions, or so the leper would praise and worship him. Jesus did it so God’s glory could be seen and felt in the flesh.

We are given this moment to act with loving kindness so that God’s presence can be seen and felt in our hurting world. Where there is war, division, hatred, bigotry, racism, injustice, and greed Jesus invites us to live an incarnate life like the Holy One who is “making all things new.”
 
Just as heaven descends to earth, we are called to ascend beyond our own humanity to bear witness to the divine image upon which we were created.

To quote Jared Stacy, “The church is at its best when it offers the world a preview of God's future instead of longing for return to some mythic past.”
 
Between the Alpha and Omega, we are called to live like little Christs in the world where God is moving us forward with justice, kindness and humility. Here, in the corridors between heaven and earth, God’s love is made known to us, in us, and through us. But it’s up to us to let that love transcend beyond ourselves.
 
As you think about what this means to you, and what God is asking of you, let me remind you that this present moment is the only time that you own. This second is our only certain possession. Someone once described it like this, “Yesterday is a canceled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. But today is cash in hand.” Spend it as if you are betting it all on God who gave all, to redeem and restore all.
 
Like the Apostle Paul wrote to the churches in Philippi, “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil.3:13-14). 

As we set our sights forward towards a better heaven that is to come, we must not ignore our own heavenly call – to love God, love others, and serve both.
 
I hope that you will enter the next moment of time with the intention of loving one another as if you are giving your whole heart to the Holy One who gave everything on a cross for us.
 
If I have learned anything in my lifetime, it’s that the best way we can worship and glorify God isn’t by going to church. But by going out into the world as the church; the visible, tangible body of Christ himself. 
 
We are not a building, a brand, or a program. We are God’s children, created from God’s great love, to be a living sacrament to the Holy One who makes all things new.
 
 
WORK CITED
Bartlett, David L. and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting On The Word, Year C , Vol. 2. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009.
Inspired by Henri Nouwen’s quote: “Just as a whole world of beauty can be discovered in one flower, so the great grace of God can be tasted in one small moment.”