One thing that people share
regardless of political affiliation, religion, or age is the belief that world
is not as it should be, or could be.
We all have some sense that things
are not going well.
There is too much violence, hatred,
vitriol, and poverty.
I hear it a lot from people in my
congregation regardless of who they are.
They will say, " I can't believe
that this thing is happening, or that things is going on in the world."
I want to tell you this morning that
this is nothing new.
My mother reminds me all the time
that we have always had a world not as it should be.
We might have thought that things
used to be better, but they were never as good as we remember.
Our Gospel for this morning takes
place as the disciples are returning from being sent out by Jesus into the
world.
Right after that we are told the
story of how Herod had John the Baptist killed by cutting off his head.
That is the world that we are asked
to go out into.
A world where people have their heads
cut off, merely for speaking the truth.
All of this begs the question what
are we to do about such a world?
There are so many problems that seem
so overwhelming.
They seem to close in on us all the
time.
Jesus saw this need all the time in
his ministry, and now the disciples see it too.
What are we to do?
Twenty years ago this summer I had
the greatest job (besides being a pastor).
I was the CIT trainer here at Camp
Calumet.
A couple of summers after that I was
here visiting Calumet and I saw one of my CITs who was working on puddle that
summer.
I asked her, "What are you doing
to make the world a better place?"
She didn't miss a beat and replied,
"This."
At first I was taken a back, I didn't
think that was good enough.
She should be doing more.
Feeding the hungry, protesting war,
teaching underprivileged kids.
but then I realized that it was the
perfect answer.
This is what we do.
In this world that is never what it
should be we should be doing exactly what we are doing this morning.
Gathering together with Jesus,
praying, singing, and hearing that God loves us.
Because tomorrow we all have to get
back into the world.
We will have to confront again the
imperfections of ourselves and the world around us.
This is what the disciples did after
they got done being sent out by Jesus.
They gathered again with Jesus.
They told their stories of God's work
among them in the world.
This is what we have.
If you think it this not enough, that
there is something more sensational that we should be doing, you might be
right.
I want to share with you some stories
of what I think it looks like to gather
around Jesus in the midst of the world we face.
Liam is the grandson of two of the
most faithful members of Concordia Lutheran Church.
Bill and Gail Magan are the people in
our congregation that make sure once a month our congregation serves at the
soup kitchen, they have been doing it for over 25 years.
They are in worship every Sunday,
even if they go somewhere esle.
Liam is a transgender man.
I will not tell you all of Liam's
story, because he will be here on Tuesday morning to tell it to us over in the
conference center.
But Liam came to our church to tell
us his story.
Part of it is that Liam's parents
were not supportive of him.
And part of that came from them
telling him that God didn't want him to be a man.
Because of this Liam told us he had
trouble going to Church.
Liam has a powerful story, and after
he left I sent him a text.
"Thanks so much for being here
on Sunday.
Your story is inspirational and
important.
I don't know if this is helpful but I
wanted you to know that God loves you for you."
Liam replied, "That actually
means a lot to have you say that!
I was glad to share my story and it
was one of the first times I've felt welcomed in a church in a long time."
What are we doing to make the world a
better place?
This is what we are doing.
We are reminding people that
regardless of who or what they are, God loves them.
This is what we do as Church.
This is what this is all about.
It is a powerful and transformative
message.
It is not liberal or conservative it
is Gospel.
A couple of times a month in front of
the Federal Norris Cotton building in Manchester NH people of faith gather.
We gather there because that is where
the office of ICE is.
We gather to support those people who
are there to check in.
They might that very day be separated
from their family.
They might be sent to Dover to live
in a cell.
They might be sent on an airplane
back to a country they haven't lived in for 20 years.
When we gather at the building we
sing songs, pray, share stories.
And then we walk around the building
seven times.
The walk is based upon the story in
the Bible when the people of Israel walk around the walls of Jericho.
We have been told by more than one
person that our being there for them is a great comfort.
We have been doing it for more than a
year, in rain, snow, sun, heat, and cold.
We are not there to protest, we are
there as a spiritual symbol to remind the people checking in that in God's eyes
no person is illegal.
That God's love is for them in this
difficult time.
This is what we do in these times.
We gather, we sing, we pray, we
march.
And I will tell you that on more than
one occasion I have thought this is silly.
This isn't doing anything.
But as people of faith this is what
we have.
We have God's love and we have it to
share with others.
It is not about conservative or
liberal it is about God's love for all people.
It is for people that are hurting and
need others to show up for them.
This is what we do in these times.
In all times this is what we do.
This is what we are doing this
morning.
We are gathering together and singing
songs about God's love, and reminding each other that we are not alone.
We are sharing our stories of what
God has done for us, and for other people.
We are together around Jesus Christ.
It doesn't seem like much, it might
not be enough to combat all the evil in the world.
It will not solve all the problems of
the crowds that are coming at us with all their needs.
But this is what we have to offer.
This is different than anything else
that the world can offer.
We are not giving some grand
political solution, those are always dangerous.
We don't offer you utopia, or
perfection.
We are giving the world only what we
ourselves have been given.
God's love.
Unconditional not based on what country
we are from, what language we speak, who we love, what our gender is, or who we
vote for.
It often doesn't seem like much, but
to people like Liam and the people who have to show up to ICE it changes
everything.
So what are going to do to make the world
a better place?
Hopefully you will do this.
Amen
