Readings:  Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:1-21                                                  

We began Lent with a sermon series called “Hope and Resurrection” that will look at various ways our Lenten journey moves us through the wilderness of life towards the hope of the Good Friday cross and the Easter resurrection. 

Lent is often a time of self-reflection and a time to acknowledge our wrongdoings. It is also a time to focus on the strengths God has given us to understand and overcome our weaknesses we've put upon ourselves. Over the centuries, this kind of introspective reflection has lead many to repentance and then to baptism, a ritual that was originally observed only on Easter. 

Today B. and K. began their Lenten journey with baptism, much like Jesus did when he was lead out into the wilderness for 40 days...to fast and prepare his ministry. Both mother and son have been on a long, spiritual journey of their own; confronting some pretty tough challenges along the way. 


As we take inventory of our own lives, we too will learn that Lent is a time to be challenged...To push ourselves to mature spiritually, and heal from our brokenness.  I'd like to direct your attention to the special pitcher I used at the font. My beautiful wife Kathleen gave it to me for Christmas this year. It is also a perfect example of an ancient art form called Kintsugi. 

In Japanese the word  “Kintsugi,” literally means “golden joinery.” It’s a particular art form where the artist repairs broken pottery with a special lacquer that had been mixed with gold. The result is a new object that is more beautiful for having been repaired. There is wonderful history behind this technique, but the one thing I’d like to point out is this: We are broken people. We are the broken vessels. Many of us might think we are no better than trash...But God is the artist who sees our worth and gives us Christ Jesus...the gold that bonds us back together. In the end, we are worth more and are more beautiful simply because of our golden cracks.

In his book A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemmingway writes, “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”  Such a strong statement to come from a man whose strength would become his crippling weakness. Hemmingway’s suicide is a real reminder that life is hard. And it’s darn near impossible to get through it without suffering a few cracks along the way. The children of Israel would discover this time and time again. 

After Moses led the people out of slavery in Egypt, they would wander in the wilderness for 40 years. Day after day they would trample around the grassy plains...not really sure where God was leading them. But when they got thirsty, God gave them water. When they were hungry God gave them manna, a substance which literally means “What is this?” I imagine eating the same thing every day gets old quick. No wonder they began to grumble. 

Having been thrusted into a new world God's people begin to crack, they break down. They have trouble understanding this new way of life. There are new rules and new ways to worship God who seems to be marching them to their death. They can't take much more. Living with uncertainty is too much for them. And the manna seems to be the breaking point. It doesn’t take long for them to demand to go back to the way it used to be. They’d rather be enslaved in Egypt than live in the freedom that God gives. That’s crazy, right? 

Remember that for the last 430 years slavery is all they knew. And this wasn’t easy work either. For 430 years they made bricks...seven days a week, 365 days a year, brick after brick. Every day they had impossible quotas to fill...if they did not make it they would be severely beaten. God heard their cries and rescued them from their pain and suffering. And yet this is what they would rather go back to?

How many of us would do the same thing? Who would rather face the devil you know than face the unknown? We humans don’t like being in the wilderness. It makes us uncomfortable. We like things in their proper place. We like to know where we're supposed to go and what we're supposed to do. We don't thrive in ambiguity. And we certainly don’t like it when life is hard and breaks us. Our heart yearns for the good old days and we get nostalgic...which blinds us from seeing the hope for a better future.

When things don’t go as expected, it doesn't surprise me that God gets an earful. That's just how we treat the one who gives and gives and gives. But when their whining and complaining gets to be too much, God sends a pack of poisonous snakes to teach them a lesson or two. The people beg Moses to intercede and ask God for mercy. Moses does, and God gives in. And this is when it really gets strange...God tells Moses to build a bronze snake and lift high on a pole. God then says anyone who looks at it will be cured, ...even those who are dead will come back to life. The people faithfully obey, and all is well for the time being. There will be more complaints and grumblings, but for now it's a happy ending.

The hardships of the wilderness will crack and break us, But let us never lose sight that God always has a way of healing and making us new again. I find it interesting that the logo for the American Medical Association is similar to the image in this story. It is a great reminder that sometimes our flesh and bones have to be ripped open or broken before we can be made right again. Life breaks us but then it makes us stronger.

Out there in the wilderness we see the echoes of the larger story of salvation. Like the bronze snake, Jesus too will be lifted up. And all who fix their eyes upon Christ will be healed and renewed. Through Christ's resurrection we live in the hope that we too will be raised from the dead, and live forever in God’s glory. Therefore Lent is a time to reflect on our own wilderness journey, and as Jesus pointed out to Nicodemus...to experience a spiritual rebirth. Lent is a time to look at our complaints and fears, and bring them to the cross of Christ. 

For me, the season of Lent is most meaningful, because in our fasting we must faithfully rely on God’s strengthening bond. This is a time I wrestle with the hard things of life that break me down... a time I walk faithfully with Jesus and expose my inner darkness in his glorious light.  What is it for you?

Our Lenten journeys always move us to Good Friday where we all will bear the sadness of the cross. It is here, where pain and love mingle together like broken ceramic and gold. It is at the cross we lift up our eyes to the hope of Easter morning, where all of life is reborn.

There is truth to Hemmingway’s point. The path to our redemption is coated in pain and suffering. What we learn from this morning's text is that...the cure for the snake is a snake. The cure for cure for death is death. The cure for all of human life is one man’s life. Let us never lose sight that through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are healed and renewed. Being broken is an unavoidable part of living in the wilderness of life. But through Christ Jesus, our golden scars become a new story with a new history. 

Because of his sacrifice, we become something more beautiful, and more valuable. The goal is not to hide our scars or pretend that our broken places never existed. The goal is to wear them proudly knowing each scar is a testimony of God's divine grace at work in our lives. 

Because of the cross, the bond between creation and our creator becomes not only stronger but more valuable because of the break itself. And the broken pieces that society would rather throw away...now gets a whole new life. 

Amen.


(Bartlett, David L.; Barbara Brown Taylor, Kimberly Long; ed. Feasting on the Word, Lenten Companion. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville. 2014.)

I remember the first time I thought about giving up something for Lent. It was in Hollywood. I was sitting outside around the community table at our apartment complex. As a few of us were kicking around ideas, someone sarcastically suggested for me to give up church.  Not to be outdone, I jokingly replied, “Maybe I’ll give up the Ten Commandments instead.”  Because of this silly conversation, I began to see Lent differently.

Of course I didn’t give up all Ten Commandments, instead I chose one: Thou shalt not kill. After all, even I could go 40 days without killing someone (and trust me, it’s not as easy as you might think.). Because I knew I was not going to actually kill someone physically per se, I up’d the challenge to include killing people’s dreams, wishes, ideas, hopes, joys, opinions, life and or fashion choices, and so on.

On Ash Wednesday I headed off to church to receive my ashes. With a smudgy black cross on my forehead the world could rest assure that they were safe around me. But by lunch I had already failed. I had killed…not once, but twice.
For the next 40 days I would fight the urge not to kill. And every day I would fail. My mind, my mouth, my heart were all guilty of crushing and annihilating everyone around me.  What made it worse was it seemed like second nature. I was doing it without really thinking about it. Who knew a subconscious could be so evil and dangerous? 

Had it not been for the fast I am not sure I would have recognized my negative behavior. Because of my failure to keep my Lenten promise, I began to notice I was also succeeding at seeing the error of my way. By the end of Lent, I was catching myself in the act and seeking new ways to reverse my actions.  

In short, I was turning my failure into spiritual growth by focusing on not what I was doing wrong, but on what I could do to make it right. Every year since that strange experiment began I fast from something by feasting on the opposite, i.e. fast from judgment and feast on acceptance (which by the way was harder than not killing.).

By taking a different direction I discovered a new joy for Lent. It became a fun way to work towards being more Christlike. By failing at my fast, I am able to better understand where my shortcomings are, and discover new ways to overcome them. By setting the bar so ridiculously high, I now rely more on God than myself. 

Before Jesus began his ministry, the Spirit led him out to the wilderness where he fasted for 40 days and nights from food but feasted on Scripture (c.f. Matthew 4:1-11). As a result Jesus overcame the Tempter and walked righteous with God. 

This is just one reason why I would encourage you to try a “Fast Feast” for Lent.  Instead of sacrificing chocolate or beer (or both) for 40 days, build up your spiritual muscles by fasting from something negative and feasting on something positive. It’s not as hard as you might think, because the more you fail the more you succeed!
 
Prayer for Lent:

Blessed Lord God, help me to see this season of Lent as a time of spiritual renewal, rather than a time of deprivation. Motivate me to reach a new level of experiencing your grace. Through Jesus Christ, Amen.

"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary."
Galatians 6:9 NASB


If only we could love one another with steadfast love and mercy, forgiveness and joy, then what more would need to be done?  Just a thought, a hope, a wish, and a dream. Let's make it a reality together.

Fifth Sunday After The Epiphany                                    
Reading:  Isaiah 40:25-31; Mark 1:29-34

The last few weeks we’ve looked at our faith through the lens of six different call stories. This week, as we move towards Lent, I’d like to shift our focus onto Jesus’ ministry so we can begin to better understand our own call as mutual ministers of this church. 

You might have noticed that today's gospel message comes on the tails of last week’s where, Jesus is in the synagogue teaching and casting out evil spirits. The people there were amazed. They had never seen or heard anything like him before. In fact, the only one who recognizes his divine authority is the unclean spirit who calls him the “Holy One of  God.”

In Mark's gospel, Jesus begins his ministry saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” So it should be of no surprise that the first step to becoming a follower of Christ is invite Christ into your life and let him cast out all the unclean spirits within you. But then what? What are we to do next? Well Mark gives us all the clues we need to answer that question.

Again, the story immediately moves from the public worship space of the synagogue into a private, much more intimate space of Simon’s home.  Look at what Mark writes, “And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her.” 

Notice the multiple use of the word "immediately." Immediately he leaves the Temple, and immediately they tell him about her. With his disciples in tow, Jesus hits the ground running. He has come with a purpose. Perhaps there is urgency to his mission because he knows his time with us is limited. Or perhaps Jesus, who is always faithful to God, simply acts as God does. We also begin to see those who follow him will react just the same.   

When God acts, it is Immediate. As soon as the words are out of God's mouth, it instantly is real. So when God says let there be light, there was light. God said, let the land divide the waters, and it was so. (Remember John tells us Jesus is the word of God.) So when we ask Jesus for God's mercy and forgiveness, we do not have to wait around for a decision to be made. What's the old saying? "God does not form committees, sinners do." As soon as God speaks it, it is so. God’s grace works instantaneously. Even though it might not always seem that way.

One of my favorite Simpson’s episodes is when Moe transforms his dank, smelly bar into a family friendly restaurant. Homer isn’t too sure about this. He likes his bar just the way it's always been. As part of the remodel Moe purchases a gigantic deep-fat fryer from the Navy. He informs Homer that it can fry anything in only 30 seconds to which Homer cries, “30 seconds, but I want now!

In our culture that wants everything instantly, it might seem like God doesn’t act so quickly. And I get that because I am a bit like Homer Simpson (and not because of my hair...or my belly!). I like things to happen in my time. I Google a lot because I like instant results. Yet I have to constantly remind myself I don't live in my time. I live in God's. And God’s time has no beginning or end. The only place to be with God is in the now; right now in this present moment. God is here. Because God has always been here. God is immediate because God is always present. So the question then is, “Are we always present with God?”  

In "our time" it might seem like God is making us wait, but when we understand that we live in God's time then perhaps it is our faith, or lack there of, that is dragging its feet.  To faithfully follow Jesus means  we must constantly live in the immediate presence of God. For it is here our faith finds its strength. God is Immediate.

Now inside the house, “Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And Jesus came and took her by the hand and lifted her up.” There is someone in the house who truly believes Jesus can heal this woman. We don’t know who it is, only that he or she is also in a hurry. Perhaps there is reason for us to worry. We know that fever can be a life or death situation.

We also know  when Jesus touches the woman... she is healed. This simple gesture is a wonderful example of how God is intimate with us. Through Jesus' action, we see how God is with us even in our most private places; for there is no place God won’t go to be with us. God is not only immediate, but God is also intimate. God is intimate because God is always present. And God is present because God loves us and longs to be with us. 

It saddens me to think that this wonderful characteristic of God is often overlooked. Too often God is portrayed as an angry, distant supreme being that has no use for humans beyond smiting us with plagues, droughts, and fireballs from the sky. There are many Christians whose personal actions perpetuate this stereotype.

For example, do you remember those guys who would picket the funerals of fallen soldiers? They held signs that read, “God Hates (blank).” I say blank because they use derogatory words to describe particular types of human beings they disagree with. Still those words are not as bad the first two on their signs...“God Hates” This is derogatory to God. The God I know personally. The God I love. The way I see it there is no sin that could ever be  greater than God’s covenant love for all human beings. Who are we to put limits on God? And who are we to claim his love exclusively as our own? God’s love is endless...and limitless.  This is the kind of intimacy we are to focus our faith on. 

Jesus remained faithful to God’s call for love. In fact, he upholds the highest level of love known to us when he willing gave over his life for the wellbeing of others. God enters into our life with intimacy. With just a simple touch of human contact we see how God’s grace and mercy heals all wounds. We possess God's healing power because God is within us. A gentle touch of kindness can go a long way heal our wounds and scars. 

When God gives grace, it’s immediate. When God gives love, it is intimate.  And when God sent down his Son to be with us, God initiates the first step in our healing and restoration. God is immediate. God is intimate. And God initiates.

So how do we respond to God’s plan for us? As mutual ministers what are we called to do? Mark gives us yet another wonderful clue. Just after Jesus heals the woman notice what she does. She gets up and begins to serve them. She doesn’t let another second of her life go to waste. Instead she immediately gets up and goes to work, serving others in the most basic yet intimate way she knows how...through hospitality. 

Notice also no one tells to do this. No one demanded to be fed. She initiates this action on her own accord. Instead of falling to her knees and worshiping Jesus like we might expect ourselves to do...she shows her gratitude by doing what Jesus has called us all to do. To serve others. This nameless woman is the first to recognize that "service" is the key to both the call and pursuit of Jesus.  To live faithfully in the presence of God means we too are called to give unselfishly of ourselves. Many of us do this very well.

Here is how Mark is laying out a workable template for our mutual ministry... We begin to see it means more than just simply gathering for worship in our church. It also means we are called to welcome Christ into our homes. We are called to intercede for the sick and weak. And we are called to serve others without expecting to be served by them in return.

It is this insightful woman who understands Jesus' radical new ministry. She gets it when all the others don’t. She is the one who gets up and begins to fill glasses with wine, and puts out plates of cheese and bread on the table; she set out bowls filled with olives and dates, humus and tabouli. She immediately initiates her part in Jesus' ministry. What she does...might not sound like a big deal, but have you ever tried to make tabouli?

It would be a mistake to write off her service as menial or as woman’s work. She realized God gave her a new lease on life...And she showed her gratitude by transforming her kitchen into a new kind of worship space. Her table becomes the Altar where God is truly present. And on that altar she sacrifices the best foods to him. The house fills up with pleasant aromas that rise up towards heaven. It is here in this new sanctuary where people gather together to break bread...as a new kind of family. Because she took the initiative and immediately set her faith to work the intimacy shared around her table...and this meal will follow Jesus throughout his ministry. And after his resurrection, the home itself would become the first Church as we know it today.  

As I was preparing this message, I feared it might fall on deaf ears because this is something most of you already get ...and are doing. (And don’t stop.) I can’t tell you how blessed I am to be a part of a church that gives so unselfishly of their time and talent and resources. The parsonage is just one amazing example. The deacon’s discretionary fund is another. There is the playground, the choir and joy bells, the overhead slides. There are so many who volunteer to make sure the building is maintained and our children are safely cared for. From the Boy Scouts to the Secret Sisters of Christ, the ministries of this church is impressively long. But what is more impressive is you do it, not for your glory, but for God’s. Imagine a world made up of this kind of spirit. 

Sometimes we forget the simple joy of hospitality. Sometimes it feels like a burden. Sometimes we just want to sit there and be served. And that’s okay. We all have days when we need to be cared for too. But what Mark is showing us is God is active in our lives, and God has called us to be active too.  

If we are to faithfully follow Jesus’ radical and selfless ministry, then we must also follow the example first given to us by this impressive woman, who quite possibly is the first Christian, and the first Deacon to be recorded in church history. For it is her selfless service that helps us understand what it means to stand in the presence of God as a part of this new family in Christ.  

And the most amazing thing is...we don't even know her name.

I really loved how this article comes alive.
Wedding Guest in Jumpsuits gives us a fresh look at how the parable comes alive in prison. A great story told by Chris Hoke, a prison chaplain and a brave soul.

http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2015-01/wedding-guests-jumpsuits

Fourth Sunday After The Epiphany                                    
Readings:  Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Mark 1:21-28

In case you didn't know, today is Super Bowl Sunday. This is the day when one of the most epic battles of the year will take place. I’m not talking about the one between Seattle and New England, I think we know who will win that one. I'm talking about the war between Mac vs. PC; BMW vs. Audi; Coke vs. Pepsi. Yes, today is the day that advertisers come out in full force. Companies will spend $4.5 million for a :30 second chance to grab your attention…and convince you to come over to their side. They will use sexy celebrities, pro athletes, pop stars and diva’s, in hopes that you will take notice.

Did you know that each year advertising research firms come up with a new matrix or methodology to calculate how well these ads did, to see if their investment paid off...but none of these test have ever proven more reliable as the profit earned at the cash register. As the legendary Adman David Ogilvy would say, "They either buy the product or they don’t."  It's that simple. 

As for us, we've spent the last couple of weeks looking at different ways God has called out to us. We too have done so by looking at a particular methodology and how it worked to call nearly every biblical legend. That is to say, first they discover it is God who was calling; then they Decide on how to answer the call; lastly they took some kind of Action. Not as simple as deciding between McDonald’s or Burger King, but just the same we can either accept or reject God’s call. 

Today, we are going to switch it up, and look at a particular kind of calling, one where saying, “No thanks” is not an option. I’m talking about the calling of the prophets. This is prophets spelled p-r-o-ph-e-t  and not the kind found at cash registers. There is much to know about prophets. But since some of us have chicken wings and cheese dips to prepare, I'll just highlight a few of them. 

First of all, Prophets are not popular people. They are nothing like the Tom Brady’s or Russell Wilson’s of Biblical characters. I suspect they’re unpopular because they’re called to speak the words of God. Words that we don’t always want to hear because they make us face the truth about who we really are.  It’s also worth noting that prophets are not just unpopular, but often rejected and shunned. After all, being the moral and ethical agent for God is about as welcoming as...a telemarketer calling in the middle of the night. I can't imagine how much fun it is to hang out with someone who constantly holds up a mirror so we can see all the blemishes of our faith...in relation to what God wants of us. God chooses prophets. And it is through their words God calls us back into a covenant community through repentance.  Jesus was the perfect example of a prophetic call, and yet, look where it got him.  

In Mark’s gospel, Jesus stands in the Temple, preaching with great authority. He preached like nothing they ever had heard before. He spoke the truth so boldly and clearly, that people were not just shocked, but worried. Like the prophets who had come before him, Jesus openly exposed their sins, but also showed them God’s mercy and grace.  He gave clear directions on how to find redemption. In fact, Jesus was so good at proclaiming the Word of God that the people had no other choice but to repent...or to kill him. 

Let me ask you this: Who in your life has told you the truth so clearly that you would want to kill him for doing it?  Think about that for a second. Has there ever been a person in your life who has known you so well and spoken to you so truthfully that you’d do anything to keep that truth from exposing your sins?

Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “Jesus is not just the one who comforts, but the one who also challenges and upsets us, telling us the truth so clearly that we will do appalling things to make him shut up. If you do not believe that, maybe it is because you have not recognized Christ in some of the offensive people God has sent your way-people sent to yank our chains and upset our equilibrium so we do not confuse our own ideas of God with God.”

Prophets may not be popular, or always welcomed...but they are necessary if we are going to be faithful to God who continues to call out to us. This God is a God who gives us unconditional love so that we always have a place to come home to within God's covenant community. This is why Prophets are so important. They tells us what we need to know to keep our relationship with God faithful. 

When God spoke through the prophet Moses, we got not 10 but 613 commandments on how to live in community with one another. And when God spoke through Isaiah and Jeremiah, we received the hopeful promises of God's grace for our repentance. Humans are not very good at obeying commandments, or faithfully relying on the hope of God’s grace. God spoke directly through Jesus, the very Word of God made flesh. Instead of listening to God, we listen to the voices in the world, the voices that tell us not only what to buy, but how to become powerful on the backs of the powerless, the poor and the weak. God calls the prophets to set us straight. But how well do we listen?

As the children of Israel are about to enter into a new land, God promises them a prophet to replace Moses. This prophet will come from within the community, from one of “your own people.” Because of this we often have trouble seeing prophets who are "one of us." They are too much like you and me. They know too much about us. Jesus quickly discovered his own people could not see him for who he was; the promised Messiah that they had been praying for. Ironically, it was a demon, who called him out by name the Holy One of God.  

When Jesus walked and talked among his own kind, they didn’t like what they were hearing. When he ate and drank with the less fortunate and undeserving, his people didn't like what they saw. Jesus was saw them and exposed them for who they really were. He called them out, naming their sins in public. Many would repent. But others killed him.

I wonder how different we are today. Bob Marley once famously sang, “How long will they kill our prophets, while we stand around and look?  Some say it’s just a part of it, we’ve got to fulfill the book.” How many prophets have we sacrificed for our sins? Mahatma Gandhi. Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Jr. to name a few.

I can’t imagine in our politically correct society that we are any different than our Jewish ancestors. If Jesus were here today, would we even recognize him? Do you think we could hear him speaking to us among the political rhetoric? Better yet, could we see him among the millions of homeless people on our streets? Prophets may not be popular, but they are needed.

And so I ask, “Where are all our prophets today?” Where are the voices crying out in the wilderness of modern society? Where are all of those who are standing up for social justice and human rights? Where are those who not only speak the words of God, but also put their words to work? 

Where are those who answered the call to be the hearts and hands and voices of Christ among us? Are they on the streets of our inner cities standing up against gun and gang violence? Are they in our classrooms, and churches and synagogues and mosques speaking up on the dignity of difference? Are they behind bars and prison walls, offering redemption and forgiveness; handing out pardons for a new life in Christ? Are they feeding the hungry, giving clothes and shelter to the poor, or advocating peace and freedom for all? Are they in the art galleries, publishing houses, or public airwaves upsetting the status quo and exposing the world to God’s love for justice and mercy? Are they us? Are we them?

If we are called by God to proclaim the Word of God, then what are we saying? What are we doing to redeem the world back its creator? Are we proclaiming God’s words so truthfully and clearly that people would want to kill us? Who here is willing to answer such a call...to live as Christ has commanded us to live? Who is willing to put down their guns and poisonous pens, and sit at the table with their enemy, to share the blessing of our Lord God?

 

(move to communion table)