Go!

Who are we that God would pay attention to us?
The God who made the heavens, who fashioned the mountains and stars, who reigns from the heavens, cares about us.
It seems almost inconceivable.
That is what the psalmist wonders this morning.
“What are mere mortals that you should be mindful of them, human beings that you should care for them?”
Perhaps we have all had this moment in our lives.
When we are overcome with the mystery and wonder of God, and we question why God would care about us at all.

Perhaps what makes us special is that we are called to take part in God’s activity.
We are given a task.
In the psalm the task is to be stewards of the things that God has made.
To watch over the cattle, birds, and field.
In our Gospel this morning we are called to be even more than this.
We are called to “Go” and spread the Gospel.
We are called to teach others about the wonders of God, and to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
What makes God mindful of us is that we are called to participate in divine activity.

I was thinking a lot about Jesus words to us this morning.
I was thinking of what it means for us to Go.
I am not sure that all of us can be the apostle Paul who travels the known world to tell others about the Gospel.
We are not all called to be missionaries in South America.
For those of us who are not called to leave home and family what does it mean for us to Go?

Perhaps it simply means that where we are we should be open to the activity of God.
This week I got a couple of phone calls where people were asking for some things that were out of the ordinary.
In one case a woman who was going to Afghanistan wanted to come and plan her funeral.
In another case a family whose daughter wants to marry a man from Germany needed a place to get married in a hurry due to timing and immigration issues.
I was not physically traveling anywhere to fulfill these requests but I felt the message of this morning’s Gospel.
To Go is not just about the physically going to a place but about going to help where God is leading us.
There are plenty of opportunities we have in our lives to Go and help others.

All that is required of us is openness to what God is doing.
But maybe more than this is the realization that God does care about human beings.
That God is mindful of what we do and what others do.
And that God is still at work in our world today.
God is active in your life and God calls you to Go.

I learned early in my ministry to say the word, “yes” as often as possible.
I learned that to say yes to people opened the door to a whole new and exciting ways that God was at work.
For me to Go means to going and doing things in ministry that I never thought I would do.
For me to Go means to open up myself to the mystery that is God.

To Go means to tell others about God.
When we Go to do God’s work it is important to think about what we will say about God.
What will be the words we will use to express the God of the universe?
In early times in the Church they came up with complicated formulas to how one could and could not speak about God.
For good reason the early church worked out the doctrine of the Trinity.
I think that this doctrine still has important and significant things to teach us about God.
But I think that it is not the way we would explain God to others.
It is not the best ways to open up God to others.
Because even when doctrine is well reasoned and crafted it still cannot say enough about the mystery and wonder of God.
Consider that St. Augustine wrote fifteen books over the course of his lifetime to try and explain the Trinity.
Even at the end of all that work he did not find a satisfactory answer.
Why?
Because God really has to be found in mystery of life, not in the answers we think up in some book.
What made the Psalmist contemplate the heavens and the earth is the same dilemma we find ourselves in today.
How do we explain the mysterious ways of God?

In the satirical paper the Onion it was suggested that God was simply Bi-polar.
That this explains how God can save a man from cancer and then have him die in a tornado a couple of weeks later.
Of course, this is a joke.
But I think that it points out that once we try and explain everything the worse we get.
There are some things simply not meant to be explained, and even if everything was then what need we would have for faith.

The woman who came to see me about her funeral does not know what will happen in Afghanistan.
She asked me to make sure that her family would be comforted, to let them know that she was with God.
That is what faith is all about.
Not knowing the outcome we place our hands in the God who made us and cares about us.

The family who needed a wedding saw our congregation as the answer to their prayers.
Having been turned away from other denominations whose rules prevented them helping they found help here, because we were willing to say yes and trust in God for the rest.
This is what faith does for us is give us the perspective that God is involved in everything and God does care about us humans as little as we are.

Finally, I want this morning to mention all the Dad’s out there today.
I know that when my kids were born I was called to Go in a whole new way.
It was something that I was called to that I was not really equipped for and had no idea if I was going do well.
I have simply trusted that this is God’s work.
That being a Dad is a great privilege that I have been called to do.
That in my duties as father is included the teaching of my children about this God who really does care about them deeply.
It is my responsibility to be an example not of perfection (thank God) but of faithfulness.
Martin Luther thankfully found holiness in our mundane callings as parents.
He once said, “There is more rejoicing in heaven over the smell of a father changing a dirty diaper then all the incense in Rome.”
We are called by God to Go and teach and be Christ in our homes, workplace, and anywhere we find ourselves.
We don’t have to go to Africa to be a missionary we can be one right here.

Someone once told me a story about their congregation that back in the 1950’s fathers would drop off their wives and children at Church and then sit in the car smoking cigars and reading the papers.
When the pastor and lay leaders realized what was happening they decided that during Sunday school they would go out and invite those men to come into the church.
The practice of sitting in cars outside church stopped.
It may not seem like it was all nations but it was still a calling from God to go.
Go and invite others into the mystery of a life of faith.
Go and help others to see that the God of all things cares about them enough to not allow them to sit in their cars and ignore their own calling.

God is so mindful of us that he calls us to participate in being stewards of the word of God.
God is mindful of us and calls us to go and help others to say yes and to invite them into the mystery of faith.
So let us Go!
Amen

Confirmation Is Not Graduation From Church!

Today we get to witness something really special.
We get to see these four young people confirm the vows that their parents made at their baptism.
We get to be witnesses to the Holy Spirit descending like fire on each of these fine young people.
Some of you who are here today saw them be baptized.
Some of you were the ones who stood up and said that you would make sure that they got to this moment.
You said that they would learn the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s prayer, the Apostle’s Creed, that they would learn the Bible stories, and they would come and worship among God’s faithful people.
I know that the parents of these four young people took the promises they made very seriously.
We should congratulate them on getting their kids to this point.
Today I would like to talk about some of the things that might be said along the journey to this moment.
Here is what happens.
Somewhere between fifth grade and seventh grade church becomes boring.
Kids begin to find their own voice and begin to rebel against coming to church.
Most Sunday mornings becomes a battle between parents and their kids.
I can say this because this was how it was in my house growing up.
And parents being responsible say something like this, “You have to go to church until you are confirmed and then it is your choice.”
Let me say I don’t think this is the wrong thing to say.
The sentiment behind it is correct.
Parents made a promise to get their kids to this point.
This morning I want to say to Elena, Rene, Ben, and Ben that after today it is not your choice anymore.
This is your last chance to run for the door and to say “no”.
Because confirmation is not graduation from Church!
In fact: let me hear all of us say that together.
Confirmation is not graduation from church!

I have gotten to know these four young people over the last two years.
I want you all to know that they are extraordinary people.
God made them each unique and gifted.
As we heard St. Paul tell us this morning we are all “given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Each one of these young people has something special to add to the body of Christ.

Take Rene for example.
Rene cares about the world deeply.
He thinks about issues of justice.
He thinks about the people who are left out.
Rene supports causes like fair trade and gay rights.
He cares about the world.
That is a passion that we need in the body of Christ.

Take Ben Wirth for example.
Ben has energy.
He likes people and is passionate about the people he meets in the wider church.
Ben this year went to the synod assembly with me and he was so happy to build relationships with other people from other congregations.
Ben is extremely active and brings energy and life to everything he is involved in.
Isn’t that something that we need in our church?

Take Elena for example.
First of all Elena knows the Bible better than I do.
When we need a Bible verse Elena is right there with it.
She is dedicated and determined.
She wins the award for the best attendance, but more then this Elena brought her love of the God into everything she did.
Don’t we need that in the Body of Christ?

Take Ben Maurer for example.
Ben came here a year ago, but he managed to fit right in with everyone.
I was grateful for Ben because he was often the person doing exactly what he was suppose to be doing.
He was the calm amidst the storm.
He is steady and dependable.
Don’t we need that in our church?

Each one of the young people today picked a Bible verse to be their confirmation Bible Verse.
I have written them down.
I would like them to hold them and one parent to come forward.
Would the parent please read their child’s verse one at a time.

What was amazing about this process was that each young person picked a verse that I thought really suited them well.
It was a real Holy Spirit moment.
And today is a real Holy Spirit day.
It is filled with a rushing wind, fire, and a sense that anything with God is possible.
I hope that you all will remember your confirmation verse and carry it with you in your life.
That you will remember this day as the day when you felt the Holy Spirit and were blown away with the wonder and awesomeness of God.
I hope you will remember this day as a beginning in your faith journey.
Today is the beginning of you taking even more seriously your commitment to God.
Because confirmation is not graduation from Church!

Imagine if after having been given the Holy Spirit by Jesus the disciples stayed in that lock room.
Jesus died on a cross, rose from the dead, and gave his followers the power to go out and live as a child of God.
How can we waste such a precious gift?
The truth is that all of us everyday affirm our baptism.
Every day we go out into the world and live as disciples of Jesus we are saying to the world were our priorities are.
Because all of you who were confirmed years ago that was not graduation from Church for you either.
It was just the start of something even greater.

I want to say one more thing this morning.
After the Holy Spirit comes over the crowd on that first Pentecost Peter gives a sermon and he uses as his texts the prophet Joel.
He talks about how the young will see visions and the old will dream dreams.
He talks about sons and daughters prophesying.
In other words all the people gathered there were going to be needed to accomplish the work of the church.
Confirmation is not graduation from Church.
It is important for all of us to remember that.
Because I think that sometimes congregations expect that young people will simply go away after confirmation.
I don’t expect that at all.
I expect that these four young people will use those gifts and passions to grow the church.
I expect that they will change the church.
I think that we as members with them in the Body of Christ have to respect them.
We have to be willing to listen to what they say even when it is not what we think.
Our young people are prophesying to us all the time and often we don’t listen and simply dismiss is as foolishness.
The church has to be a place where we all come together for something greater then ourselves and that means listening to the next generation.
These young people need our support because they will not get it out in the world.
It is not like when I was a boy.
All my friends went to church.
That is not so anymore.
These young people are going to have a hard enough time trying to maintain their faith in a world that says that faith is for the foolish and the week.
We need to be there to tell them that this is there church to explore to prophesy, to see visions of the way the world can be.
And we old people can dream dreams with them of what God will and can do.
Confirmation is not graduation for us either.
We are not done with these young people.
We are excited to have them as our brothers and sisters in Christ as we are led by the Holy Spirit to do God’s work in the world.
Let us go forth led by the Holy Spirit to call on the name of the Lord so we might be saved.

Amen

We Are Not Orphaned!

This week I had some friends come over to hang out.
We were talking and having a good time.
We started to talk about the Trinity (It is normal in a pastor’s house to talk about the Trinity around the dining room table with friends) and almost at once all of them including my wife said that their favorite part of the Trinity was the Holy Spirit.
I was really surprised because Lutherans are notorious for not talking about the Holy Spirit.
And yet here were all these Lutherans saying that the Holy Spirit was their favorite.
When I asked my wife why she liked the Holy Spirit so much she said that it was because, “It is the easiest to see. We see it in action every day. We see it working in and through people.”
The more I thought about it the more I realized what a good point they were making.
The Holy Spirit is what we experience every time someone does something extraordinary in an ordinary situation.
It is what makes people believe in God even when all seems lost.
(Maybe it is what kept me believing that the Red Sox would get better this season.)
It is what helps us to do the right thing even when we would rather not.
It is what makes ordinary people express an extraordinary love.

My cousin this week on his Facebook page posted a video of an ABC show called, “What Would You Do”.


It was one of those shows were they put actors in a common place and then have them do something bad to see how people would react.
On this show they had two actresses play a lesbian couple with kids; go to Norma’s Café in Farmer’s Branch Texas.
Then they had an actress playing a waitress berate them for being gay and refuse to serve them.
One of the people in the restaurant pulls the waitress aside and says, “Do you know Jesus?”
Then he tells her not to judge just as Jesus would not judge.
When the waitress will not stop the man leaves the restaurant and then returns with a note to the two women that says:

Dear Friends,
I know it doesn’t mean much but I wanted you to know that I love you all.
You have a beautiful family and I pray that one person’s judgmental intolerance does not in any way put a damper on your hearts or minds.
In the words of MLK Jr. “In the end we remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.” -Donavan
The actresses were so touched they started to cry.

These are Moments when the Holy Spirit is at work.
The Holy Spirit is moving among and through us, keeping us close to the commandments that Jesus taught us.
The Holy Spirit helps us to act with compassion and love.
But the Holy Spirit does even more than this.
In the Gospel from John this morning Jesus is about to die, and he is trying to comfort the disciples who will have to go on without him.
So he tells them that he “will not leave them orphaned.”
That he will send the Holy Spirit to be with them.
The Holy Spirit is partially our reminder of the compassion that Jesus taught us.
The Holy Spirit is also our support in the midst of trouble.
And we need that because when trouble comes it often knocks us out of our comfort zones and makes us disoriented.

In Joplin Missouri we all saw the devastation of the tornadoes.
The town was devastated so much so that people in the town could no longer find their way around.
Without the landmarks of the doughnut shop, elks club, and thrift store people are having a hard time navigating around time.
For example Mr. Woolston who lived in Joplin his whole life.
This is what he says about finding his way around Joplin after the tornadoes, “Particularly at night, but also during the daytime, areas that you’ve gone through thousands of times — you just don’t recognize,”
“I have to stop and get my bearings to realize where I am at, simply because everything is just completely altered.”
This is how we often feel after a disaster in our lives.
We feel disorientated like the world doesn’t make sense anymore.
We feel that everything has been altered and we can’t seem to get our bearings.
Jesus knew that is how the disciples would feel during and after the crucifixion.
Jesus knew they would need support admits their struggles.
So Jesus told them that he would send the Spirit to come along side them in those struggles.
The Holy Spirit would remind them that they are not alone.
It would remind them what Jesus said and taught them.
It would give them strength in difficult times.
It would help them to keep their bearings so they could still navigate the world they lived in.

Today the Holy Spirit does the same for us.
When you are disorientated and don’t know the way anymore it is the Spirit that comes and puts you back on track.
When you are moved to stand up for someone else who is being torn down it is the Spirit that is there.
When you act out of love it is the Spirit moving you.

I see the Spirit moving all the time in this congregation.
I feel that the Spirit is supporting us in our mission to spread the love of Jesus Christ.
I feel that the Spirit is really moving and alive all the time.

For example, one of our member’s mom died two weeks ago.
I had talked to Kate at our annual Meatball dinner and she was sharing how bad her mom was doing at this point she didn’t know that her mom was dying.
The next morning before worship I was praying for Kate and something made me write her a letter that I intended to send to her that week.
It was a weird thing because I am not really a letter writer I just felt that Kate would need some words of encouragement during this difficult time.
Anyway, I put the letter on my desk intending to mail it on Monday.
After worship when Kate told me that her mom was dying and she was flying to see her that day I took out the letter from my desk and gave it to her.
I told her that the Holy Spirit must have been working because just that morning something told me that she might need some encouragement.

The Holy Spirit is working all the time.
Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit so we can remain close to him.
Jesus sends the Holy Spirit so we can be supported, and we can love one another.
Jesus knew that we would need this in our faith journey and sent it so we don’t feel orphaned.
Perhaps we should start talking about the Holy Spirit more.
We should share those moments when the Holy Spirit moves over and through us to know God is near.

People in our world today know the Holy Spirit real well.
In most studies about religion more and more people are saying that they are spiritual and not religious.
A recent study found that 18 percent of people 18-39 identified themselves as spiritual and not religious.
In 2008 just a couple of years ago only 11% said the same thing.
What they are expressing is exactly what we are talking about this morning.
That Jesus will not leave us orphaned.
Even if we are to reject the structure of the church Jesus still wants to know us to know him, and so the Holy Spirit is at work all the time in many people’s lives even outside the church.
What we offer here is to help people remember this very truth.
Look it is hard for the other six days of the week not to get disorientated,
It is hard to remember that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives.
We come together to remember that the Holy Spirit is there to support us and come along with us in our lives.

And so as we go back into our lives for the other six days of our week let us remember that Jesus did not leave us orphaned but gave us an advocate to be with us always and that helps us to get our bearings, helps us to love one another, and supports us when things seem hard.

Amen

Growing Into Our Salvation

This week was first communion for five young people in our congregation.

I have always loved the idea that we grow into our salvation.
I love the idea that salvation is something that has been given to us, but it is really too big an idea for us to grasp and understand fully.
Consider the idea that God’s Son who made the universe and the stars, who was mighty and power, gave all that up to become a mortal.
Not only that but a mortal human being who was killed in one of the most humiliating ways you can think of.
None of that makes sense, and it does take a lifetime to really come to terms with it.
We have to grow into it.
Consider our Gospel for this morning.
Jesus is going to die, he has told his disciples that he will be denied, betrayed, and killed.
They cannot understand.
Even now after all this time, after all the things that they have been through together.
After all the healing, all the forgiveness, after all the miracles, and after Lazarus was raised from the dead they still can’t get it.
I am so glad that God gives us time to grow into our salvation.
Because we need that time to understand and come to terms with what Jesus says today, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places and I go to prepare a place for you so that were I am you may be also.”
That is an amazing statement.
Jesus is preparing a place for us.
Jesus is getting everything ready for us to arrive.

I remember as a kid when people would come over to our house my mom would go crazy preparing for them to come.
She would clean every inch of the house.
In fact, while cleaning she would make me and my sisters go outside and not come back until the people got there.
It was always lots of tense moments preparing for people to come over.
But the thing was my mom wanted everything to be perfect.
She wanted the house to look good, and for the food to taste good.
She wanted people to know one another and have a good time.
She cared about the people coming over and wanted everything to be perfect.
I like to think the same about Jesus.
That he cares so much about us that he is busy preparing a place for us.
A perfect place where we feel welcomed, loved, and at home.

But even that takes a long time to get used to.
Because we think that maybe we have to do something to earn it.
But it is free is too big an idea for us.
It is given in grace, and we spend our lives growing into that truth.

Today Catherine, Angelina, Grace, Riley, and Evan grow a little more into the salvation prepared for them by Jesus.
They grow by tasting and seeing Jesus offering them so much.
Because when we come to this table we are offered a foretaste of the feast to come.
We get to see what that home is like that Jesus is preparing for us.
It is a home filled with love, compassion, joy, forgiveness, health, life, and peace.

We know this because Jesus has showed it to us.
And when we see Jesus we see God.
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father….Believe in me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”
It all takes a great leap of faith to believe in such a thing.
And that leap does not happen once it happens many times and takes us a long time to grow into it.

It makes me think of when I was a kid and I was growing a lot.
My mom would take me to the store to get new clothes or shoes.
And she would always buy me clothes that were too big for me.
“You’ll grow into it.”
She would say.
That is what God says to us about our salvation.
It might be too big, but you will grow into it.
Someday it will make sense things will fall into place.

That is why I am so overjoyed that these young people are coming to the Lord ’s Table, because I know that here they will experience that growth.
They will grow into knowing the promise of God from tasting and seeing how Jesus is good.

The book we read to prepare for this day was called “A Place For You”.
In it we heard about how Jesus gave us this special meal so that we can remember that he goes and prepare a place for us.
In Jesus’ special meal we can remember that we are loved and cared for, and called to love and care for others.
These seem like such simple things, but living and believing them is so much harder.
It would seem easy to believe that Jesus loves us all, but we are often given contradictory messages.

For example, this week Family Radio’s founder Harold Camping predicted that yesterday would be the rapture.
I must say I am glad that all of you are hear for me to preach to this morning.
The rapture is the belief that some people will be pulled up from earth and taken to heaven, and the rest would be left behind to go through a horrific apocalypse where Satan would rule, and be in pain and torment.
I am sure all of you know this already, but just in case let me say it again.
This is not a Biblical view.
The Bible never once uses the word rapture.
The Bible talks about the end of the world.
But those visions are not about people being drawn into heaven.
The Biblical view of the end of the world is what Jesus tells us this morning,
“That he goes to prepare a place for us…so that where I am, there you may be also.”
Whatever the end entails it means being with Jesus and we know that is not scary at all....It has nothing to do with earthquakes, zombies, destruction, and death.
In my view the rapture was all cooked up by some Christians out there to scare us into believing.
In other words…believe in Jesus or else.
The Biblical view is much better.
Jesus offers us a promise.
It is a promise that says, “I go to prepare a place for you.”
It is a promise that says God calls us out of darkness into the light.
It is a promise that says, “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”
My problem with the rapture is that it makes Christianity seem so mean and petty.
It makes it seem that belief is one time thing, and then we all of a sudden have everything figured out.
Instead of the Biblical view that belief is a process, belief is something we grow into.
It comes from growing into the promise that God has given.
It comes from our understanding that God is building us into a spiritual house.

Consider the signs that were up about the rapture.
“The end is coming. Believe in God.”
That is all it takes as if believing in God can be comprehended in one minute.
God’s grace given in Jesus Christ takes a lifetime to understand, and in some ways we could never understand it fully.
I know that I am often overwhelmed when I think of the magnificence of the promises made to me by Jesus Christ.
I know that often I am at the table receiving communion and I am just overcome by what God has prepared for me.
I am still growing into my salvation as are all of us.

Today Catherine, Angelina, Grace, Rieley, and Evan get to experience the awesomeness of God’s promise.
Today they get to grow a little more into that salvation.
They get to glimpse at what God has prepared for them.

For those of us who have been tasting and seeing God for a long time we get to have that exact same experience.
And today we can all grow into the salvation given to us by God through Jesus Christ.
Amen

True Life!

This sermon is partially based on the PBS show Frontline about the nature of advertising.

It doesn’t happen very often but every now and then we will get a call in our house asking if Mr. or Mrs. Hoopkins is there.
You probably get phone calls like this from telemarketers wanting to pitch you something.
What makes me laugh about these calls is that the company is trying to get me to think they are thinking about me personally by using my name, instead of saying something more generic, but really they are totally turning me off because they don’t know my name.
This morning’s Gospel from John is about this very thing.
It is about who we belong to, who gives life, and how we know when they call us.
Jesus uses the image of a shepherd calling his sheep and a open gate.
“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…They will not follow a stranger.”
It is not a command but an invitation into the pasture, into a life full of abundance.

We are sold almost daily a lie.
It is a lie that something we buy or own will be the thing that gives our lives meaning or value.
I am not saying that buying things is evil.
We need to buy things in this world to live.
We need to buy cars, food, clothing, and foot wear.
I am also not saying this morning that we should be on guard against over consumption. (Although we should that is another sermon for another day.)
I am saying that psychologically, spiritually we are told by companies that happiness and life come from buying their products.
Ad companies no longer want you to believe that their products are the best; they want you to believe that what you are buying will give your life meaning and purpose.
You can find identity and transcendence in the things that you buy as a consumer.

In fact, the ad companies did research into why people joined cults or participated in cult like behavior.
They discovered that people who joined these things were looking for identity, purpose, community, and transcendence.
So they set out to market products based on these ideas.
No longer do we buy a shoe, we buy a lifestyle that comes with that shoe.
In one of my favorite examples there was a commercial some years ago about Chinet paper plates.
The tag line was, “What are you saying with your Chinet plates?”
I am saying it is time for a hamburger!
Nothing more nothing less.

Today we are told by Jesus that what gives us life, true life, is knowing the shepherd.
What gives true life is going into the pasture with the other sheep.
Being in the pasture is about blessing and not being in want.
It is about knowing that God is with us and having true life.
True life is being able in all circumstances to be able to thank God.
It is not about the car we drive, the clothes we wear, or what kind of paper plate we use at our cookout.

Because Jesus always knows our name never would Jesus call me up and ask for Mr. Hoopkins.
Jesus would know my name and use it to call me blessed, loved, and holy.
Today Jesus knows your name and calls you by it and invites you to have true life.

What does it look like this life in the pasture?
What does it mean to live in the pasture with other sheep?
It looks like the picture in Acts, “They broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.”
It is not about following rules or doing the right thing.
It is about having glad and generous hearts because of what God has done for us.
It is about knowing that there is the shepherd who leads us beside the still water, and revives our souls.
It is found in those little moments of grace that we sometimes get to experience.
It is found in those noisy times when the whole family gathers for a meal.
It is found in those quiet moments of prayer.
Jesus invites us into a relationship that is real and living.
It changes and moves us and we move with it.

When I was a child I didn’t understand it this way.
I thought of God as some far off distant figure who would show up in the stories I heard in the Bible.
But the older I get the more I need God in my life I have discovered that God is not far off at all he is right here with me.
I find that I enjoy the times in the pasture knowing Jesus is near and I am with the other sheep praising God.

The problem with the things we buy is that they will never really satisfy what we truly want.
They will never be able to give us true identity.
They will ultimately fail to transcend this life because they are of this life.
They will not be able to give our life true meaning, because at the end of the day a sneaker is just a sneaker, paper plates are just paper plates nothing more nothing less.

Jesus on the other hand is so much more.
Jesus is everything we will ever need to satisfy our true longing for community, identity, meaning, and transcendence.
No matter what you need in your life you can turn to Jesus and receive it today.
If you need forgiveness it is offered.
If you need someone to talk to Jesus is there for you.
If you need meaning Jesus gives it to you.
If you need community the Church of Jesus Christ (hopefully) is there for you.

The life that Jesus offers comes from knowing that we need a shepherd.
It comes from knowing that we don’t have all the answers and don’t have our act together.
The times when we admit that we need help, that we are lost, and need to be lead, comforted, and lifted up these are the times when we come to see Jesus in our lives.
The whole thing about having a car that defines us means we are trying to hide something missing in ourselves.
We are trying to identify ourselves by what we own rather than who we are.
Because we are often afraid of whom we are or what we might be.
We might not measure up to others.

Today Jesus is inviting us not to jump the fence, but rather doing the hard work of recognizing our need.
There have been many times in my life when I have needed Jesus.
There was this one time in college when I was having a particularly bad semester.
I had a whole bunch of thing go wrong in my life, and I was doing a whole bunch of bad things.
I wasn’t really sure who I was or what I was doing.
One night I took a walk to the chapel on campus.
It was a huge chapel with big gothic ceilings.
I prayed that night for God to help me because I was lost.
I prayed that I might have the strength to admit that I couldn’t do it.
I asked God to forgive me for being selfish and prideful.
When I left it started to rain.
I took that as a sign from God that it was time for a new start, that my sin was being washed away.
No sneaker or paper plate can do that!
Things got better for me after that.
I felt a strength that was not there before that night.
I wish I could tell you that was it.
But there have been other times since when I have been in need and fell to my knees and prayer.
Each time I have heard Jesus call my name and bring me back to the pasture.
Each time Jesus has opened the gate for me and led me to still waters.
Jesus brings me to the waters that calm my restless soul.

Can you hear Jesus this morning call you by name?
Can you hear Jesus invite you into the pasture?
Today Jesus offers you abundant life filled with meaning, community, transcendence.
What the psalmist sings is true; “with God surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Amen

On Our Way!

We are a people on the way.
Just like our two disciples this morning who are on the way from Jerusalem to Emmaus.
We are on the way from sadness to joy.
When traveling on the road we sometimes hit low moments.
This was one of those low moments for the disciples.
Jesus was dead, so they thought, and their hopes were dashed.
So they walked along this road sad and disheartened.
When we are on the way we too sometimes feel sad or disheartened.

For example, last Saturday we all heard the horrible news that the Friendly Kitchen had a fire.
We heard the horrible news that one of the most beloved places in our community was destroyed.
It was a place of welcome for people who needed a meal and a friendly atmosphere without judgment.
It was a place that people down and out depended on for sustenance.
I know that it brought me immeasurable joy the Sundays I get to serve at the Friendly Kitchen, and if you asked anyone else who did it they would tell you the same thing.
Then on Saturday afternoon it was gone destroyed by a fire.
It was disheartening.
Except that out of that fire our community came together.
Within hours of the fire I was receiving calls from members of our congregation saying that we should offer our congregation as a place to temporarily house the Friendly Kitchen.
Only our church was not needed, because First Congregational had already offered.
Then the Greek Congregation said the Friendly Kitchen could be there “indefinitely”.
Then people started to give money.
I understand that in those first couple of days they raised about $7,000.
Since, then I have heard of several different ways that people in the community are planning to help.
Far from being a letdown people in the community of Concord rallied, pulled up their sleeves and went to work.
As Gail Megan said to me last week after worship, “I am just so proud of how our community came together.”
I would agree it is inspiring to see so many people offer to help.
Far from being a story about death it became a story about how our hearts came together to do something great.
Many of you may know that the word “Concord” actually means “with one heart”.
So it is appropriate that our community’s hearts come together when we experience a tragedy.

It is also what means to be a people on the way.
It means to have our hearts burning with the passion of our resurrected Lord.
This morning in our Gospel the two disciples recognize Jesus in the burning of their hearts as he explained scripture to them, as they walked and talked with him, as they broke bread together.
This morning I want to suggest the same is true for us.
As we are on our way we can know the risen Christ by paying attention to our burning hearts.
Our hearts burn and we know Christ’s presence by gathering together, by hearing and studying the word of God, and by sharing a meal with strangers and loved ones.

This helps us on our way.
Because what I hear about from people all the time is the struggle that comes with being a people on the way.
We are all on our way from or to something.
We are all getting better from something or just starting to struggle with something.
We are on the way to being cured, or on our way to ill health.
We are on the way from youth to old age.
Spiritually we are on our way to seeing and understanding, or forgetting and ignoring.
The road we travel is long and there are lots of highs and lows.
The disciples found this out, because they thought Jesus death was the end of the story.
“We had hoped he would be the one to restore Israel.”
That was it for that chapter.
Expect God was doing more in Jesus then restoring Israel.
He was moving hearts.
Jesus was making hearts burn as they went on the way.
That morning those two disciples were reminded that it is not over, and that God can do some wonderfully amazing things.

We are not only a people on our way to a place; we are a people of the way.
The earliest Christian community called themselves people of the way.
They believed that they were walking and following the way of Jesus Christ, and so are we everyday in faith walking the way.

This week we were also all relieved to hear the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death.
I think it was the right thing to do.
I am glad for our country and the world.
But as I watched the news coverage of people dancing in the streets I could not bring myself to celebrate.
The death of any human being, even if that human being does evil things and speaks evil thoughts, is still a human being to me.
Since today is mother’s day it should be pointed out that Osama Bin Laden had a mother.
He was born in the same way all of us were.
He had children and wives.
His wives and children grieve because they have lost their husband or father.
Every human life is created by God and therefore loved by God.

I think this is what it means to be a person of faith.
It is what it means to be a person who follows the way of Jesus Christ.
So even though everyone else is dancing in the streets and celebrating death we are praying for peace and life.
The way is to love even our enemies, and pray for those who persecute us.
Sometimes the way is not easy.
Sometimes it is not what we want to do.
But Jesus comes and opens to us the scripture.
Jesus shows us God’s plan for the salvation of all people.
Jesus then breaks bread with us and tells us that our sins are forgiven.
Jesus assures us that there is life after death.
How can I then go out and rejoice in death?
The way is not always popular either.
The way is not always easy.
The road is long and there are many twists and turns.

But we are on our way all the time.
We are always on the road to somewhere or something.
Life is in constant motion.
And often we would like it to slow down or take a break.
But one thing after another comes at us.
Ultimately we have no choice but to face it.
I have found the only way to face it is for Jesus to be my companion all the time.

I believe he is, but sometimes I lose track of him.
Just like the disciples did not recognize Jesus at first we too sometimes forget that Jesus is there for us.
But when our hearts burns then we realize it, then we understand.
We understand the beauty of people coming together in tragedy, the importance of all lives, the wonder of forgiveness, and the joy of our faith.
That is ultimately what sustains us as we are on our way.
We are sustained by a faith that tells us about God’s ability to bring people together, and raise His Son from the dead.
Our faith is the assurance of things not seen.
We cannot see what is ahead.
We don’t always know the way we are going.
But our faith assures us that Jesus is there walking beside us and opening up the God’s word for us to understand and draw strength from.

Do not your hearts burn this morning from knowing Jesus is alive!
This is what will give us the ability to be a people on the way, following the way.
May you know that Jesus walks with you on your way!
Amen

God Rocks Because, God Loves Everyone!?

This is a sermon I gave on Saturday night at Nativity Lutheran Church in North Conway, NH, at their Rocharist worship service. It was a little strange that I mentioned Osama Bin Laden and he was killed Sunday night. This is the reason that I can not cheer his death. Although I think it was the right thing to do, I still don't think that killing someone is a reason to cheer. We are all children of God even the evil ones.

When I heard that the theme for our worship was that God is awesome. God loves us all.
First thing I thought was I wanted to change God is awesome to the more acceptable theologically correct, God Rocks.
Second, I thought that would be an easy thing to preach about.
God loves everyone.
In some ways we all take this for granted now.
I get up and tell you that God loves everyone and you all think “yeah of course”.
But the more I thought about the more I realized that what sounds good in theory is hard in the real world.
I mean when you think about the people that everybody includes.

Does God love this guy?






Almost every theological discussion about good and evil includes a discussion about Hitler.
I thought we would start here so we can get it out of the way.
Hitler not only started a war he also killed thousands of blacks, gays, intellectuals, and Jews.
Hitler did not merely kill people but he built a philosophy to make that killing seem good.
A man of such hate and evil God could not love this person could he?

How about this person?





Osama Bin Laden is responsible for the killing of many innocent people.
He believes in using terror as a political tool.
Just looking at his picture makes us mad and disgusted.
Right now our country is still trying “hunt down and kill him”.
Not only that but he happens to be of another religion.
God can’t possibly love this guy right?

How about this guy?




Jeffery Dahmer would bring people to his apartment in Milauwakee kill, rape and then eat their bodies.
In all Dahmer killed 17 people in cold blood premeditated.
After his death in prison, Dahmer's mother, Joyce Flint, responded angrily to the media, "Now is everybody happy? Now that he's bludgeoned to death, is that good enough for everyone?"
Does God love Jeffery Dahmer?

How about this person?





In discussing sexuality at my last congregation in New York some people were saying that they could understand homosexuality.
But they drew the line at transvestites.
Why do they have to throw it in our face?
This is a picture of a transvestite at a parade in New York.
Does God love this person?

How about this person?



For many liberals Pat Robertson is the devil.
He is seen as twisting the word of God to fit into a type of politics and world view that is mean spirited.
He is also rich and powerful.
He has his own television show watched by millions.
Does God love this person?

My point is that we all have our lines.
We all have people that we think about and wonder if God could really love that person.
Recently Rob Bell wrote a book called “love wins” in it he suggests that God’s love is bigger than our sin.
And he suggests that everyone goes to heaven, or that Jesus has made hell irrelevant.
This has caused a major reaction from some Christians not wanting to give everyone a free pass.
They would argue that without hell there is nothing holding us accountable.
I mean if Hitler, Osama Bin Laden, and Jeffery Dahmer are allowed in heaven what is the point.
If God loves everyone then what makes us as Christian special.

The Biblical problem is that God is always opening the door to more and more people.
The Bible is not about God’s love for only some people it is about God’s love for the world.
John’s Gospel starts with this global perspective that God loves the world.
It is then lived out in the real world by Jesus.
Jesus loved the rich and poor, the well and the sick, the prostitute and the Pharisee, the lost son and the good son, the sinner and the saints.
Tonight we hear about Jesus appearing to his disciples after his resurrection.
In the middle of a locked room Jesus appears to the ones who betrayed, denied and fled from him and offers peace.
Then he comes back a second time to show himself to one who does not believe.
Over and over the Bible tells us stories of Jesus going the extra mile for those that are lost and forgotten.
The Biblical view is that God loves everyone regardless of political ideology, sexual orientation, race, creed, and sin.
In Jesus God shows God’s loves to all and offers the love of God to all.

It should be noted that Jesus does not like everyone’s behavior, and is not afraid to point this out.
Especially the rich, religious, and privileged Jesus challenges them to think of the ways they build system that abuse others.
Jesus challenges them to think that their privilege does not make them more loved by God, which was a common theological thought, and still is today, but that they have more responsibility to help others not exclude them.

Cornell West has said that “Justice is what love looks like in public, just as intimacy is what love looks like in private.”
As Christians regardless if we like people we are too love them, because God rocks and God loves them.
This means insuring that every one of God’s people receives all the things that they need to succeed in life.
It means insisting on justice for people experiencing homelessness, addiction, mental illness.
It means having mercy and compassion for those that are less fortunate.
It means extending grace even to the most despicable of people.
It means not allowing anyone to feel less than anyone else.

The ultimate question is does God love this guy?




Do we have faith and believe that God loves us?
Do we believe that God wants the best for us?
Do we believe that Jesus died and was resurrected so that we might have peace?
It is hard to believe sometimes because we don’t always love of ourselves.
On any given day we are the outsiders.
We don’t think we are good enough, pretty enough, rich enough, well enough, young enough.
We are the people who talk in hateful words.
We are the people who kill our neighbors and desire for laws rather than love and mercy.
We are the ones calling out for revenge and blood to be spilled.
Can God really love me?

The answer tonight is that yes God does because God rocks!
Amen