What's the Buzz All About?

Wanderings for July 26, 2009

2009-07-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

Good evening. Here we are, the night before our final service. Tomorrow we explore two scriptures. For the 10:10 service we'll hear from John 6:1-15. This is where Jesus feeds the 5,000 with fives loaves and two fish. For the 3 p.m. closing service, we'll hear from Genesis 1:1-5, "in the beginning" which can sound off for a church coming to its end. But I don't find it odd at all.

As you'll hear tomorrow, I pose the question "Where did the waters come from if God had not yet created?" For the sermon I address the question symbolically, but tonight I pose it metaphorically.

Do you remember Shari Lewis and Lambchop, and how at the end of each show they'd sing a tune called "This is the song that never ends/ it just goes on and on my friend?" Did you watch any of last season's "Lost." In Genesis, I get this sense of a time/space continuum. That God creates out of nothing, yet something was there, how did that something get there, well from something that came before, well how can there be a before if this is the beginning, and owwww my head hurts, but yet it is fun to think about, and what if time, as those in metaphysics say, does not exist, but is actually flat, and everything is happening at the same time, and time runs like an LP or a circle, where the end flows into the beginning and the beginning leads into the end and the end starts the beginning.

Oddly enough, in those thoughts I find comfort. Perhaps its just comfort in knowing that there is more than just right now, that there will be more then what happens tomorrow, that there is more then what happened yesterday. And that more is God. That ultimately, everything, everyone, every time comes down to God.

Heard hurt yet? Maybe that's good, because it helps to take away from the pain in the heart. As I write these words I am amazed how at the moment I am not feeling anything about us closing. Perhaps its because we have been dealing with this for three months. Perhaps because there is still so much to do to prepare for both services. Perhaps because it scares me. Perhaps because it hurts too much. Perhaps because I know it will not seem and be real until we actually gather together and close.

I've been rambling, an indulgence for my last Wanderings. But if I speak from my heart, I will say "Thank you." Thank you for allowing me to be your pastor. Thank you for the love you displayed and the love you shared. Thank you for caring about my future even as you worry about your own. Thank you for being part of my story. I know when I come home Sunday evening I will crash on my couch, and I will probably cry my eyes out. And that's a good thing.

We have come to our end, together. And it will be God, through Christ and the Spirit, together, three-in-one, who will, together, help us all get through tomorrow and the days/months/years that follow.

Thank you, and God bless you with peace, grace and miracles,

Pastor George Nicholas Miller

Sermon for July 26, 2009

2009-07-25T17:39:00.001-07:00

This is the final sermon for Burlingame Congregational UCC, which closed on July 26, 2009 after 85 years of ministry.

July 26, 2009
Scripture: Genesis 1:1-5
Sermon Title: “And It Was Good”
Rev. George N. Miller

God said “Let there be light”: and there was light. And God saw that the light was good...

Well, here we are, at the opening words of the Bible. The last sermon this congregation will hear preached. “In the beginning...” It may sound odd for a family that’s coming to an end, but I would make the claim that the whole Gospel is message in this scripture.

Here we have all the keys players. We have God, the Creator, the Spirit moving in new, unexpected ways. And if John 1 is read back into this text, we have Jesus, the Word, present.

Biblical historians will tell you that Genesis 1 was written during the exile, a time in which the temple was destroyed, people were taken from their homes and everyone was trying to make sense of it all.

This scripture was meant to give the people reassurance, saying to them “Listen, hear how God has a plan. God is ultimately in control. And when God is in control, there is hope.”

And today Genesis offers us hope and assurance.
Yes, we are losing our spiritual home. Yes, we as a family will break apart and go our different ways. But we are neither forgotten nor forsaken.
God does have a plan.

You see, as far as I am concerned Genesis 1 is not just about creation but it is also about resurrection. Read closer and you’ll find the first mystery of the Bible.

We’re told that a wind from God swept over the waters. But if God had not yet created, how did these waters exist? Where did they come from?

For the ancient people, water often symbolized chaos, unknown dangers, and death. To say a wind from God swept over the waters is another way to say the Spirit moved over whatever chaos, messiness, or death there was.

When read this way, we have resurrection and creation existing at the same time. A stunning idea that the very act of creation involved death, and that it was death that brought forth creation. Just as it was Jesus’ death that ushered in the creation of the Christian faith.

Here we have life and death, resurrection and creation, God, Jesus and Spirit in action. And it takes a spoken word to set everything into play, a word filled with possibilities, a word filled with “yes” even though the waters seemed to say “no.”

God said “Let there be light.” And there was light. And it was good...so good.

This is a message we need to hear today. For we are gathered to honor and recall the life and ministry of this particular body of Christ, known as Burlingame Congregational United Church of Christ.

In our historical records it is written “May our church be a shining light in the community. May it be a place of togetherness.” One of our pastors, Rev. Alfred Allard wrote that “every pastorate has lights and shadows of various experiences...” Let us take a look at those shadows and lights.

In 1923 the Spirit first moved over this congregation, at a time when 6,000 people lived in the community, working for Leonard Refrigerator, Pierre Marquette or one of the 60 furniture factories in Grand Rapids. The pastors from Smith Memorial and Park Congregational met and discerned a need for a church in the area.

A meeting was held at Lee High and on April 28,1924 a new congregation of 28 members was created. James Hamilton and his wife Clara, nee Burlingame, donated the land for the church.

First time pastor Rev. Arden Johnson was called. A year later ground was broken to build the church. We were the only English speaking protestant church in the school district, and we were a Mission Church, with the state giving $600 a year for operating costs.

Throughout our years, one significant trait was our dedication: when a need was apparent the members responded with generosity, even though it wasn’t always easy. The depression hit hard.

In 1937 the state tried to close our doors. Trusting that God was not done with us just yet, Rev. Ed Evans encouraged the congregation to hold on. He focused people’s attention on making the sanctuary as beautiful as possible. The fruit of their faith paid off.

By the 50's Rev. Dalrymple was the pastor and the church building expanded, which meant a new Fellowship Hall and no more classes in the boiler room. The Buzzings were created, programs flourished and people developed bonds.

The 70's were a bit difficult. Rev. Herold’s charismatic way did not fit, causing some people to leave. He also had a young son who died, a solemn reality for any church to cope with.

In the 80's we called another first time pastor, Rev. David Smith who remained our shepherd for 21 years. He wrote articles for the paper, shared his musical talents, and grew the choir.

In 2005 yet another first time pastor, Rev. George Miller was called, and together we did many things, perhaps more things then any church our size could possibly do.

But now we have reached the end of our journey. We beat the odds when the state tried to shut us down, we beat the odds when pastoral theology threatened to tear the church in two .

Today we are called to fully acknowledge our death. That we as a church body will be no more, we will say our goodbyes, and close our doors forever.

No more will there be angels in white dancing to a song Clella Watts choreographed. No more will there be a Couple’s Night in which everyone accidently brings dessert and the men have to get the main course from the local restaurant.

No more will people teach Sunday School in the kitchen with the smell of gas and the antics of a naughty boy named Jerry Waalkes.

No more will Burlingame host Mother-Daughter meals, craft sales or donut sales to help the youth.

No more will there be the ability to come to church in the evening after a bad day and finding people to talk to. No more will the children have fish to feed or plants to water.

No more will we see the magnificence of the sun as it shines through the stained glass. No more will we wonder which of the three hymnals we’ll sing out of. No more will there be ladies smoking in the kitchen.

No more will we hear “speak louder” or “the microphone’s not on”. No more will I see your smiling faces or will you sit there listening to one of my sermons.

No more will any of us be together again, like this, as we have been for the past 10, 20, 40, 85 years.

Yes, our time is coming to an end. But here is where the good news comes in. Because although this is an ending, we are leaving space for God to do a new thing. We are unselfishly stepping aside so God can create something new.

We are leaving the building empty so it can be filled with new possibilities.

For just as Jesus stepped out of the empty tomb, just as there were waters in the beginning of creation, we are leaving behind what can become for God and for the conference, a new beginning.

Although today there is a death, in the hands of God there is the reality of resurrection. We have created a space for new creation, in which God’s Spirit can move over this mortar and brick, these pews and stained glass, and bring forth new life, and new hope, just as God did when the Spirit first moved over the waters.

Today we are gathered to grieve the closing of Burlingame Congregational Church, but we are not to mourn the end of the Body of Christ, for that Body eternal, and that Body is here to stay.

And I have a favor to ask of you. After you go through your grieving process, as you begin the journey of traveling through the wilderness, finding a new church home, do not be ashamed about our church.

When people ask, “Aren’t you from the church that shut down?”, do not be embarrassed.

Say “Yes, but did you also know that our church gave over 12% of our offerings back to the community and our food pantry was the only one open on a Sunday. And it was good.”

When people ask “Aren’t you from the church that shut down?” Don’t be embarrassed.

Say “Yes, but we also hosted bluegrass concerts, held block parties and handed out treats on Halloween, reaching out to over to 800 people. And it was good”

When people ask “Aren’t you from the church that shut down?” you can say “Yes, but we also had a Southern Preacher lead us through Spiritual Renewal Services and two of the finest musicians around. And it was good .”

When people ask “Aren’t you from the church that shut down?” you can say “Yes, but we were also the ones who turned an empty lot of rocks and broken glass into a community garden filled with flowers and birds. And it was good.”

When people ask “Aren’t you from the church that shut down?” you can say “Yes, but we also were the ones who had a Vacation Bible School and after school program that fed the local children and taught them the Gospel of Christ. And it was good.”

When people ask “Aren’t you from the church that shut down?” you can say “Yes, but we were also the church that was brave enough to call an openly gay pastor when no one else would. And it was good”

When people ask “Aren’t you from the church that shut down?” you can say “Yes, and our children were not passive observers but active participants who played instruments, took the offering and introduced the Passing of the Peace. And it was good”

When people ask “Aren’t you from the church that shut down?” you can say “Yes, but we also had bake sales and soup suppers and picnics in the park like no others business. And it was good.”

When people ask “Aren’t you from the church that shut down?” you can say “Yes, but we were also the ones who could honor our veterans with a special corner while having a garden devoted to peace. And it was good.”

When people ask “Aren’t you from the church that shut down?” you can say “Yes, and we laughed and we cried, we baptized our children and buried our dead, we ate and we cooked, we worshiped and we were indeed the living, breathing Body of Christ. And it was good”

Friends and family of Burlingame Congregational UCC, it is now time for me to step down as your pastor, and it is time for us to formerly close the doors that have welcomed hundreds of people over the past 85 years.

Though this is a time of loss and goodbyes, let us find assurance and hope. Assurance that just as the Spirit of God moved over those mysterious waters oh so long ago, God’s Spirit will move again, transforming what has been our past into a new, exiting future.

And may it also be good.

All thanks and honor to God, who created us all, to Jesus who loves us all, and the Spirit that dwells in each and every one of us.

Amen, and amen.

Sermon for July 19, 2009

2009-07-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

July 19, 2009
Scripture: Psalm 104
Sermon Title: “Playful God”
Rev. George N. Miller
Before we begin our message let’s start with a joke: An elderly woman walked into the local church. The usher greeted her at the door and helped her to a seat. “Where would you like to sit?” he asked.

“The front row please,” she answered.

“You don’t really want that,” said the usher. “The pastor’s really boring.”

“Do you know who I am?” the old woman asked. “I’m the pastor’s mother.”

“Do you know who I am?” the usher asked. “No,” she said. “Good,” he replied.

To ensure no one is bored, I invite you to repeat after me: Bless the lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!

On this summer day, surrounded by the beauty of the earth, I’m excited about preaching. I’m excited because this is one of my favorite Scriptures. I’m excited because virtually everything I believe is right here.

Psalm 104, an exuberant song that praises God for all that’s been done in creation. It’s also the first place in the Bible where the word “Hallelujah!” appears.

Joy radiates throughout the text. There’s wonder and delight; play and recreation. We are taken from the heavens to the earth, from the waters to the trees, from the stars to a sea monster that plays in the ocean.

By placing its emphasis on everywhere and anything, Psalm 104 joyfully claims that all of the universe is God’s holy house.

And the Psalm celebrates just what a mighty God we serve; an incredible Creator who set the earth on its foundations, created the oceans and streams, called forth the moon to mark the seasons and the sun to mark the day.

As the Psalmist makes clear, God is not just out there, but right in our midst. And we see how every creature, no matter how strange or terrible, no matter how small or large, all come under the handy work of God.

We hear of the intricate way God created and connected everything. The rivers give drink to the animals and water the trees. The trees become a home for the birds, and from their branches the birds sing their songs.

Grass grows for the cattle. Mountains are home to wild goats, rocks are a place for the badgers, nighttime is for lions to hunt their prey and daytime is so they can sleep.

This is indeed a mighty, mighty God. One who creates and cares for all of Gods creation.

When humans appear in verse 14 we’re seen as another part of creation. When the animals go to sleep, the humans go to work. The same land that grows grass for the cattle is the same land that grows plants for people.

For today, what I want to focus on is the way Psalm 104 portrays not just a powerful God, but a playful God; for throughout the Psalm there is undeniable fun and frivolity.

Yes, God creates things that are necessary and important, but God has also blessed us with unnecessary things that make life worth living and fun.

We are told that oil is a gift from God to make the face shine, that wine was given to gladden our hearts.

Think of the theological claim: God gave us oil for cosmetic reasons so we can feel and look good. And God gave us wine to make us happy. Who would have thought!

Read further along and you come across this verse: “There is the ocean, large and wide, where countless creatures live...The ships sail on it, and in it plays Leviathan, that sea monster you made to amuse you.”

Now that’s the part I find most fascinating. Forget the streams for the trees and the tress for the birds, but here is the claim that God made a giant sea creature for nothing more then to make God happy.

In essence, Leviathan is God’s pet. Or as one writer mentioned, Leviathan is God’s water toy.

This is the image of God being a big kid playing in the bathtub with a rubber ducky!

In essence: God wants to have fun!

What an mighty, mighty God we serve indeed! That God not only creates and provides what we need, but God wants us to enjoy life, and furthermore, God likes to have fun, God enjoys recreation and play.

No wonder this is the first place where the word “Hallelujah” appears!

I love this notion that God likes to have fun. What a refreshing break from the stoic, serious images we place upon God. What a nice break from the fearful God people tend to call upon.

This is a God who can enjoy a good laugh, appreciate a thing of beauty and sit down with a friend over a cool drink.

It reminds me of a line from Alice Walker’s book The Color Purple. In it, a character says “God likes to be appreciated. I think it upsets God if you walk past the color purple in field somewhere and don’t notice it.”

God is indeed a playful God who enjoys beauty. Think of all the things that God has blessed us with that are, in essence, unnecessary. Look at all the colors we have.

The world didn’t have to look like a Crayola box. It could have been all white and grey. But no, we have red and yellows, greens and blues, gold and purple, and not just purple but shades of purple, from plum to violet to lavender.

And we have sounds. Oh do we have sounds! Of rain fall and wind blowing, of birds that sing good morning and ducks that quack.

And music! What would life be like without music. The note of a keyboard, the rattle or maracas, the beat of a drum, the toot of a trumpet, the clapping of our hands, the beat of our heart, the song in our voice.

And the dance. Square dance, line dance, ballroom dance, break dance, ballet, jazz and hip-hop.

And food. Think of it, food does not have to be as wonderful as it is. We could get by on one type of meat, a vegetable and some bread.

But the variety: beef, pork, fish, squash, brussel sprouts, broccoli, oranges, kiwis, tomatoes, whole grain, multi- grain, bagels, rolls.

Fried chicken, Gummi bears and Snapple iced-tea.

There is so much that God has created that we actually don’t need. So much that has been given as a gift, as unnecessary item.

Like good old Leviathan. A sea creature frolicing in the waves, an animal that was created to have fun, amuse God and to make God laugh.

So much that God has created has been unnecessary, but if we look deeper we realize just how necessary they truly are, because they are what helps make life so good.

And through the acts and gifts of creation, God is calling to us and saying “Do you want to play?”

We can be like the schoolyard bully and kick sand in God’s face or we can join in on the fun. So let’s have fun and share another joke:

A Rabbi and a Priest are at the town’s annual 4th of July Picnic. Because they are old friends, they do what old friends like to do: banter.

The Priest begins. “This baked ham is really delicious. You ought to try it. I know it’s against your religion, but I can’t understand why such a wonderful food should be forbidden. You don’t know what you’re missing. Tell me, Rabbi, when are you going to break down and try a piece?”

The Rabbi looked at the priest with a big grin, and said “At your wedding!”

In conclusion, how wonderful that when God created this world, it wasn’t just for you and I, but for the birds and trees, the lions and the grass.

How wonderful that when God created this world there was already a notion of play and fun, of enjoyment and pleasure shared in community.

How wonderful that God created some things, such as wine and sea creatures, for the purpose of bringing joy and laughter, happiness and play for God and for us.

No wonder this is the first place in the Bible is which the word Hallelujah is exclaimed.

Hallelujah to God for being so good!

Hallelujah to God for providing for us all!

Hallelujah to God for wanting to have fun!

Bless the Lord, oh our souls. Bless the Lord! Amen.

Sermon for July 12, 2009

2009-07-18T13:16:00.001-07:00

July 12, 2009
Scripture: Joshua 24:1-18
Sermon Title: “Choosing the God of Life”
Rev. George N. Miller

For the Israelites it was a long time coming. 70 years ago they were in Egypt. 70 years since God took them from the sting of the slave master’s whip to a magnificent journey across the Red Sea.

It’s been 30 years since they entered the Promised Land; a place in which milk and honey, grain and grapes were plentiful.

Before they were to enter, Moses gathered the people and gave a beautiful speech. He reveled to them that his part of the journey was over, that he was soon going to die.

But he assures them this: that he saw the land God had promised, and it was good. And Moses told the people they had two choices: they could choose life and prosperity or death and adversity.

“Choose Life!” Moses encouraged the people. “Love and obey God and the land will be blessed and your children and your children’s children will joyfully live.”

His speech was so rousing that the people chose life. A new leader was called; a man named Joshua who had been with Moses to the mountaintop.

Joshua was a person who knew how to stay the course and to move forward even when the others wanted to give up and go back.

After Moses died, Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan river. It was Joshua who led them into the promised land. It was Joshua, with the hand of God, who helped them fight their battles and let go of their baggage.

For years peace filled the land, and it was good. And when Joshua new his time on this earth was almost over, he gathered the people just as Moses had 30 years before.

He gathered the elders and judges, he gathered the officers and families, and he began to remind them of all that God had done.

And like Moses before him, Joshua gave the people a choice: worship God or worship the gods of the earth.

“Make your choice” Joshua stated. “Either serve the Lord 100% or not at all, no half stepping or second guessing.”

What Joshua said to the people, what Joshua is saying to all of us today is this: if you choose God, you’re choosing life. So choose life.

Joshua speaks on behalf of God and shares the history of Israel up until that moment, illustrating ways in which God is life.

When Abraham was just a nobody who worshiped other gods, it was God who called him to the land of Canaan and gave him and Sarah children.

In others words God is saying “I gave you life.”

When they were slaves in Egypt, God sent them Moses and Aaron to deliver them.

God is saying “I gave you freedom.”

When they came to the Red Sea and the soldiers were on their back, God used the waters to protect them.

“I saved you.”

God brought them to the promised land.

“I gave you a place to call home.”

When the King tried to use Balaam to curse the Israelites, God used Balaam to bless them instead.

“I blessed you.”

When the enemies attacked the people God made them victorious.

“I fought for you.”

The Israelites received a land filled with fruit and olives.

“I fed you.”

Free, save, home, bless, defend, feed: life.

All the things God did for them, and all that God asks is they put away their other gods, they let go of their idols and they focus all their attention on the one who made them and loved them so.

Joshua admonishes the people: choose God or do not choose God. Choose life or choose death. But don’t think you can half step this one.

And 3,000 years later that question still lingers today, and we stand right beside our spiritual sisters and brother. What do we choose? Who will we profess to follow?

Do we commit fully to God our heavenly parent, teacher, and friend, or do we commit to the gods of the world and of our own doing?

You’re probably thinking “But we do worship God, don’t we? We’re in church when we could be sleeping or at the mall. We don’t have to worry about worshiping other gods, or do we?”

Of course we do, even if we don’t realize it. Every day we are faced with the temptations of idols, fears and celebrity that can fool us into placing them above and before God.

The easiest example is money. The importance we place on it. What we’re willing to do for it. How fearful we are to part with it. How we trick ourselves into thinking it’s money and not God that makes a ministry doable.

Another idol can be technology. How much time we devote to Facebook, Youtube and Twitter. How we may forget to say our prayers before we leave home but we would never forget to leave our cell phone at home.

And perhaps the most timely idol is celebrity. The entertainers we worship, the contestants we vote for, the recently departed Michael Jackson who’s songs touched a world but was certainly not God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, although his gifts may have come directly from them.

Allow money, technology and celebrity to be the gods of your life and soon you’ll be among the living dead. For none of them will love you, free you, feed you or bless you the way God does.

God, through the words of Joshua, lays it out for us, breaking it down: “Look at what I did for you when you made me the focus of your life. So continue to choose me and you will choose life.”

As Christians, we realize things are not always as simple as that, and as gloriously simple as this sentiment sounds, we must still wrestle with the thought. Because many of us have chosen God. And yet death is still so real and so imminent.

And the man who taught us that is the one person who had no problem choosing God 100%.

In Jesus we have the irony that choosing God did not at first seem to lead to life but instead to a cross.

But Jesus was indeed choosing life. Because by living as he did, he lived a fully realized life and fully immersed himself in what it meant to be alive.

From dinners with friends to celebrations with the community, from worship in the synagogue to healings of the people, Jesus lived life to the fullest. So much so that not even the cross could silence him or stop his work.

Because by choosing God, Jesus had indeed chosen life, when on Sunday morning he overcame the darkness of Friday and the loss of Saturday and came stepping out among the people, where his light and his life continues to shine and inspire.

So we too are invited to make a choice today, and tomorrow, and each and every day after that: will we worship God and live life, or will we choose to worship imitation gods, seduced by the world, opting instead for spiritual death.

3,000 years ago Joshua asked the Israelites a very important question. And today we get to stand with the elders and judges, the officers and families, the young and old together, and we get to say our answer.

And may each and everyone one of us be able to say just what our ancestors did “We will serve the Lord and it is God we will obey.”

God loves us so, and in that love there is great and abundant life.

Choose God, my family and friends. Choose God because in doing so, you will have chosen life.

All thanks and praise be to Jesus who showed us how to make that choice, for the Spirit that blows upon us limitless blessings and God who has done more for us then we can ever imagine.

Amen and amen.

Wanderings for 07 19 09

2009-07-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone.

We are winding down to our final day of Little Star Vacation Bible School. And let me tell you: Most Successful Little Star Yet! Since we began this program in 2006 we have had good turns outs, averaging 9 kids per day and having had 13 children participate in last years program.

Well, we easily beat all records on Monday alone. On Monday we had 16 kids. On Tuesday we had 18 kids. On Wednesday 20 kids. On Thursday 17 kids (2 of them were new). That means we are averaging 17 kids per day, for a total of 22 children we have reached out to, sharing meals, worshipping, playing games and engaging in social activities.

The kids are loving it, as have our 9 volunteers.

Today is our last day in which (if the weather permits) we'll be splish-splashing in the front yard, with the kids playing in the sprinkler and jumping into the kiddie pool.

And it fits with the images we have in this Sunday's scripture, Psalm 104. Psalm 104 is my second favorite scripture. It celebrates God and all the wonderful things God has done for creation. It is also the first place in the Bible in which the word "Hallelujah" comes into play.

And speaking of play, I absolutely love verses 25-26. It presents the sea, far and wide, in which ships sail by and Leviathan plays in the water. In Biblical times, Leviathan was a mythic sea creature, a monster to be feared. Leviathan would be our Jaws or our Godzilla if the Psalm was written today. But here, in Psalm 104, all sense of fear is removed from Leviathan and she/he is presented as a giant, playful creature that is designed to amuse God. One way of putting it is that Leviathan is God's giant bath toy, a rubber ducky, created for play and fun and laughter.

How awesome is that, that a sense of play makes its way into the Holy Scriptures, that we get a glance of God not being stoic or oh so serious, but light and carefree, wanting to have a good time and to laugh a little.

How good it is to imagine God enjoying the playful side of life. How affirming it is to know that God created whole spectrum of things. Some for survival, some for work, and some for fun.

How will you have fun this day to honor God? What can your Leviathan be?

Peace and joy,

Pastor G

Sermon for July 5, 2009

2009-07-04T04:08:00.000-07:00

July 5, 2009
Scripture: Mark 6:1-13
Sermon Title: “Unpack Your Bags”
Rev. George N. Miller

(This message is acted out with a slight country twang and scads of bags/luggage hanging from the body)

Oh. Hey! Good to see you. Thank you for coming to visit. I’d have come to you. But as you can see, I got too much baggage.

Lots o’ baggage: past and present. Trouble is, I’m so weighed down it doesn’t seem like I’m going to have much of a future.

Still, it’s my baggage. Don’t want to let any of it out of my sight.

I used to travel all the time when I was younger, back when my baggage was much smaller and way more lighter.

I would soar in the air, but it’s now impossible to pass through security with all this stuff.

Tried the good old American railways to travel sea to shiny sea, but the baggage took up too much room. Same thing with the bus. Except the weight of my baggage turned it from a Greyhound into a Tortoise.

Thought I could take all my baggage with me in the car, but wouldn’t you know: soon the rear window was blocked and the dashboard was covered and I couldn’t close the car door. Dang economy vehicles.

I know, I know. I know just what ya’ll thinking. Why don’t I just let go of some of my baggage?

But see, I can’t. It’s not that easy. Keeping my baggage close to me is what I do. It’s my thing.

Besides, I’ve done it for so long it would take an act of God for me not to have all these bags with me.

What’s in them you ask? Oh, stuff. Like this here: this is my bag of fond memories. Like the old toy castle I used to play with. Photo albums- see how young I looked. And books. Oh, I would read this one again and again.

You certainly can’t blame me for parting with any of this.

Now these bags: I call them my shoulda-coulda-woulda bags. Let’s see. Ah yes. I shoulda went to college. I shoulda asked Pat to the prom. I shoulda bought stock in Microsoft.

My coulda bag. I coulda been a doctor if I studied harder. I coulda been a pro-tennis player if I hadn’t hurt my knee. And I coulda been a millionaire if I had bought stock in Microsoft.

This here: my woulda bag. By now I woulda been a Dad if Sam and I had stayed together. I woulda been 20 pounds lighter if I just stuck to my diet. And I woulda been living in Beverly Hills if I’d just purchased that dang Microsoft stock.

Good times.

And these here: my grievance bags. Like how I’m still mad that Chris told everyone back in high-school that I kissed like a jellyfish. Or that my sister borrowed my jersey as a nightgown and spilled nail polish all over it.

Here’s a good one. That Sunday, 15 years ago, when the pastor forgot my name so I refused to go back to church until he called to apologize. Which he never did.

As you can see, I have my baggage. I carry it around with me everywhere I go. But who doesn’t. I mean, you do right?

You know, memories of how good things were back in the day and how its too bad we’re not like that anymore. Like when Big Macs were served in Styrofoam containers and MTV only showed music videos.

I can’t be the only one with shoulda-woulda-coulda bags, am I?

What do you wish you shoulda done? What woulda you been? What coulda you done?

And let’s be honest: we hold grudges against folk, don’t we? Silly ones, big ones, under the surface ones?

I can’t be the only one. Although I’m so weighed down by my baggage that I just can’t seem to move forward at all.

So...for the longest while it’s just been me and my baggage. Not going anywhere. Spending a lot of time in the past. Not really enjoying the present.

Fortunately, with the age of infomercials and internet I don’t need to leave the house. I can order what I need by dialing 1-800 and if I choose chat with faceless folk on the computer.

One day, while nothing else was on, I turned on the TV and there was this preacher.

Like I said, it’s been ages since I last stepped foot inside a church. But the pastor on the TV seemed cool and there were lots of smiling faces, so I decided to listen, all my bags comfortably surrounding me.

And the preacher was talking about Mark 6:1-13, of how Jesus wasn’t that well respected in his home town. Folk didn’t take him seriously, claiming he was just a carpenter, and how they found him just a bit too much. So Jesus could only do some minor healings.

But then the next thing you know, Jesus is sending the disciples out 2 by 2, like them there animals on the ark, encouraging them to do God’s work and preach the word, and if folk didn’t want to hear it, well, they were to just shake the dust from off their feet.

Well, I kinda liked that. And I was a bit amazed. I mean, if I was Jesus, and I was humiliated like that in my own hometown, I’d have such a large bag filled with all the names of people who ticked me off. And I would certainly not have the energy to travel to a new place to do anything else.

But here is Jesus, letting their slights roll off his back like water to a duck, and he was able to move on and do what he needed to do.

And I had to ask myself “How he do that?”

So the preacher on the TV kept on talking about how the disciples were to travel without the basic necessities: no bread, no money, no extra clothes, no baggage.

No baggage? Just a tunic for their body, sandals for the feet and a staff to propel them forward. This was a way to teach them how to rely upon the Lord, and to also demonstrate how the Christian life is a life of simplicity.

Well I thought that was funny, considering the preacher was wearing an expensive looking suit talking to a stadium full of folk.

But something about the message resonated with me. Historically the scripture was saying one thing, but for me, metaphorical-like, it was saying a whole ‘notha thing. What I heard was Jesus saying “Let go.”

“Let go. If you want to move forward, if you want to experience life, you got to let go.”

I looked at my baggage, I looked at my life, all the things I had accumulated, all the things I held onto, all the junk I was refusing to let go.

And I heard the Savior say “Let Go.”

But I didn’t know how. After living a life in which I have held on so tight to everything single thing, how could I possibly let go?

So I pulled my baggage closer, afraid of parting with one single thing; not my castle, not my love of all things Styrofoam, not my regret over not purchasing Microsoft stock, not my anger at my sister.

But it seemed the tighter I held on, the more and more I began to hear that voice: “Let go.”

It started off small, like a still small voice, a whisper in the night: “Let Go.”

It got louder, like a song on the wind: “Let go.”
Then it boomed, like the crash of thunder: “Let go!”

I was scared. But then I remembered: somewhere in one of my bags were a few of my favorite Bible memories.

Like God calling Abraham and Sarah to “Go”, God inviting Moses to “Set my people free” or God telling Philip to mosey on down that lonely road that leading him to the Ethiopian Eunuch.

And how they were all the better for it.

So I did something daring. Next time I heard “Let go” I reached into one of my bags, and I released what was inside. I called up my sister and told her I forgave her for staining my jersey.

It didn’t seem to make much of a difference. But next time I heard “Let go” I reached into my bags and took all things Microsoft out and released those regrets to the wind.

Next time I heard “Let Go” I decided to accept the fact that MTV now only runs reality shows.

And little by little, more by more, an amazing thing happened: my baggage became lighter.

More and more I found ways to make amends, I found ways to forgive and let go of past grievances.

Little by little, more by more I began to let go of some of my childish ways, and I found ways to not be so rooted to the past.

And as hard as it has been, it’s been good. All the bags that I’ve been carrying, their straps cutting into my skin, their weight disfiguring my back, have become smaller.

I first noticed the difference, when one day I felt enough freedom to get into my car, and there was enough space to see what was ahead of me, as well as what was behind.

Soon, I was able to step onto the bus and go at Greyhound speed.

Soon, I was able to travel sea to shining sea. My baggage was still with me, but it was noticeably smaller and no longer limiting me.

And now, now after listening to that voice that called me to “Let Go” I find that I can travel in the air, like the Spirit, heading into my future, freed from my past, no longer trapped by my baggage, having new adventures, meeting new people and making new friends.

And, as you can see, my baggage has become light enough that I’ve been able to step back into church. Where I can see all your smiling faces, I can hear your beautiful songs and I know that God is real.

Even forgave the pastor for forgetting my name. After all: he’s only human, right?

Sure, I still got my own baggage to deal with. We all do. We’re human. But because of Christ, because of the grace that he gives, I have found a way to let go, a way to move ahead, and a way to trust on the Lord.

As scary as it is, when the Lord says “Let go”, let go. And you’ll be amazed where the Spirit takes you. You’ll be strengthened by Christ on your side. And you’ll discover that God will provide what you need for whatever journey is ahead.

Amen, and amen.

Sermon for june 28, 2009

2009-07-04T04:07:00.001-07:00

June 28, 2009
Scripture: Mark 5: 21-43
Sermon Title: “Between Life and Death”
Rev. George N. Miller

(Tell people of audience participation. Right side is group 1; Left side is group 2)

After witnessing the fashion show in Samuel and the courthouse of Acts, we find ourselves back in the land of Mark. As you recall, this gospel was composed during uncertain times. The author does not spoon feed us our faith, but invites us to be uncomfortable in the unknown.

Mark’s Gospel announces itself as “The beginning of the Good News” and ends with people running fearfully from the tomb. In between there are children who die, women who bleed out, and men who are bound by chains: in other words, a world gone mad.

Doesn’t it feel a bit right now as if the world is going mad? What with the economy and flooded parking fields and riots in Iran’s streets. But let’s be honest: when hasn’t the world seemed a bit mad?

The Vietnam War, Monica Lewisnky, Michael Jackson’s death: it seems as if there is always something throwing things out of wack.

That’s how the seminary journey was for my classmates and I. We began school in 2001, bright eyed and full of life. Then two planes flew into the World Trade Center, placing our education in the shadow of the valley of death.

Professor Peggy Way helped us make sense of the mess. She reminded us that we are all living, biological, chemical creatures dealing with the chronicity of life. Which means illnesses happen, tragedies occur, and everyone will die. She challenged us to ask how God was present in the aftermath of 9/11 and how we were called to be the Body of Christ.

As if the events of 9/11 weren’t enough, over the span of three years, four of our classmates died. The shadow of death loomed large at seminary, but it did not have the only voice. For even in the midst of death, there was an abundance of life.

We had dinner parties, danced to Beyonce and 50 Cent, had late night conversations and studied in cafes. Couples met, friendships formed, circles of healing were created, Ultimate Frisbee broke the monotony of our studies. Mission trips took us around the country and around the world. And God was worshiped in unique ways.

At Eden Seminary we truly lived between life and death, and I would not exchange that experience for anything. To this day I believe those events created some of finest pastors in the country, because everything we learned and did was in the shadow of those realities.

When planes collide into buildings, when friends die in car accidents how does one still find the faith to be made well, to get up and walk, and to hear words of life when others want to laugh at you or cry out in defeat?

Mark has us wrestle with these thoughts as he tells of a time in which one woman’s life is bleeding out while a young girl is taking her final breathe, and how Jesus brings wholeness to both situations.

Jesus has traveled to where there is much life going on. There’s the hustle and bustle of folk who’ve gathered by the waters to experience Jesus for themselves.

The excitement is soon interrupted. A leader of the synagogue comes to Jesus. His 12 years old daughter is dying. He falls to his knees, begging Jesus to lay hands on her so she may live.

Death has made itself known.

Jesus and the man go to the girl. While on their way, a woman comes up to Jesus. For twelve years she’s been bleeding. She says if she touched his clothes she’ll be made well.

Immediately, her bleeding stops; Jesus turns to ask who touched him. Trembling, she kneels before him and admits her actions. And Jesus says (point to group 1. They say “Daughter, your faith has made you well.”)

Life has been restored. Wholeness and healing have won the day.

But wait: while Jesus is speaking, people come for the father of the sick girl and say (point to group 2. They say “Your daughter is dead.”)

The balance between life and death. It exists throughout the Bible, between the garden and the cross, between desserts and green pastures.

But pay closer attention to how Mark writes this story. As Thomas Long points out, it’s when Jesus is saying his words to the woman that the people talk about the girl. In other words, both sentences are said at the same time.

And here is where your participation really comes in. On the count of three, everyone is to say their line. 1. 2. 3. (“Daughter, your faith has made you well/Your daughter is dead.”)

Did you hear that? Jesus isn’t just living between these moments of life and death. He’s operating while both are happening at the same time.

This is a story for the ages, and a fitting story for our church today.

For in downtown Grand Rapids, UCC members from all over have gathered for the 27th National General Synod. Right by the flowing waters of the Grand River there is the hustle and bustle of folk coming to share and experience Jesus Christ.

Visitors are filling our streets with life and exciting newness. This is at a time in which both the mayor and our President are members of the UCC, and our denomination is blessing the city with the largest convention they’ve ever had, pumping $3 million into the economy.

Meetings have been electrifying, worship has been grand, and we can proudly say “I am a member if the UCC, where God is still speaking.”

There is much life.

And yet, we at Burlingame Congregational UCC are going through the pangs of death. In four weeks we close our doors for good. Like the leader’s daughter, we are taking our final breathes.

Our death is very real. And we are not the only church in the area facing this reality as other churches in Wyoming are struggling to stay alive.

Nor are we the only church in the UCC to struggle. In Massachusetts in which we are the largest protestant denomination, 39 UCC churches have closed in the past decade.

In some ways the women in today’s scripture represent what mainline congregations seem to be facing.

We have congregations that are bleeding out. Bleeding out in the form of members who are leaving because they’re unhappy with a stance the church has made.

Congregations that are bleeding out financially, as money is being spent faster then it is brought in.

Congregations that are bleeding out physically. People feeling drained from all the work they do, not allowing themselves rest and rejuvenation.

Like the girl, there are churches that are taking their final breath. They’ve fallen upon hard times too difficult to bounce back from. Congregations have been complacent, finding it easier to stay in bed then to step out into the unexpected.

Congregations that have just been too sick for too long from inside squabbling or unresolved issues.

And we ask, as members of the Christian faith, how do we survive, how do we continue to exist?
As we live in both life and death, we wonder if there is anything we can do.

But I’m not here today to preach doom and gloom, but to preach a word of hope. Because I believe there is indeed hope for the universal church, hope for the UCC and hope for the world.

That hope comes in the person and the life giving actions of Jesus Christ.

That hope comes from the belief that sometimes what looks like loss and despair is really just rest and opportunity for transformation.

That hope comes from the fact that both the UCC and Christianity have come too far to be left bleeding out or laying breathless in bed.

Because we, as a denomination, proudly come from ancestors who once decided, in Boston, that it was time to throw some tea into the water.

Because we as a denomination trace our roots to brave women and men who risked crossing a sea to worship God in freedom.

Because we as a faith trace our roots back to a Messiah who met people by the shore and spoke calm to a raging sea.

Because we are the Children of God whose Spirit moved over the waters of creation and it was good.

People can say what they want about the fact that we’ll be closing next month, people can say what they want about it seeming as if Christianity is waning. Let them go ahead and join the folk who are crying at the little girl’s house.

But I invite you to be like the synagogue leader and the bleeding woman, doing what needs to be done to experience Christ and to live out the Christian story.

As long as people continue to seek Jesus out, unafraid to ask for what’s needed, Christianity will survive.

As long as we’re willing to walk the distance with Jesus, even when failure has been announced, Christianity will survive.

As long as we are willing to act in hope, believing what we do can make a difference, Christianity will survive.

And as long as there are people willing to tell their story and wait for a word of healing, Christianity will survive.

The closing of our particular church does not signal the end of the story, because even as we prepare to say our goodbyes, there is celebration in the streets.

There are over 3,000 living representatives of Christ making themselves known to the people right by the waters of Grand Rapids

In conclusion, Mark wrote for a world steeped in madness and loss; and he could have easily written for our world today.

Through his telling of the Jesus story, Mark is saying that even when death seems too real, even while others are crying out, we still have ways to welcome Christ and the new life he brings.

It may mean falling to our knees, it may mean taking the chance to reach out, it may mean patiently waiting other events out, but it will be worth the work and worth the wait.

Between hearing “Your faith has made you well” or saying “Your daughter is dead” which do you choose?

I believe Mark would tell us not to lose our faith, because God is still working. It may seem as if we are bleeding out, it may appear as if we’re taking our last breath, but Jesus has stepped out of the boat and Jesus is in our midst.

Thanks be to God who is with us during these difficult times, to Jesus Christ who listens to our stories and to the Sprit which empowers us in ways we can only imagine.

Amen and amen.

Sermon for June 21, 2009

2009-06-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

June 21, 2009 Acts 4:1-13
“Cool Like Coffee” Rev. George N. Miller

A young woman had lost her job. It was the latest in a series of let-downs, so she went to her father to talk about life and how things were so hard. She felt like she couldn’t make it; she just wanted to give up, tired of struggling.

Her father took her into the kitchen. He filled three pots with water, placed them on the stove, then opened the fridge and took out carrots, a carton of eggs, and a canister of coffee beans.

The young woman said “I’m not hungry.” Her father said “Just watch,” and when the water came to boil he took the carrots and placed them in a pot. In the second he put the eggs, and in the last he placed the coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

Eventually he turned off the burners and fished the carrots out and put them in a bowl. He took the eggs out and placed on a plate. Then he ladled the coffee into two giant mugs.

Turning to his daughter, he said "Tell me what you see." "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

The father brought her closer, telling her to feel the carrots. She noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and peel off its shell, seeing that it was hard boiled.

He invited her to sip the coffee. She smelt the rich aroma, took a taste, and smiled for the first time. After another sip she asked, "Carrots, eggs and coffee? What does it mean?"

Her father explained that each of the objects had faced the same adversity. But each one had reacted completely differently.

The carrots, once strong and solid, became soft and weak after being placed in the boiling water.

The eggs, once easily broken, looked the same, but their fluid center was hardened.

The coffee beans, however, were unique. They found a way to work with and change the water.

"Which are you?" her father asked. "When things get hot, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

The daughter wasn’t sure what she was at that moment, but she knew she loved the taste of the coffee and how it warmed up her hand.

Let us think about this for today. What are we? As a church and as individuals? Are we the carrots that seem unbreakable but with pain and adversity lose our strength?

Are we an egg that starts with a gentle fluidness, but in the midst of trouble becomes hardened, and though looking the same on the outside, has a stiff center?

Or are we the coffee beans, changed by the circumstances, but also able to change the circumstance? Is it when the water gets hot that we can release our true fragrance and flavor?

Yes, at times we all become like the carrots and the eggs. But into order to survive, in order to grow into who God is calling us to be, we have to learn to be like the beans.

When things are at their worst, how do find ways to elevate ourselves above them, to not only better ourselves but to change the situation around us?

For role models, we can look at the disciples in today’s scripture. After Jesus’s ascention, they continue his ministry by preaching and healing. But like Jesus, they have found themselves in some very hot water.

Peter and John have healed a lame man, but instead of being thanked, they’re arrested, brought before the court and questioned.

How many of you have done something you thought was nice only to be chewed out by someone else? It was going on even way back there.

Peter, cool as can be, says “Look, if you’re really upset because we did something good, you should know it was through the power of Jesus Christ, and it is he alone who can offer salvation.”

This surprises the council. After all, they were the Supreme Court of the time, featuring the most powerful people of the land, and a fisherman has the gall to tell them off.

Either Peter possess rocks for brains or an enormous amount of courage, because a comment like that could get him killed.

The council tries to figure out what to do. They want to punish Peter and John, but realize it could make things worse, so they let them off with a warning. But as we see in chapter 5, the disciples go right back to preaching and healing, because they’re cool like that.

When arrested again, Peter says “We must obey God.” This time the court wants the death sentence, but someone states “Pay them no mind, and this weird religious cult will just go away.”

The disciples are given another warning, and to make sure they get the message they are flogged. The council assumed this would harden their hearts and weaken their spirits.

But instead, these coffee bean-like disciples of Christ celebrate and go right back to their teaching and healing.

You got to love and be amazed at what our spiritual ancestors endured for us.

Even after Jesus was murdered on the cross, even after the disciples’ repeated arrests and death threats, Christianity grew. From 12 to 500 to 5,000 people and beyond the Good News thrived, even while existing in political and social pots of boiling water.

Not only did the Good News survive, but like the coffee beans, it influenced and changed the world around it forever.

As we gather this morning to celebrate Father’s Day, it’s important for us to recall and give thanks for what our spiritual father’s endured for our sakes. This story isn’t just part of our collective heritage, but it’s also an example of what to expect in life.

Read the Book of Acts and you’ll meet people who overcome amazing obstacles, changing what’s around them. They’ve allowed the Spirit to empower their lives, witnessing to the world, no matter what the cost.

Here in Acts we come across true heroes: our Peters, our Johns, our Stephens, people we can identify with, who are not so different from us, working class folk who were touched by God.

But how can their trials compare to the trials we face in Wyoming, MI in 2009. We not only live in a different time, but a completely different culture.

When will we ever risk being flogged or have to stand before a court because of our faith? When do we ever have to answer to what we believe?

But if you think about it, as Christians we do stand before courts every day: the courts of life; of circumstance and situations.

There are those of us who are standing before the court of health. Our bodies doing things we don’t have much control over. We’re aging, we’re limping, our eyes are dimming, our heart’s erratic.
We have a disease or a condition, something’s broke, something’s bent, something squeaks when we stand up. For some its age, for other’s it’s a bad hand we’ve been dealt.

We stand before the court of health which says in all reason “You’re in hot water and look what you got. God is not real, Jesus is a lie, your faith is a joke and you are forsaken.”

And to that we say “I know my God is real, Jesus loves me so, and as long as I have hope I will never be alone.”

There are other courts we stand before, such as the court of money. Our bills are late, our checkbook over drawn, our credit cards maxed out.

We have to decide between food or heat, gas or telephone, medication for me or my children. Bill collectors at our door.

What happened to all the money we saved? Where did the pension go? How do I make my money last before I die?

We stand before the court of finances which says in all sense of reason “You’re in hot water and look what you got. God is not real, Jesus is a lie, your faith is a joke and you are forsaken.”

To which we reply “I know my God is real, Jesus loves me so, and as long as I have hope I will never be alone.”

We stand before the court of family. To which we are told our parents are dying, memories are being erased and final breathes are being taken.

Sisters don’t want to talk, brothers are fighting, exes are being total jerks and refusing to pay child support.

Your flesh and blood is making bad choices, going through tough times, and there ain’t nothing you can do. And the one person you despereatly seek forgiveness from won’t give it.

We stand before the court of family which says in all sense of reason “You’re in hot water and look what you got. God is not real, Jesus is a lie, your faith is a joke and you are forsaken.”

To which we reply “I know my God is real, Jesus loves me so, and as long as I have hope I will never be alone.”

It is not an easy time for our world right now. America is suffering, and we in Michigan seem to be in some really, really hot pots of water.

With the economy floundering and churches struggling we are correct to say the temperature’s being turned up and everything around us boiling.
And what should we do? We could be like the carrots and become soft and weak, leached of what make us wonderfully us.

We can be like the eggs and create a tough interior that no one can get to.

Or we can be like the coffee beans, finding ways to ride out the scalding current, working with the situation to transform it and be transformed by it.

One way to do so is to recall the joy of the disciples. Of how they welcomed the gifts of the Spirit, trusting its movement and allowing it to fill them with cool courage.

The disciples could do so because they saw their troubles through the lens of Jesus Christ, in which the final outcome was already promised and the end of the story was revealed

In conclusion, when the waters of life begin to boil and you find yourself beginning to sweat, may you muster up your courage and harness your strength, allowing Christ to take you to that higher level, trusting that God will prevail and anything we endure is truly but a moment in time.

Because of the resurrection we are assured that God brings hope out of despair, and no court of life can separate us from the amazing grace and love of our God.

All thanks be to God who gives us our story, to Jesus who offers us salvation and the Spirit that fills us with courage.

Amen and amen.

Wanderings for 06 21 09

2009-06-19T09:20:00.001-07:00

Wanderings for June 21, 2009
Acts 4:1-13

Good afternoon everyone.

By now I am sure you have heard that on Wednesday morning June Southway died. Born in 1918, she was a member of our church since 1956. Her viewing will be tonight at Matthysse Kuiper in Grandville, her funeral will be tomorrow (Saturday) at 10:00 a.m.

June lived a long, interesting life. One that indeed saw rags and riches, love and death. A few days before she died she was able to say two words that has provided her family much comfort and inspiration: "Good life."

It's wasn't a long, verbose statement, it came out of nowhere, but it beautifully got right to the point.

This Sunday we are hearing from Acts 4:1-13, and I will also preach a bit from Acts 5:17-42. I invite you to take some time and read it.

What stands out for me is how the disciples faced great adversity, yet they were able to rejoice. Now, their adversity was much different from the adversity June faced in her life. Yet she, facing her last few days on earth, was able to say "good life."

That is the mark of a life well lived. If you were to die today, would you be able to speak those two words? What are you thankful for? What would you have done different? How has God been present, how has the Spirit moved, how have you been the body of Christ to another, and how has someone been Christ to you?

Can you say "good life"? If not, what can be done to make that statement true? And what would it take to step it up a notch and say "Great life"?

In love and grace,

Rev. George Miller

Sermon for June 14, 2009

2009-06-13T13:30:00.000-07:00

June 14, 2009
Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Sermon Title: “What God Can See”
Rev. George N. Miller

It’s hard to believe, but 4 years ago I moved here. In that time I’ve made friends, dated a bit, but my most significant relationship, outside of the church, has been with my cat: Martin Isaac.

I remember going to the petshop looking for a cat that wasn’t too timid or prissy, an active feline that was more like a dog. And that’s what Martin was. While other cats were depressingly lethargic, he was a ball of black-n-white fur batting around a toy in his cage. He climbed onto my shoulder and on the ride home he broke out of his box: be careful what you wish for, because you’ll get it.

Last year it was brought to my attention that Martin and I are very similar: we’re extroverts who hate to be trapped inside, and neither one of us knows when to shut up! If I constantly talk, he constantly meows, even at 3 a.m..

But, he is mine and I am his, and I love him. Yet, I wonder: did I choose him because his behavior mirrored mine? Or does his behavior mirror me because he is mine? Is it nature or nurture?

When company comes over what causes one cat to show his belly and another to hide behind the couch? With children, why is one painfully shy and the other can’t shut up?

For example, take the boy who lives above me. Bruce has attended our Vacation Bible School since its inception. When he first came here he was a tiny little soft-spoken stringbean of a child.

Up until that summer he had not hung out with other boys. His Mom was worried about how he’d deal with kindergarten in the fall. But Bruce came to our Little Star program for those two weeks, and he blossomed.

There was another boy there and they immediately hit it off, eating meals together, playing crash up with their toy cars and doing all the things boys like to do. Once quiet and shy, Bruce became vocal and playful.

By the end of the program his mother was thankful for all we’d done and Bruce couldn’t wait to start school. Since then he’s grown and grown, does well in school and he’s the leader of the gang of kids he hangs out with.

Although he’s not the tallest or huskiest or oldest, he is the boy everyone centers around. It’s the other boys who come to his door to see if he can play. Be it tossing a ball, fishing in the lake, or skipping stones, he is, for lack of better words, the star. His mother claims she can’t see it, but I do.

Bruce is his group’s leader, but why? Is it because he was born so, even if his height, weight and age might say differently? Is it because of the positive affirmation he received from our VBS program, creating a lasting impact on his life?

Could it be that he’s simply reaping the benefits of living above the local pastor with the cool cat?

You never know by looking at someone what you’re going to get or what to expect. You can make an educated guess; perhaps you’ll be right, or wrong, but we’ll often fail to see a person’s full potential or to see them as God does.

What makes someone a natural leader? Is it what they possess, is it just a luck of the draw, or it is about the possibilities that exist within them?

That question exists in today’s scripture. Why does God choose David to be the next king, and why does the Bible constantly testify to the fact that God delights in choosing the unlikeliest of folk to do the most amazing things?

For a brief history of the Israelites, God never intended them to have a King; God wanted to be their ruler. That’s what made Israel unique- they were not people united by race or politics but by their relationship with God and God’s covenant.

God spoke to them through judges and priests, but they demanded a human king, wanting to be like everyone else. It broke God’s heart, and God tried to give them a word of warning, using Samuel to relay the message.

“You don’t want a king. He’ll take your sons and make them fight in his army, he’ll take your daughters and make them maids. He’ll take the best of everything you have and give them to his cronies and use them for his own benefit. He’ll turn you into slaves and you’ll find yourself crying out because of your king.”

The people could care less: “We want a king so we can be like everyone else and he can fight our battles.” To which God told Samuel “Listen to the people and give them their king.”

Saul is the first person anointed King. He’s tall and imposing and wins wars, but he disobeys God and acts as if he did nothing wrong, leaving God no choice but to “fire” him. Samuel had a hard time bearing the bad news, but afterwards God sent him to anoint a new king.

Samuel is told to go to the little do-hicky of a town called Bethlehem to a nobody named Jesse.

Jesse did not come from what we would call blue blood: his grandma was a foreigner named Ruth, one of his ancestors pretended to be a prostitute while another one of his ancestors was the town prostitute. Yet it’s from this non-pedigree family that God plans to anoint the next king.

What happens next is something akin to “America’s Next Top Model” in which Jesse’s sons participate in a runway show. One by one they walk in front of Samuel for inspection.

First down the runway: Eliab, the oldest son with JFK’s good looks and Michael Jordan’s height.
“This is the one” Samuel thinks, impressed with his beauty. But God says “Na-ah. You’re looking at the superficial appearances, I look inside the heart.”

Next comes Abinadab but God says “Oh no, this one won’t do.” Brother after brother walk down the runway and all 7 brothers fail to pass the test.

In a situation similar to Cinderella, Samuel asks “Are you sure these are all the sons you got?” To which Jesse states “Well... there is an eighth one, he’s the youngest and kind of the runt of the family. He’s out in the fields guarding the sheep.”

“Well bring him in,” Samuel says.

Last born David is brought in and God immediately says “That’s it, he’s the one, get up, get up and anoint him.”

By all sense of established logic, Eliab, the first born with the movie star good looks should have been the king. But instead it was David, the eigth son, who was chosen.

And just in case you missed it, the moral of the story is simply this: God does not see the way we see, and God doesn’t always do what we would expect. God’s ways can surely be odd, but God’s ways are best.

There are various questions we can ask about this reading. What was it God saw in David that he did not see in the seven others? What was it that God saw in David that no one else, even his own father, could see?

Was it David’s traits? Sure, he was musically inclined, strong, sincerely loved the Lord and proved to be steadfast and brave. But David also had some questionable qualities. He would single handedly break five of the commandments. So what was it God saw in him?

Maybe it wasn’t what David already had or what he was capable of. Perhaps what God saw in David was a wonderful vessel that God could fill.

Perhaps David was something like a balloon.

Think about it. Have you ever purchased a bag of balloons? When left in the bag they have no value, just bits of color and rubber.

But look closer. What makes them valuable is that balloons can be stretched, and they can be filled with a multitude of things, thus becoming whatever you need them to be.

Fill them with your breathe and they’re pretty decorations to be tacked to the wall, or twisted into cool animal shapes. Fill them with helium and you have something that floats in air or when inhaled let’s you too talk in a high squeaky voice.

Fill them with water and they become playful blobs of wet fun, to be tossed back and forth in contests or used in a water balloon fight.

But balloons can also be used inappropriately. When swallowed they can become a tool of death. When stretched back they can snap someone’s skin. When filled with rocks they become a weapon. And when accidently let go they float away causing their little owner countless tears.

But a balloon is just a piece of colorful nothing until something is put inside of it.

Was that the secret to God calling David as king? That it wasn’t about his musical ability, his courage or strength, but God knowing here was someone who could be filled by the Spirit; that David was stretchable, thus allowing God to work through him, with him, and for him?

David was a leader, a lover, and a musician. He was raw and charismatic and throughout 1 and 2 Samuel we see how the Lord is with David and how David belongs to the Lord.

But at one time he was a nobody. The runt of the litter, from a questionable family in a tiny town, considered by his own kin not worthy enough to participate in a holy fashion show.

And yet it was David who would become the greatest king God’s people had ever seen, and it would be from David’s family tree that we would receive our Messiah, Jesus Christ.

We should be thankful that God does not see us through flawed human eyes, easily tricked by beauty and pedigree, but beyond, into our hearts, into our souls, into who we are and who we are capable of becoming.

May we not only seek to see others through the eyes of our Heavenly Father, but we should seek to see ourselves through God’s eyes as well.

Perhaps we’ll be surprised at just what God is calling and empowering us to do. And perhaps we can be audacious enough to ask God to fill us with whatever gifts God can, so we can be all God is calling us to be.

Thanks be to God who sees beyond height and stature, the Son who reaches out to all and the Spirit that fill us with endless possibilities.

Amen and amen.

Wanderings for 07 14 09

2009-06-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

Good Friday everyone: it's a beautiful day. The Gladys and John Kapenga Community Peace Garden is looking great. The flowers have been watered and are thriving, the birds and squirrels have been feasting upon the seeds and the fence David created is just the perfect touch to welcome folk and (in the fall) to remind them that we were here. With my office windows open I can hear kids playing and a neighbor fixing his car/revving the engine.

Life, for this moment, is good. And let us not forget that little Kayla is having her feeding tub taken out today, which is certainly good news for her and her family.

This Sunday we are journeying back into the Old Testament. 1 Samuel 16:1-13 introduces us to a young person named David. He is the youngest and most seemingly inconsequential of an inconsequential family in a tiny, teeny town. As the author of "The Message" describes David, he's a "runt."

Yet this runt of a son/brother is the one God chooses to become the next King of God's people, and this runt from a nobody family will also become the greatest king Israel ever knew, and the king that all others will be compared to.

Yet again, it's a story of how God surprises us, and how God sees not with human eyes, but with God's eyes: eyes that see not just the physical, but the emotional, the spiritual, the gifts, the strengths, the flaws and the works in progress.

I had a friend who use to pray "God, teach me how to love myself the way you love me." I think you could also change that to "God, help me to see myself the way you see me."

How do you believe God is seeing you, and how can you allow that to shape and inform how you see yourself, as well as those around you?

Have a blessed day, and let us also keep in our prayers those who have not been feeling so well lately: Gladys Kapenga, Mary Louise Johnson, Marv Timmerman and Mary Jane Everett.

Peace and joy,

Rev. George Miller

Sermon for June 7, 2009

2009-06-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

June 7, 2009
Scripture: John 3:1-17
Sermon Title: “From Darkness Into Light”
Rev. George N. Miller

It was one those moments. A moment in which you have no choice but to be fully present. The sun was still out. The crowd was still there. Nicodemus and Joseph did not care.

After Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit, after the soldiers were sure he was dead, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate if he could have the body.

It was an unusual request. Usually the body of criminals were left up for wild dogs and vultures to eat, sending a message to other troublemakers.
No one asked for the body of a crucified man.
Pilate, perhaps surprised at the man’s audacity, gave the OK.

Nicodemus had with him a mixture of myrrh and aloes, a hundred pounds worth. It was a testament to his wealth. It was a testament to his love for Jesus. And before the sun could set the two men began to work.

Usually a man such as Nicodemus would never touch a dead body right before the Holiest Day of the year, rendering himself unclean, but he didn’t care. What he cared about was showing Rabbi Jesus the respect he deserved.

Nicodemus and Joseph took the spices, applying it to Jesus’ hands: hands that healed the sick, hand that fed the hungry and reached out to the lonely.

They took the spices, applying it to his feet: feet that traveled from Nazareth to Jerusalem, from mountaintops to water wells.

They took spices, applying it to his mouth: lips that proclaimed good news, lips that spoke words of forgiveness, lips that smiled upon the people.

They took spices, anointing Jesus’ entire body, a body that was indeed a temple, a living, walking, embodiment of God’s Wisdom, Torah and Grace.

When done, Nicodemus and Joseph wrapped Jesus in a linen cloth, filling it with more spices, and then, while still in the sunshine, for all to see, they lovingly placed him inside a brand new tomb.

And here they were, showing radical hospitality to a dead body. This Joseph of Arimathea who once secretly followed Jesus, afraid of what others would do. This Nicodemus, a Pharisee who once visited Jesus under the cover of night, when everyone else was asleep.

Somehow, even after the violence of the cross, these two men lost their fear and boldly displayed their love for Jesus in an act of profound grief. But what was it that made them do this?

We don’t know much about Joseph, but we’ve met Nicodemus twice before. The first time in John 3, when he pays Jesus a nighttime visit.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a once radical branch of Judaism.

Pharisees were the ones who took worship of God out of the Temple and brought it into the people’s homes. They declared that if people obeyed the ritual purity laws of the temple priests then any place could become sacred, the dining room table could become an altar, and no matter where a person wandered, God was right by their side.

In their beliefs the Pharisees found profound comfort, but over the centuries, the Pharisees began to gain power and to condemn those who didn’t correctly follow the purity laws.

Which is why Jesus bothered them so. Here was a new rabbi stirring up trouble: hanging out with unclean folk, turning water into wine for drunken party goers, and most recently driving vendors out of the temple. What would he do next?

Nicodemus wanted to find out, so he paid Jesus a visit. But to make sure no one else knew about it, he traveled under the cover of night, while everyone else was asleep.

“Rabbi,” he stated, “We know you’re a teacher who has come from God; no one can do what you do apart from the presence of God.”

It seemed like straightforward comment, but Jesus responded with what sounded like a riddle. “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born anothen.”

Anothen was a tricky word since it had at least two meanings: it could mean “from above” or “again.” Either way it made no sense. Nicodemus took his best shot: “How can an old man be born again? Can I reenter my mother’s tummy?”

Jesus continued the riddle “No one can enter God’s kingdom without being born of water and Spirit...the wind blows where it chooses and you hear the sound of it, but you don’t know where it goes.”

“How can this be,” the old Pharisee asked, to which Jesus responded “You’re a teacher, and yet you don’t understand?”

For Nicodemus it was a very odd moment, one that left more questions then answers. So as the moon still hung in the sky, he made his way back across town, pondering all that Jesus has said.

Though it didn’t make sense at the time, that late night meeting transformed him forever. The idea of being born again or from above giving him hours of deep religious introspection that brought him closer to God, introspection that brought him closer to Jesus, introspection that began replacing his nighttime fears with fearlessness and faith.

What Jesus said got under Nicodemus’s skin, into his soul, changing his actions. By chapter 7, as the Good Ol’ boys are trying to arrest Jesus, it’s Nicodemus who stands up and says “This is wrong: our law doesn’t give us the right to judge people without a fair trial.” To which he’s ridiculed and accused of being low class.

Truly, the wind of change was blowing in Nicodemus’s life, a wind that was bringing him closer to Christ even if it meant creating a division amongst his friends; a wind of change that allowed him to speak words of social justice in front of folk; a wind of change that Jesus had talked about one night not so long ago.

Knowing Jesus, having an encounter with him in the darkness of night was a turning point for our man Nicodemus. A moment in which he would never, could never be the same.

That can happen when we meet Jesus in the dark moments of our own lives. We’ve all had dark moments, haven’t we? Moments when the sun has seemed to set in our lives. Moments when it seems like everyone else is sleeping soundly and we have a restless soul. Moments when our mind just goes and goes, refusing to shut off.

Moments of darkness, when we are up late, worrying about how the bills are going to get paid. Moments of darkness when we worry about our health or the fate of a loved one. Moments when our past feels too broken and our future too uncertain and we can’t find rest.

Those are sad, lonely moments. When we don’t know what we can do, we don’t know what we should do, we’re not even sure if anything we can do will make a difference.

Those are moments that don’t seem to make any sense, forcing us to wrestle with the very core of what we believe, wondering if God could even exist. Some people get lost in those moments, wandering deeper into a wilderness of despair.

But you know what: those are often the moments when Jesus is the most present. Those moments of dark night, when Jesus our teacher, our healer, our friend, is right there, ready to speak to us, ready to reach out, ready to offer a chance of transformation.

Sometimes, like Nicodemus, we have to find a way to make it to where Jesus is. Sometimes it’s Jesus making himself known in an unmistakable way. And sometimes, like in today’s reading, Jesus speaks in a manner that may not fully make sense, but in reflection, brings about change.

I think of my life, my moments of darkness. The times of unemployment, the separation from family, and how in each of those moments I can look back and see how the face of Christ, the hand of God, the blowing of the Spirit was moving and transforming, even if I was unable to see it.

I think back to my ministry, of how much has taken place in the night. Back in April when Bev died and at 4 am in the morning Nila and I drove to the hospital to pay our respects.

An overnight at St. Louis Hospital in which I sat with a family as their son was on life support, eating cold hamburgers and soggy fries, talking about God, faith and “Touched by An Angel.”

My most powerful night experience was in 1996. My father has just died and I was working the overnight at St Joseph’s Home for Children. There was a baby who was born addicted to crack, and at 2 a.m. the child, going through the painful throes of withdrawal, began to cry and cry. In all my life it was the most horrifying sound I heard.

All alone, numb from my father’s death, I had no idea what to do. I went into the child’s room, picked him up, and sat on living room steps, cradling him in my arms, and singing a song.

It was one of those nighttime moments. I didn’t know what was exactly going on, but there was healing. It was as if by comforting a crying child the healing of the broken son inside of me began, and my wounded heart was able to comfort the withdrawal pains of that innocent baby boy. Soon his cries subsided and he fell asleep.

In that moment, Christ was present. Both Christ who heals and Christ who was crucified, both the Christ who wept for Lazarus and the Christ who said “Do not weep, for she’s not dead.”

It was at the darkest time of night, when no one else was around and it was one of the most real moments I have ever lived.

Jesus has the most amazing ways of making himself known. Jesus appears to us and speaks to us when we are least expecting it, and Jesus will speak to us in ways we may not understand or like to hear. But nevertheless, Jesus speaks, and in that moment, transformation begins.

Transformation that brings us from darkness into light, transformation that gives us the courage to speak even when others don’t agree.

Transformation that allows us to do what is right and what is true. We saw that transformation take place in Nicodemus.

After Jesus was humiliated and killed on the cross, when others would have left his body to the dogs, Nicodemus found a way to do something, to boldly act in the afternoon sun.

Nicodemus, with the help of Joseph, found a way to pay tribute to Jesus’ temple, by caring for it, bathing it in fragrant spices, wrapping it in linen and placing it in a newly made tomb.

And in that act of love, in that act of radical hospitality, they helped set the stage for God’s greatest miracle of all and the very beginning of our faith: the resurrection.

Because of Nicodemus’ journey from the darkness into the light, we too got to discover just how, on that Easter morn, no amount of darkness, no amount of secrecy can ever cover up the light that is Christ.

How has Jesus helped bring you into the light?

Thanks be to God the creator, Jesus our Savior and the Spirit which empowers us in each moment of the day.

Amen and amen.

Wanderings for June 7, 2009

2009-06-05T08:08:00.001-07:00

How have you grown? What has Jesus meant to you? What would you be willing or able to do today that you could not have imagined yourself doing a year ago, five years ago, before Jesus came into your life, before you fully basked in his sunshine?

One of the joys of being a Christian is finding the faith and strength to face things that ordinarily would have scared us, to try things we thought we would never be good enough to do, and to challenge those who wish to shroud the land in darkness.

But it can also be scary: to be the one to stand up, to be the one to act, to try that new thing, to stretch as a person, as a sibling of Christ, as a child of God, as a benefactor of the Spirit.

But if we have not changed, if we have not grown, then we have not fully embraced the relationship with Jesus that is being fully offered.

One person who did was Nicodemus, the Pharisee. He goes toe to toe with Jesus in this Sunday's scripture, John 3:1-17. In the dark of night, when no one can see him, good old Nico' visits Jesus and ends up engaging in mysterious word-play that he does not fully "get" at the moment, and word play which still leaves some scholars scratching their head.

But faith is not always about understanding, faith also comes in the wrestling, in the act of trying to figure things out. And apparently, Nico's encounter with Jesus made an impression because the next time we see him, Nico' is standing up for Jesus even when the powers that be are trying to arrest him (John 7:45-52). Of course, Nico gets slammed in the process with an "Oh no you didn't: comment.

But that doesn't stop him, for the next time we see Nicodemus is right after Jesus has been killed, and it is Nico with Joseph of Armithea who ask for Jesus' body, who anoint it, who wrap it in linen, who place it in the tomb. And Nico uses not just a mixture of myrrh and aloes to care for Jesus, but a 100 pounds worth, a sign not only of his wealth but his devotion to Jesus.

Nicodemus not only becomes a great role-model of a way in which to grieve, but also a great role-model on how one can grow in Christ. When we first see him he is secretly visiting Jesus in the dark of night, but he grows and matures into someone who is able to stand up for what is right, and into someone who is not afraid to act in the daylight, for all to see, showing his love for Jesus.

May we all be like Nicodemus, may we all find ways to embrace how much we have spiritually grown and the ways we can reach out to show and profess our faith.

In love and abundance,

Pastor G

Wandering for May 31, 2009

2009-05-29T13:18:00.001-07:00

Tongues of Fire!
Speaking in other Languages!
The sound of Rushing Wind!
A filled House!
Bewildered Bystanders!
Perplexed Party-Poopers!
and a Passionate Peter Preaching!

It can only mean one thing: Pentecost Sunday. That's the amazing, confusing, electrifying scripture we'll read this Sunday. Acts 2:1-21 is such a great read, marking the anniversary/birthday of the Christian Church. It's the day the Spirit really broke into the world, filling people with prophecy, visions, dreams.

Pentecost is a day in which God once again did something NEW. I find it amazing how throughout the Bible we encounter again and again the ways in which God breaks into our reality and does something so amazing you think "There's no way God can top that!"

But guess what: God does.

Just think of a few of the astonishing, seemingly un-topable things God has done:
Creation, parting the Red Sea, Resurrection.

And yet, just when it seems God has played the best card, another Ace comes out to wow us. And that is what Pentecost is all about.

Jesus has been crucified, resurrected and ascended. And then !BAM! something new and exiting happens as the Spirit comes roaring in and begins to change the game. And one of the first changes the Spirit will do: make it so people can understand one another.

What a joy to behold, what a blessing to let loose on Creation.

May the Spirit move you in ways you could never imagine this week. May the Spirit enable us to understand one another a little bit more.

Peace and joy,

Pastor G

Sermon for May 21, 2009

2009-05-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

May 21, 2009
Scripture: Acts 1:1-11
Sermon Title: “The Places You Will Go”
Rev. George N. Miller

Earlier this year I attended a workshop on evangelism and the presenter told a story about his father. His Dad had a saying that went like this: “I’m gonna tell you once, you’re gonna hear me twice. I’m gonna tell you once, you’re gonna hear me twice. You’re going to wake up and you’re going to say ‘Is it going to be a good day or a bad day?’ Make the right choice and you’ll be OK.”

What did that mean, and why did his father repeat it again and again, year after year? One day our presenter understood...but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s talk about tonight’s scripture.

It’s the beginning of Acts, which in many ways is the 2nd volume of a story that will never end. Jesus has been resurrected and for the past 40 days he’s been hanging out with the disciples, teaching them about the Kingdom of God. He’s ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait, for soon they’ll be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
He redirects their attention to the present moment, and is lifted up and taken away.

After 3 years of ministry, after 3 days in the grave, after 40 days of resurrection appearances, Jesus is out of their sight; he’s absent. And in his absence the newest stage of ministry begins.

That may sound like I misspoke, but if you look at what occurs here and couple it with the Gospels, you’ll realize that part of Jesus’s ministry was preparing the disciples for his departure while at the same time helping them understand that his leaving is just another part of his ministry.

For example, in John 14-16 Jesus explains that he’s to go ahead, establishing a place for them, and that God will give the disciples an Advocate, meaning the Spirit. He encourages them to continue abiding in him, as he abides in them.

Then in ch. 16 he gets right down to it: that it’s for their benefit that he goes away because if he stays the Advocate will not come and guide them in all things. In other words Jesus is saying to them: “Oh, all the places you will go!”

Yes they’ll weep and mourn, yes they’ll miss him, but their pain will turn into joy because Jesus has already proved victorious.

In Acts we witness that it was the ascension of Christ that created a space for the Spirit to pour down upon the people, ensuring that the Good News reaches all people throughout the world.

But how can absence be a good thing? How can being apart work for the good? Theologian Henri Nouwen wrote about absence in his book “The Living Reminder.” According to Nouwen, much of our faith is stories of memories, of people, places and events that happened some time ago.

Memories are more then just things we recall but they connect and sustain us during hard times. They are well-springs of hope, teaching that love transcends the limits of time and space.

How does this pertain to absence? When a place, person or event is close to us, we can grow numb to it, failing to see and appreciate it, failing to learn from and find comfort in it. Absence does something unique: it helps us see in a new way.

When we’re not near someone, we engage in an act of memory about them that allows us to see them in ways beyond physical, creating a space for a different level of intimacy.

Think about it, when you’re apart from someone, you don’t focus so much on their idiosyncracies, such as the mole above their lip or spinach caught in their teeth. Instead you can reflect on things they have said, actions they have done.

The space creates a chance to clarify and bring to the foreground things such as gifts or kind words they said or lessons you learned from them.

Absence also does this: it makes us want to be together again. When someone is always in our life, we take them for granted and wish for space. When we are apart and separated, we long to see them again, to be in their presence, to hear them snore, to hear their goofy jokes, to see what new outrageous ensemble they will wear.

Space creates closeness, and absence can make us more present to each other then we can imagine. Think of the truths that are revealed by friends on the phone when intimacy is increased by the non-existent sight of body movement. Think of the war time letters soldiers wrote to their honeys saying vulnerable sweet-nothings they may not have had the courage to say face to face.

Absence works in ministry, such as visits. A visit that’s too long can drain a person, but a visit done right creates a healthy space that allows the Spirit to move and educate. Sometimes the real visit happens in absence: as one waits for the visit, looking forward to the time together; in the space that’s created when the pastor leaves, and both people can reflect upon and bask in the spiritual after-glow of what they shared.

Tonight we spiritually kick off Memorial Day Weekend. We’re closed this Sunday so people can enjoy the holiday. Diaconate wanted to create a space, a chance to be absent and to give people the OK to take a step back, chill and relax.

Some may use this as an opportunity to garden, others to travel, some to spend time with family and friends or visit other churches. Oh, the places you will go.

But it’s also a way to create healthy, holy absence. For each week we worship here, we gather, we take in the sounds we know, the sights we see, the people we’re familiar with.

But with an absence we now have a chance to come back next Sunday. And to come back with new eyes, new spirits, new insights.

To see the windows anew after a week away. To hear our organist anew after hearing the sound of silence or of someone else playing.

To revel in the voices and smiles of our children, to shake hands and to reacquaint ourselves with dear old friends and faithful apostles.

This time of absence is not to pull us apart but to actually bring us together, to remind ourselves of who we are and of whose we are.

Jesus spent 40 days with the disciples. This gave them the space and time they needed to grow, become adjusted and be prepared for what they had to do. And when the time was right, he left.

The irony was that in Jesus’s departure he actually became closer to them, for now he was ever present, always there, in their hearts and spirit, in their work and their mission. Jesus remained the center of what they did, but now their focus could be redirected onto the community and ministry that was at hand.

And when Jesus ascended, the disciples were actually able to step into the people they were destined to be, to do the work they were destined to do and to prepare the next foundational level for the church we are today.

And it happened all because of Jesus’s absence.

In conclusion, let us return to the story I was first telling, about the father and his words. Day after day, the father told his son “I’m gonna tell you once, you’re gonna hear me twice. I’m gonna tell you once, you’re gonna hear me twice. You’re going to wake up and you’re going to say ‘Is it going to be a good day or a bad day?’ Make the right choice and you’ll be OK.”

The son grew tired of hearing his father say those words. Then one day he was hanging out with his friends. They were drinking and got it into their heads that it would be fun to go drag racing.

The young man was about to step into one of the cars, when he heard his father’s voice “I’m gonna tell you once, you’re gonna hear me twice. You’re going to wake up one day and you’re going to say “Is it going to be a good day or a bad day?’ Make the right choice and you’ll be ok.”

And now he understood. The hearing once was his father’s first telling him, the hearing twice was what he was now hearing in his father’s absence.

He listened to his absent father’s voice, and stepped away from that car, and it was the right thing to do. Moments later an accident occurred, killing the driver and leaving another paralyzed.

His father was wise. He knew he could not be with his son 100% of the time, otherwise his son would never live his life. But he made sure that even in his absence his son would know well enough to make the right choices to live life.

In his father’s absence, those words took on more meaning and power then they ever had before.

Its Memorial Day Weekend. Oh the places you will go, the things you will do and the people you will meet. Even though we’ll be apart this Sunday, may our absence liven our hearts and bring us closer to one another.

And when we are reunited, may we be glad to be in the house of the Lord and glad to be in one another’s presence again.

All thanks and praise be to the Spirit that falls upon each and every one of us, for God whose kingdom we are called to make real and for Jesus who, even in his absence, lives within us all.

Amen.

Memorial Day

2009-05-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend is Memorial Day. It is more than barbeques and movie openings and sales at stores, but a time to remember and pay respect to our brave men and women who have died serving our country.

In preparation for Thursday's service, I came across a website that lists not only the names, but shows the faces of all our brave soldiers, as well as their home state. It should be no surprise that MI has one of the largest numbers of women and men who sacrificed their lives. It's done by the Washington Post. If interested, here is where you can go:

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/states/

Let us remember them all this Memorial Day Weekend.

Peace, Pastor G

Wanderings for 05 21 09

2009-05-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

Wanderings for May 21, 2009
Acts 1:1-11

3 years. For three years they followed Jesus. They let down their nets. They traveled from town to town. They ate in homes, worshipped on mountain tops, witnessed miracles on land and on sea. And in a whirl-wind week they went with him as Jesus entered the city, and they dispersed when he was arrested, humiliated and killed.

That should have been the end of the story right there. But it wasn't. Because just a few days later they got word: Christ has risen. It came from Mary M and the other ladies who first visited the tomb. It came from Cleopas and his companion (wife?) who dined with Christ in Emmaus. It came from inside the locked room and the open sea shore.

Death had not won, the powers that be did not prevail. Look at what God has done!

This Thursday, we are having a special service to bless everyone as they enjoy Memorial Day (remember, we are closed this Sunday). This Scripture for this Thursday night is taken from Acts 1:1-11. Luke, who is the author of Acts, has added something extra to the story. He has the resurrected Christ hanging out with the disciples for 40 days, talking to them about the Kingdom of God. He encourages them not to leave until they have received the promises of God.

I like to think in a way these 40 days are a buffer. They have been through so much, seen so much. The disciples thought they had lost Jesus once, but he came back. And for 40 days they get to chill and hang out in the city. Chilling and hanging out is good for the soul and the body, but it doesn't get the job done, and can lead to lack of care and wonder, so after 40 days, Jesus says goodbye to the disciples. He says they'll receive the power of the Spirit and they will be his witnesses to "the end of the earth". Jesus is then lifted up into heavens.

What do you make of this story? Does it speak to anything that is going on in your life? For me, it recalls something I read from Henry Nouwen in "The Living Reminder" about the power of absence. That being absent from another allows our memory to see each other in a new way. We see this in John 16:7 and 13 when Jesus reveals that only in memory will real intimacy with him be possible. And here in Acts we see that it is only when Jesus is gone that the Spirit reveals itself to the disciples. According to Nouwen, the great mystery of divine revelation is that God entered into intimacy with us not only by Christ's arrival, but also in Christ's departure.

Another way of thinking about things is like this: the disciples didn't truly become the disciples until Jesus was gone, and it wasn't until Jesus ascended into heaven that the Good News of Jesus traveled to the ends of the earth.

How are the ways you've been influence by people in their absence? And who are people you know you've influenced even after you've been long gone?

May you have a wonderful week and Memorial Day, and I hope to see most of you Thursday night at 7 p.m,. for our special service.

Blessings, Pastor G
* if you want to be e-mailed the weekly Wanderings , contact Pastor George at pastormiller224@aol.com

Sermon for May 17, 2009 Acts 10:44-11:18

2009-05-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

May 17, 2009
Scripture: Acts 10:44-11:18
Sermon Title: “Food Matters”
Rev. George N. Miller

Any fan of Broadway musicals is familiar with the play “Mame,” about a woman who lived life to its fullest. It features a line that says “Life’s a banquet, and most poor sons of (guns) are starving to death.” It also featured iconic actress Bea Arthur who died just a few weeks ago.

With her deep voice, lurching height and cutting stare, Bea was known to the TV world as Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornac from “The Golden Girls.” When she died, friends from all over called me; for us it was like losing a friend, because after decades of daily reruns, she was, indeed a friend.

Bea’s character was the emotional glue of “The Golden Girls”. She was the odd duckling who spoke her mind, dealt with life’s unfairness and deeply loved her family, both her biological and the social one she created.

“The Golden Girls” was known for its strong ensemble, its controversial take on adult sexuality, but perhaps most affectionately, for its scenes around the kitchen table where the ladies ate cheesecake and drank coffee.

Jesus and his disciples had bread and wine, and for the Golden Girls there was no problem they couldn’t discuss no problem go great it couldn’t be dealt with over cheesecake and coffee.

For many shows, food is the emotional center of life and relationships. The Sopranos had their pizza, the women of “Sex and the City” had their cosmos, and the funniest moments of “I Love Lucy” featured food: from Lucy working in a candy factory, to her squashing grapes or her infamous “Vitavegameatamin” commercial.

Today we’re going to talk about matters of food, because, at the end of the day food matters. It’s more then just what we take in to fuel our body. Food connects us to one another, it helps to define cultures and generations, and food feeds our soul.

Food can also be used to keep us apart, which is one reason I’ll never stop drinking coffee or be a vegetarian. As a pastor it’s impossible to attend pot-lucks or visit homes without eating meat.

And if you recall, I came here as a professed tea lover; iced tea and peppermint tea was my thing. And Mary Jane, bless her heart, went right out and got an electric tea-pot just for me. But every Sunday when I come downstairs and smell the freshly brewed coffee? Or visit someone’s home and there’s a pot of coffee ready to be shared? There’s no way I’d say “No thanks, can I have a spot of tea instead?”

As long as I’m a pastor I’ll always eat meat and be up for a cup of coffee. What we eat and drink with others is important, because food matters.

Think about the fact that one of our 2 sacraments involves food. Next, see just how much space the author of Acts gives to the eating of food.

The Spirit has fallen upon the people, hundreds are being baptized into this new religion. During a time of personal prayer Peter has a vision of a large sheet coming down from heaven filled with all types of animals and he’s invited to eat.

But Peter is a faithful Jew, with strict dietary laws, and his response is “No God, I have never eaten anything unclean.” He’s told that God has made all animals clean to eat, and to make sure he gets the point, this happens 3 times.

After this vision, Cornelius, an Italian, invites Peter into his home. Peter obliges, but reminds him that it has been unlawful for a Jew to visit a non-Jew, but God has revealed that no longer is someone to be called clean or unclean.

Peter visits with the Italian and his family and begins to share the Good News, preaching peace and testifying that all who believe in Jesus will receive forgiveness of sins.

So powerful are his words that the Spirit falls upon all who hear, even though they are Gentiles, and Peter, realizing that no one can withhold the Spirit’s gifts, baptizes all of the people in the name of Jesus Christ.

So successful is the event that Cornelius invites Peter to spend a few days with his family. And since Cornelius was an Italian, you know they were sharing some amazing feasts, with sauces filled with pork and shellfish, glasses of wine and many hours around the dining room table, discussing Christ.

After a few days of living, sleeping and eating Italian, Peter returns to Jerusalem. And do you think the church people are happy with him?

Uh-huh. Instead of celebrating the news that Peter evangelized a Gentile family, they say to him: “What were you doing? Hanging out with uncircumcised men and eating their dirty, filthy food. You weren’t following our church bylaws.”

What Peter did was a breech of Jewish etiquette, because not only did circumcision matter, but so did food and who one ate with.

The earliest Christians were Jews. And as Jews, it was important to follow the Law of Moses, and the laws were very clear. All Jewish males were to be circumcised, that was a sign of their covenant with God. And the bylaws clearly stated there were foods you could not eat: pork was a no no, shell-fish was a no no, mixing meat and dairy was a big no-no

And there were reasons. Rules about pork made basic health sense: pigs were dirty animals and if not properly cooked could cause sickness. There were also ethical issues. You did not mix meat with dairy because the off-chance that you may be eating an animal in its mothers milk. But the food rules also dealt with societal issues.

Food mattered. Food is how people celebrated and interacted with one another, and social interactions could lead to improper influences and straying from one’s beliefs.

The Jewish people understood themselves to be God’s Chosen which meant they were to be separate from others. The influence of pop culture was too great, creating opportunities to fall back to old ways of sin, of worshiping other gods, or worshiping political leaders. A solution was to keep a distance from society, and what better way to insure separation than through food?

If you can’t eat pork, then you can’t join your Gentile neighbors for the block party pig roast. If shellfish is out of limits, then you can’t go to the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. If you can’t mix milk and meat, then you can forget about stopping at your local Mickey D’s for a cheeseburger.

By limiting what people could eat, it limited relationships and perceived negative influences.
So the Kosher laws dealt with matters of food because food matters. It mattered in relationships, it mattered in ethics, and it mattered in showing ones faithfulness and love to God.

Since the earliest Christians were Kosher abiding Jews, they assumed they had to continue making food matter. And they were right: food mattered, but now it would matter in a new way.

First, Jesus was a man who broke table rules, spending much time eating with folk who were known sinners and of questionable morals. To emulate him would mean sitting at table as well, and because Jesus had come to bring good news to all, it would mean that all were welcome to the table.

In order for all to feel comfortable at the table meant that all foods would have to be welcomed as well. Hence Peter’s vision giving him permission to eat all foods, hence why God gives him the vision three times.

And why the author of Acts tell us this story twice: so we understand that in order for us to share the Good News with people, in order for us to hear the Good News from people, in order for us to be the Good News to people, we have to be able to eat with people, all people, all foods, because food does indeed matter.

Today’s scripture is essential to the development and spread of Christianity because what it said was that the Good News was available to all who heard and to all who believed, and could not be limited to only those who ate cheesecake, drank cosmos, ate pizza or took Vitavegameatamin.

Food matters, because it’s what ties us together. It creates memories, from our grandmother’s cookies to ice cream cones purchased in the summer time. Food matters because it defines who we culturally are from hot dogs to apple pie.

Food matters because it offers us comfort in times of distress, from cookie dough ice-cream after a bad break-up to finger sandwiches after a funeral.

Food matters because it was through five loaves and two fish that Jesus was able to bring forth a slice of heaven here on earth.

Food matters because Jesus took bread and said “This is my body” and a cup of wine and said “This is my blood”.

Food matters because it was in the sharing of a meal in Emmaus that the resurrected Christ was revealed, and Cleopas and his companion ran to the disciples proclaiming “The Lord has risen.”

Food matters because it was by eating formally forbidden cuisine that Peter could enter into the house of Cornelius and preach Christ, ushering in the Spirit and baptizing a family in the Lord.

Food matters, because that is one way we, as members of BCUCC, will find a way to survive and move on.

On Wednesday, after a shared potluck, we deliberated about the future of this particular sensuous Body of Christ. Do we stay open? Do we close on July 26? With heavy hearts, the majority made the choice to close.

But we did not make the choice to stop being part of the Body of Christ. People will look into other congregations to join. Some will stay in the UCC, some may join a church that is closer by.

Amidst the sadness of closing our doors after 85 years of ministry comes the questions: what do we do, how do we get to know people, will we fit in?
One answer we can glean from today’s scripture: eat.

Like Dorothy Zbornac, like Carrie Bradshaw, like Tony Soprano, like Peter, like Jesus, eat with the people around you. Don’t just go to worship and leave immediately afterwards. Make sure to stay.

Sit down for a cup of coffee. Have a slice of cake. Taste a cookie. Stay for a nosh.

It will be heartbreaking at first. It may be scary as heck. But don’t be afraid to join others at table, to eat, drink, talk. Open yourself up. Listen. Pray. Watch. Feel. Smell.

Food matters, and one of the ways in which God will take care of you, one way in which the Spirit will move, is if you are willing to spend some time eating and drinking with the people you meet at the places you may go.

Who knows what new friends you’ll make. Who knows what new family you may find. Who knows how the Spirit will move and how Jesus will make himself known.

Life is not the “Golden Girls.” All problems can’t be solved in five minutes over coffee and a slice of cheesecake. But it certainly won’t hurt none.

In closing, when Bea Arthur was interviewed and asked about her fondness of drink, she responded “I believe that you’re here on Earth for a short time, and while you’re here, you shouldn’t forget it... ‘Life’s a banquet, and most poor sons of (guns) are starving to death.’ Do I look hungry? Or thirsty?”

In deed, the Lord is our shepherd. Not only are we made to lie in green pastures and led beside still waters, but in Christ we are given a banquet, and our cup runs over.

May we continue to enjoy our time with one another, may we experience the presence of Christ every time we sit in fellowship and share at table, and may the Spirit watch over and guide us during our time of grief and transition.

Amen and amen.

Sermon for May 10, 2009 Acts 8:26-40

2009-05-16T16:58:00.001-07:00

May 10, 2009
Scripture: Acts 8:26-40
Sermon Title: “Waters of Life”
Rev. George N. Miller

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters...” Ahh, waters.

It’s a special day: not only are we celebrating the marvelous women in our life, but it’s also the fourth anniversary of when I first preached here. There’s been much learning and much sharing.

One lesson people have seemed to absorb is the biblical symbolism of water representing chaos. But, I’ve failed to teach the ways in which water also symbolize new life and rebirth.

The Bible, being magnificently complex, balances water’s different symbolisms. For example, when the Hebrews are being chased and come across the Red Sea, water represents assured death. But when the Sea is parted and they cross over, water represents new life and God’s deliverance.

Therefor, the biblical use of water is all about context. So when the disciples are in a boat being tossed too and fro, water is chaos. When Jesus talks to a woman at a well, then water is life.

Mothers certainly know about the role of water in the act of new life. Every one of us began inside our mother’s womb, an amniotic ocean that aided in our development, nourishing and protecting us.

This mini-ocean cushioned us, promoted growth, and it was the breaking of our mother’s water that introduced us to the world.

In some ways our mother’s womb was our Eden, an oasis of oneness. Perhaps that’s why some feel a natural connection with water. Watch the glee children have in a kiddie pool as they splash and smile. Or an adult relaxing in a warm bath, saying those four magic words: “Calgon, take me away!”

Water not only represents chaos, but new life, as today’s reading shows. I love the Book of Acts: its inspiring images of how the Spirit moves, gets our feet wet by doing things we never thought we’d do, and the ways it which God makes possible that which seems impossible.

In Acts, the resurrected Christ has ascended into heaven and the Holy Spirit has been poured out among the people. It’s a time of fresh, exciting beginnings with the Spirit moving in new, unusual ways. And Acts 8: 26-40 is an unusual story, involving an unusual person in an unusual place and time.

Philip is preaching in Samaria when the Lord calls him to travel at noon down a desert road. The calling seems crazy. First, a desert road is not the safest place to be, danger can be anywhere and the next gas station isn’t for another 150 miles!

Second, no one traveled at noon: that was the hottest time of the day. Sane people stayed inside, ate lunch, took a nap.

But Philip obeys God’s unusual call, and what does his eyes and ears behold? An Ethiopian eunuch in a chariot reading Isaiah. How strange.

First, Ethiopia was far away, another continent away. Ethiopians were said to be the blackest, tallest, most beautiful people on earth. And yet, here one is.

Second, the Ethiopian was a eunuch, meaning he had been neutered like a cat or a dog. Eunuchs were a part of life back then, some were used to protect the king’s harem, others to hit the high notes in choir. At best they were seen as different.

Jewish Law had specific rules about eunuchs. They were not allowed into the inner courts of the Temple or to become full-fledged Jews.

Can you hear how irony upon irony abounds? Philip, lead by the Spirit, travels down a desert road during the hottest time of the day, meeting an exotic, castrated male returning from a place of worship he can not technically be a part of.

The Ethiopian had a thirst: he was so thirsty to know God that he willingly traveled from Africa to Asia to just be in the presence of the Temple.

He was so thirsty to know God that instead of resting from the hot sun he read scripture.

Could you imagine thirsting for something so great you’d travel hundred of miles to worship? Could you image thirsting for something so great you’d forsake the comfort of a nap to study it?

Yes, the Ethiopian eunuch may have been from far away, yes his body may have been incomplete, but he had a spiritual thirst that sought closeness and completion in God.

No wonder the Lord lead Philip down that road.

And note how Philip goes above and beyond a simple Bible Study by proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. As he does this, they come across water and the Ethiopian eunuch says “Hey! Here’s water, what’s to stop me from being baptized?” And he and Philip go down to the water, and after they emerge from the water...

Wait a minute...What just happened here...? Did you hear it?...If the Ethiopian eunuch and Philip were on a desert road, where did the water come from? And why is the word water used 4 times?

It’s easy for Michiganders to take water for granted, after all, we’re surrounded by it; anyone with a shovel and time can dig themselves a lake. But this story takes place on a desert road.

The author is trying to tell us something if we carefully listen. Where does the water come from? Why does it appear here, why now? Hear the subtle workings of a gifted writer.

There are two people. One has learned how to listen to the voice of God, the other is different, broken, and thirsty for God. And in a deserted place, in the heat of the day, guided by the Spirit, through the study of God’s Word and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, they experience their own Calgon moment.

It reminds me of Genesis 21 when Hagar cries out in the wilderness and God opens her eyes to a well full of water. Or 2 Kings 3 when God fills a wadi with water. Or John 4 when Jesus offers a woman the gift of living water.

Here, the author of Acts uses water to symbolize rebirth and new beginnings, not just for the Ethiopian, but for all the peoples of the world.

The old, dried ways that excluded the Ethiopian eunuch from being part of God’s family are now new, lush ways that include him into the sensuous Body of Christ.

I wonder how many people here today can relate to this story, can relate to the Ethiopian eunuch?

How many know what its like to be different?
Different because of your marital status, religious beliefs, or political views. Different because of the way you live, how you look, how you dress, the shape of your body or because of your age.

Different because you don’t think or act like everyone else in your family. Different because you feel deep down in your gut that God is calling you for something more.

There is spiritual water that is waiting for you.

How many can relate to the Ethiopian eunuch? To be broken, incomplete, have a piece missing?

Perhaps its physical. Your body’s no longer working the way it used to, parts are breaking down, bits have been extracted. You’re battling an illness, the affects of an accident or the reality of getting older.

There is spiritual water that is waiting for you.

Perhaps its emotional. Someone has broken your heart or betrayed you, stealing from you the spark that makes you unique, messing up your ability to enjoy life.

There is spiritual water that is waiting for you.

Or maybe the brokeness is spiritual. You don’t know what you believe anymore, you wonder if God has deserted you or if there even is a God.
Maybe issues of sin or feelings of guilt have such a hold that they’ve dried you up.

There is spiritual water that is waiting for you.

How many of us can relate to the Ethiopian eunuch? To be busy even when it seems the whole world is on a break? To have so much to tend to, to carry on your shoulders, that you have to keep moving even though it is hot outside?

There is spiritual water that is waiting for you.

We can all relate to the Ethiopian eunuch because we all know what it’s likes to be different, to feel incomplete, to feel constantly on the move.

We all have our hot-afternoon-in-the-desert moments. But we also have our wade-in-the-water moments. Because God knows who we are.

God is not blind, God is not deaf. God sees our situations, God hears our questions. God knows when we feel lost and confused. God knows when we have hit a dry spell, a desert moment.

And God works, God moves, God sends the Spirit to speak to us in ways we would never expect, through people we may not even know.

God works, God moves. God uses words and poetry. In the desert of our life, sometimes simply reading scripture will present pools of water for us to find comfort and refreshment in.

God works, God moves. God finds ways to escort our broken, incomplete selves into cool pools of water in which we can be nourished, given a chance of new life and grow stronger in Christ.

Although at times it may seem as if we’re traveling by ourselves down a desert road, confused by what’s around us, God is finding wonderful ways to bring refreshing water into our life.

We were blessed when we began life in the waters of our mother’s womb. We are blessed by the waters of baptism. And we are blessed whenever God creates an oasis in our lives.

In the spiritual waters of God we experience gifts of wholeness, the promise of fellowship and the wonder of new life. May we all find ways this week to get our bodies, souls and minds wet.

And may we give thanks that there’s no road we can travel in which God is not present, no thirst that Jesus can’t quench, and no imperfection that will prevent the Spirit from moving in our lives.

Amen.

Wanderings for 05 17 09

2009-05-15T10:56:00.001-07:00

Wanderings for May 17, 2009
Acts 10:44 to 11:18

Greetings everyone and Happy Friday.

I feel odd using the phrase "Happy" because I am sure that by now you all have heard the news that we voted at our Annual Meeting to close the church on July 26. That brings a series of emotions that include grief, wonder and worry.

I don't know if it is bittersweet or ironic or encouraging that during this time our lectionary readings come from the book of Acts, which details the beginnings of the church and the movement of the Holy Spirit. This Sunday we’ll hear from Acts 10:44 to 11:18. To truly understand the reading, you need to go back to the beginning of ch. 10.

Here you will find how the author of Acts takes his sweet time telling, and then retelling us the story of Peter and Cornelius and the dream in which God makes all food clean and Peter is shown/told that no one is to be called profane/unclean or to make a distinction between people. This is important stuff, so important the author tells it to us twice, although in different ways.

When the early church was beginning, they could have so easily stuck to the old ways, to the old laws, they could have so easily said they were set apart and above everyone. But instead, due to the teachings of Jesus, the movement of the Spirit and the work of people like Peter, Philip and Paul, it was understood that God's Good News was to be available to all. And in order for that to happen, changes had to be made in how people ate.

Some of the Jewish food laws prohibited people from eating pork, enjoying shell fish or mixing meat and dairy. That would have meant you could not enjoy a good barbeque, you could not eat at Long John Silver's or enjoy a whopper at Burger King. The limit of food would have also meant a limit of interaction with folk. A limit of interaction with folk would have meant a limit of how far the Good News could be spread.

Thank God for Peter's vision, thank God for the new direction, because it has not only allowed the Word to be better heard, but has opened up doors for new relationships and the joys of giving and receiving hospitality.

And, if I know me, and I know you, our ability to share meal, our ability to entertain one another, is just one way God is going to see us through and we will be able to face the next 10 weeks.

May the grace of Jesus be with us all,

Pastor George

* if you want to be e-mailed the weekly Wanderings , contact Pastor George at pastormiller224@aol.com

Wandering for May 10, 2009

2009-05-05T13:24:00.001-07:00

Good afternoon everyone. What a beautiful spring day it is: people in shorts, running, biking, having lunch outside. Very pastoral.

This Sunday, our Scripture is taken from the book of Acts, chapter 8, verses 26-40. Our Tuesday Bible Study group just left and I am still buzzing from it.

One thing we talked about was word usage. We often take for granted the words that an author uses to tell a story, but anyone who writes can tell you that word selection is very important and is not done without thought. This was very true for the Biblical writers. They chose which words to use and not use (although we may miss this in the translations). When an author chooses to use a word many times, it can be an indication that he/her is trying to draw out attention to something.

Go ahead and grab your Bible and read the scripture.

Look at verse 26. Where is Philip called to go? Toward the south, on a wilderness road. Some people may have it read "a desert road." Now, think about the word desert. What images comes to play? What makes something a desert?

Now, read from 27-35. Take some time to absorb it in.

Now, take out your pencil and read 36-40. Circle how many times the word "water" appears. I have four times. But wait: if the road is a wilderness road or a desert road, where does the water come from?

What images or thoughts does this bring to mind? If this story was a metaphor, what would you say the water represents? And why would the author mention water four times when he could have done just fine mentioning it once?

Has there ever been a wilderness/desert/dry spell in your life in which refreshment or a chance of new beginnings came along?

What could the author of Acts be trying to say, what is it he is trying to teach us about God, about the Spirit, about Jesus, about ministry, about those we meet along the way?

Just some fun things to think about as we all go on our journeys this week.

Peace, Pastor G

Sermon for May 3, 2009 Psalm 23

2009-05-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

May 3, 2009
Scripture: Psalm 23
Sermon: “The With-ness of the Lord”
Rev. George N. Miller

Last week we talked about the sensuality of Luke 24. How the resurrected Jesus is heard, seen, touched and eats. We discussed how Luke not only utilized the body, but the mind and spirit, and we examined the sensuality that exists within this particular Body Of Christ, the church

Last week, we also shared the news that due to finances, I will be leaving July 26, and that at the Annual Meeting we will vote to stay open, close our doors, or follow another option the Spirit presents. It’s sad that we have reached this point.

We’ve accomplished so much, reaching out to the community and to one another. Perhaps if we were a corporate business we could have turned this whole Body around.

Think of successful businesses, how they create customer loyalty. For instance, I will only buy gas at Speedway, purchase last minute supplies at CVS and see movies at Celebration Cinemas.

The reasons are simple: their membership cards. At Speedway if you buy enough slushies you get one free. CVS offers $2 coupons. Celebration Cinemas gives out free passes and popcorn. And I love me some slushies, coupons and popcorn.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could do that? If we could give everyone a “BCUCC Club Card”? We could attach card swipes to the pews. Every time you worship you swipe the card.

Install card swipes in the Fellowship Hall. Every time you have a cup of coffee, swipe the card. Put a card swipe in the library. For each committee meeting you attend, swipe the card.

But what would the rewards be? For every 10th worship experience you get a free one? For every 10th cup of coffee, one’s on the house? Every 10th committee meeting get a...well, maybe the reward would be that you get to skip a meeting.

What if we came up with a point system that said for every 25,000 points you can skip an offering, every 1,000,000 points you are saved?

We are not a traditional business: we are part of the living, breathing Body of Christ. Unlike Speedway, CVS or Celebration Cinemas, what could we tangibly offer as a reward?

We could alter our theology. We could say our church offers the only true path to salvation. We could say we’re the only righteous ones and if you don’t worship with us you’ll burn in hell.

Or we could say “Worship with us and God will increase your checking account 10 fold.” That would put a spin on today’s tough economy.

There’s a myriad of things we can say or do. But we are not a business. We are members of the UCC and historically and theologically the UCC believes that we are called to use acts of social justice and compassion to assist in making real the Kingdom of God here on earth, not to judge or condemn others.

We worship the Still-Speaking God, the God that loves us, the God that is with us. But is that enough?

Is it enough to simply know that God loves you? Is it enough knowing that God is with you, no matter where you go, no matter where you are on life’s journey?

Is it enough to keep going to church, to continue praising God, to hold onto our faith, to get you through the day? Or do you need something more tangible, like slushies, coupons and popcorn? Listen again to today’s scripture.

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil; for you are with me;
your rod and your staff- they comfort me.”

Since age 20, I’ve been a traveling man, living in Minneapolis, Long Island, St. Louis and Grand Rapids. I’ve lived under 9 roofs, in cities and suburbs, on 2 college campuses, by lakes and zoos, by millionaires and those on welfare.

With all that moving, there has been one constant: God. I can say without a doubt that it was God who called me to live in Minnesota, it was God who called me to seminary in St. Louis, and it was most certainly God who lead me to BCUCC.

God and I travel very well. Since I enjoy driving cross country, I often experience God’s presence when I am behind the wheel of a car. God is right beside me. We talk, we laugh, we listen to music, we get swept up in the majesty of the countryside.

And when there’s bad weather or poor visibility, I find myself repeating the opening words of this psalm. It provides comfort, it gives clarity, it encourages me to think straight and drive right.

“The Lord is my shepherd,” I will say, followed by “Ok Lord, shepherd me.” Those simple words gives enough comfort and reason to continue forward, to adjust my wind-shield wiper and speed to get me to where I am going, feeling safe in my travel.

“The Lord is my shepherd.” What a reassuring image, what a marvelous metaphor. As one writer stated, religious metaphors are serious business, becoming the image by which God is seen and understood, drawing on a variety of experiences and evoking our imagination.

No one metaphor could ever sum up our infinite God, Yet, the image of the Lord as shepherd is a powerful one indeed.

The people who first heard this Psalm knew about shepherds. They were living an agrarian life, so shepherds were a part their culture. They knew the role required long hours, and demanded great bravery and skill.

The shepherd’s tasks were many: protect the flock from enemies, lead the sheep to places pregnant with possibility, seek out the lost. But perhaps most important was the role of presence.

The shepherd was present with the flock. The shepherd did not desert the flock. He remained and watched over them. Or as the Psalmist so clearly states “For you are with me.”

Interestingly, in its original Hebrew, the phrase “For you are with me” is in the exact middle of the song, making the notion of with-ness the very center, the very core of this scripture.

With-ness, the presence of God is an important part of the Christian and Jewish narrative. See Genesis 39, when Joseph is sold into slavery, and we’re told God is with him not once, but 4 times.

See Judges 6 when the Lord visits Gideon, the lowliest member of the weakest family and states “Go and deliver your people, I will be with you, and you will be victorious.”

For Christians, the ultimate example of the Lord’s with-ness is Jesus Christ. As Matthew 1:23 states “...’the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’ which means ‘God is with us.’”

For Matthew, Jesus being “God With Us” was important. Jesus was “God with Us” when he saw the crowds and began to teach them “Blessed are the poor in spirit....”

Jesus was “God with Us” when the waves were battering the boat and he said to the disciples “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Jesus was “God with Us” when he had compassion on the hungry crowd and fed them with five loaves and two fish.

And it was the resurrected Jesus who closes out the Gospel by saying “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The statement that the Lord is with us is crucial to the testimonies of the Bible. Often times these testimonies occur at moments when hope seems lost: when Joseph is enslaved and so far away from home, when Gideon’s people are victimized by the enemy, when Mary is unwed and pregnant. When Jesus has was nailed to the cross and placed in the tomb.

Those are the times when it seems as if God is the most absent. Those would appear to be the times to give up, assume defeat, and cry out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”

And yet, biblically speaking, it is the complete opposite that transpires. As Joseph, as Gideon, as Mary, as the disciples discover, God is not absent, God has not forsaken them.

In fact God is present and with them in such a manner that God’s presence breaks through reality in a non-traditional way.

Such as when the Lord broke through reality in the form of an infant boy, on a sea besieged by waves, during a picnic in which food was in short supply, and in a garden in which dead people lay.

“For you are with me” becomes the central proclamation of Psalm 23 and what a wonderful proclamation it is. What an appropriate message for us to hear as a congregation.

For as long as the Lord is with us we have hope, as long as the Lord is with us we still have every reason to go on.

For as long as we proclaim the Lord is with us, we hold to the truth that no matter where we journey, no matter where we go, the Good Shepherd is right by our side. Ready to comfort us, ready to lead us, ready to provide restoration.

Slushies, coupons and popcorn are fleeting, what the church has to offer is so much better, for God’s presence is forever.

For you are with me- for me personally, it means if I stay in Grand Rapids or I am called away, the Lord will be by my side.

For you are with me- as a church, it means that regardless if we stay open, or nest with another congregation, go part time or close our doors, the Lord will be by our side.

For you are with me- as individuals, it means that regardless if you are at home or on vacation, if you are in the hospital or a nursing facility, if you are living abroad or away at school, the Lord is with you.

For you are with me- as Christians, it means that regardless if we are in green pastures or dark valleys, if we are beside still waters or in the presence of enemies, the Lord is with us, and is restoring our souls.

No matter what, no matter where, the Good Shepherd is leading us. The Lord is with us and in the with-ness of the Lord we are blessed, in the with-ness we find comfort and in the with-ness we discover that we can never be lost nor will we ever truly be forsaken.

All thanks to the Spirit, not knowing where it will take us, to Jesus who has promised to be with us always, and to God, our great shepherd. Amen.

Sermon for April 26, 2009 Luke 24:36-49

2009-05-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

April 26, 2009
Scripture: Luke 24:36-49
Sermon Title: “The Body of Christ”
Rev. George N. Miller

Life is sensual. Unless you were born with a disability or involved in an accident, you’ve been blessed with at least five ways to experience Creation: touch, taste, sight, sound, smell.

These senses allow us to participate in a world that is wonderfully sensual. Just think of Spring. We see colors, smell flowers, hear the songs of returning birds, feel the sun upon our skin, and hopefully participate in at least one BBQ.

Being created in the image of God makes us more then just sensual beings, we are also spiritual and intellectual.

Our sensuous body, our thinking mind, our spiritual soul are all interconnected in a dance in which neither one is more important then the other.

The body can not be separated from the mind, the mind can not be separated from the spirit. When one part suffers so do the others, when one part soars, it lifts up the other two.

If you’ve known anyone with Alzheimer’s you’ve seen that as their memory is lost the body changes form and the spirit starts to diminish.

Two people in the hospital with the exact same condition? One gets visited by family and friends, prayed for by clergy. The other has no one coming by. Which one will keep a more positive spirit? Which one will maintain a sharper mind? Which one will heal better?

Send a hungry child to school and see how they struggle to learn, and how it affects their mood. Give that child a hot meal and see how their behavior changes and their grades improve.

We are sensuous beings. Our body, mind and spirit are entwined, each a part of living a fully realized life. And I believe Luke understood this.

Read Luke’s gospel and you’ll discover ways in which the author includes not just the senses but mind and soul into his account of the Good News.

If Mark writes like a frantic mother sending her kid to school with an energy drink, Luke writes like a mother who’s been cooking all day, has set the table with candles, has Sinatra on the stereo and is saying “Sit and eat, manga.”

Sensuality seeps into Luke’s story. Jesus is not just born, he’s conceived in the womb, wrapped in bands of cloth, and placed in a manger. He is circumcised, and held. He grows strong, but Jesus is not just a body: his mind is filled with wisdom, his spirit experiences temptation, he eats, he drinks, he weeps.

Jesus uses his body to reach out to other bodies. He uses stories and teachings to reach out to minds. He cares for the soul by forgiving sins, speaking peace when no peace exists, and telling folk to not be troubled by worldly issues.

But just as sensually and fully as Jesus lived, that is how the authorities tried to destroy him.

They abused his body, they played mind games, they tried to break his spirit through humiliation. Ultimately, they assumed death would be the only way to stop him.

But the authorities were wrong. Not even death could contain Jesus, for God would vindicate his Son.

Luke, being an master storyteller, makes Jesus’s resurrection just as sensual as his birth and life. “Look,” he has Jesus say, “Look at my hands and feet. See that it is me. Touch. Touch me and see.”

He has Jesus eating a piece of fish, and afterwards he says Jesus opened the disciples’ minds to help them understand.

That is part of what we are learn from Luke: that the resurrected Christ can’t be separated from the baby that was wrapped in cloth and cradled in the arms of Simeon.

That the resurrected Christ can not be separated from the rabbi who told stories, shared meals, forgave sins and healed bodies.

And that the ministry of Jesus could not be stopped, for against all expectations, Christ continues to live on, not just in the Resurrection. But in the church.

More then the stones the church is built from, more then the wood we sit upon, the church is indeed the Body of Christ, one way by which Christ continues to be present to the world today.

The church is a living entity. And because it is living, it is sensuous.

Have you ever thought of the church that way before? As sensually alive?

There is the physical body. The architecture, the stained glass, the candles, the rooms.

The church is sensuous in touch. The Passing of the Peace, the breaking of the bread.

The church is sensuous in sound. The tinkling of the keyboard, the lifting up of voices in song, the footsteps of children in Sunday School.

The church is sensuous in taste. The celebration of Communion, chili cook-offs, and bake sales.

The church is sensuous in smell. Coffee brewing in morning, food in the oven, flowers on Easter.

The church, as the Body of Christ, is a living entity and it is more then just sensual, it is spiritual, and it is intellectual.

There is the mind: Sunday school, Bible Study, and after school programs.

There is the spirit: the Word read and preached, the sacraments shared, the assurance of forgiveness, the peace of knowing one is not alone in this world.

The church is a living, sensuous entity. But one of the realities of being sensuous is the reality of death.

Flowers, as beautiful as they are, at some point die. Trees, no matter how majestic, at some point fall. People, no matter how dear to our heart, at some point take their final breathe.

And if churches are indeed sensuous, they also have a life span, each one different then the next.

Our church is dealing with its own issues of sensuality and existence. This is our 85th year. We’ve had our share of trials and tribulations. But somehow, the church has found a way to survive.

Over the past few years there has been new life: a community food pantry, after school and summer programs, two choirs, a Veteran’s Corner, a craft group, a softball team, concerts, block parties, trick-o-treating, Men’s Group, Peace Garden. Children laughing, learning and singing.

All these things became part of the church’s body, mind and soul.

But as much as we have grown, as a body we have suffered. People have left or stopped coming. Many have died or can’t physically be here. Diminished finances make it hard to take care for the body.

And when the body becomes weak, it’s hard for the spirit to continue. The faithful who have remained have worked so hard, so long, that many are tired and drained, resulting in lower energy. Events have smaller turn out. Emotions for some have become charged, while others have become downcast.

Where the body and soul go, so goes the mind. Maybe that’s why it seems like attendance for the Bible Studies have hit a plateau, while no new children are attending our after school program.

What do we do, where do we go? Is this church, as part of the Body of Christ, to continue living, is it to die or to be placed on hospice?

Today, after service and our group photo, we have the task of truthfully discussing the future of this particular body of Christ, and that is how we are encouraged to approach the dialogue: that this is Christ’s church, an extension of his body, and with any body there is celebration and joy, there is also grief and loss.

But know this: no matter what happens Christ will still live on. That is, after all, the meaning of the Resurrection. That even when the powers that be tried to silence Jesus with death, he was still vindicated with an Easter voice.

The Resurrection Experience means that though we may be faced with what seems like a deafening “No”, God finds a way to introduce a loud “Yes!”

That when something seems like an end, God introduces a new beginning.

That when something appears as a discontinuation, God steps in and offers transformation.

Nothing can stop the work of God in the world. Nothing can stop the Resurrected Christ from appearing in our lives.

No matter what happens to this particular body, the whole Body of Christ remains, finding new ways to continue being present, new ways to move, new ways to make God’s voice heard in the world.

We should be proud that not only have we been a part of this particular body of Christ, but that we are part of the universal Body of Christ no matter where we go, no matter what we do.

And in that there is comfort, and in that remains the Good News: that as long as we continue to see, touch, smell, hear, taste, as long as we continue to be of body, mind and spirit, Christ continues to work, the Spirit continues to move, God continues to rule and we can continue to be present to one another and to the world as part of Christ’s Magnificent Body.

Thanks be to the Spirit that fills our very beings, thanks be to God who molded us in a holy image and thanks be to Jesus Christ who was born, lived, died and resurrected as a sensuous being.

Amen.

Wanderings for May 3, 2009

2009-05-01T11:32:00.001-07:00

It's Friday, the (almost) end of the week. And it's May 1. Where did April go? This Sunday we hear from Psalm 23. Easily the most well known Psalm. Perhaps the most well known scripture all all of the Bible. One author called Psalm 23 an "American Icon."

It is a deeply familiar scripture, with many deep meanings. Today I wish us to not so much focus on Psalm 23, but Psalm 23 in the context of what comes before and after it.

You know what this means. Go 'head and grab your Bible. Turn to Psalm 23. Read just the first line: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."

Nice, right? But go to Psalm 22. Read the first line: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Dang! That is deep and full of despair. Now flip to Psalm 24. Read the first line: "The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it"

Wow. Look at that transition the Psalms make:
"My God, my god, why have you forsaken me" to "The Lord is my shepherd" to "To earth is the Lords' and all that is in it".

What can we learn from this? Perhaps the reality of grief, the stages of faith, the fruits of truthfulness.

Faith is not about praising God during the good times. It is about crying out to God during the bad. It is also about groaning out to God under the pressure of life, reminding God of who God is, letting God know when we think God's not doing the best job. Faith is also about transitions.

Read all of Psalm 22. Hear how brutally honest the psalmist is. Here his wounds, listen for her pain. Listen to the admission of despair. Then note how even as dogs surround the singer, hope begins to emerge. In the honest emotions, light shines through, deliverance goes from a distant reality to a hoped-for reality. And then move to Psalm 23. How peace and tranquility steps in, but look: even here are dark valleys and enemies, but God is right there, not so far away. Perhaps it was the tears of Psalm 22 that created the still waters and overflowing cup in Psalm 23. Then read Psalm 24. What a proclamation! Heads are lifted up, blessings are received, God is the one who is ultimately in control.

These three Psalms speak great truth. They spoke truth back then, they speak truth today, and they will speak truth for all time.

God is with us, even when we feel forsaken, even when we are by green pastures, even when our heads are lifted up. And for that we shall all give thanks.

Amen, Pastor G

Sermon for April 12, 2009 Mark 16:1-18

2009-04-25T18:33:00.001-07:00

April 12, 2009 Scripture: Mark 16:1-18
Sermon Title: “Mystery of the Resurrection”
Rev. George N. Miller

If anyone reads the newspaper, you may know the comic strip “Mutts.” Created by Pat McDonnell it is for anyone who has ever loved an animal.

It’s also the kind of comic strip that people like to place on the refrigerator or send to a loved one. My Mom usually sends me one every month.

Yesterday’s strip was rather existential. A kitty cat comes up to a bulldog and says “I think I’m lost.” The bulldog says “Who’s doesn’t.” To which the cat responds “Somehow-I find that very comforting.”

“I feel lost” says the kitty. “Who doesn’t” says the dog. Their shared thought provides comfort.
That’s appropriate for today, for who doesn’t feel, in the big scheme of things, a bit lost?

Think of all our upcoming graduates. Next month high school and college seniors will leave classes behind. Some will be saying “Yes, I am done!” but how many are also thinking “What now?”

What happens after years of education, comforted by the world of academia? Do you get a job, move out, stay in town? The world is all yours, but a big world is easy to feel lost in.

How about our unemployed? Many years spent comforted by the assumption of job security. A set schedule of days and pay. Now it’s anyone’s guess. Where to go, what to do, how to survive. Job opportunities have shrunk, and it’s easy to feel lost.

And those who have experienced the death of a loved one? Death is perhaps the greatest loss of all. Not only does a person lose their life, but we who are left behind lose that person’s uniqueness.

At the hospital I worked at, death was a daily reality. What amazed me was that no matter what state the person was in when they were alive, they had a personhood, a uniqueness about them. But the moment they died?

The moment that last breathe escaped their body something unexplainable changed. They ceased being who they were. Whatever it was that made them “them” was gone.

Suddenly that person went from having a name, having an identity, to being a body. A thing.

Death is about loss. Death is about losing the person who has died. It’s also about us feeling lost without them.

Spiritually, that’s part of what the last 3 days have been about: feeling lost.

Jesus has been betrayed. He was deserted by the disciples, arrested, stripped of his clothes and nailed to a cross, mocked by passers by

To make it clear just how lost Jesus feels, Mark tells us his last words are “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?”

Have you ever felt lost? Have you ever felt like everything that made the world good had been taken away? That’s what Jesus was experiencing.

With a loud cry, Jesus takes his last breathe, and dies. The uniqueness, the personhood that made him “him” is gone. Jesus is dead.

To make sure we do not miss that fact, Mark tells us that Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate for the body of Jesus. Pilate grants him the body, Joseph takes it down, wraps it in clothe and lays it in a tomb. The women see where the body laid.

Note the words that are used. Jesus’s name is mentioned only once. Most of the time the word “body” is used.

There is a sense of loss and lost. Jesus has lost his life and those whose life he touched are at a loss.
Saturday comes and goes. The women go to the tomb which has been designed to hold the dead. They carry spices to do to with a body what one does when it has lost it’s life: anoint it.

“I think I’m lost” says the kitty cat. “Who doesn’t” says the bulldog.

Who doesn’t feel lost indeed? Those who are graduating, those who have lost their job, those who have lost a loved one. They all know what it is like to feel lost.

So did the people of Mark’s time. When Mark wrote his Gospel, the earliest Christians were living in turmoil. Comfort was not a reality. They knew plenty about loss and feeling lost.

They faced poverty and persecution. Threats came from outsiders. Leadership was out of control. And the Temple, the central place of worship, was either about to be destroyed or had been destroyed already. Mark is writing for them.
For fifteen chapters he shares the stories of Jesus and the glimpses of God’s Kingdom: the healings and miracles, the teachings and shared meals. But it all seems to come down to this: feeling lost.

Jesus has been killed. They disciples have run away. The women move towards the tomb.

But wait, something is amiss. The stone has been rolled away. How can this be?

Inside the tomb is a young man dressed in white. “Don’t be alarmed,” he says, “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.”

Did you hear that? He didn’t say “You’re looking for the body” but “You are looking for Jesus.” A sense of personhood has crept back into the story.

“He has been raised, he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. Go, tell the disciples that he is going ahead of you to Galilee, there you will see him just as he told you.”

In other words, the young man in white is saying “All is not lost. All has been found.”

And the women flee from the tomb in amazement and fear. Interestingly enough, if you look at your Bible, you’ll discover that this is the original ending of Mark’s Gospel.

It’s a unique way to end a story, but Mark is a unique storyteller, providing more questions then he supplies answers.

Mark goes to great lengths to let us experience the Jesus we thought we have lost. But he does not provide any information on the Resurrected Jesus that is found. Only that we are to go and find him.

Why would Mark do that? I think one reason is that he wants us to think. He understands that people who feel lost, and have lost, are not easily comforted by easy answers.

No, he knows that often what they need is the chance and time to think, to meditate, to ponder.

Mark doesn’t want to make this easy for us. He wants us to experience the great loss that comes from having Jesus die. By leaving us hanging, he wants us to discover for ourselves just how it is the Resurrected Christ can be found.

Other authors did not feel so comfortable doing this. Matthew, Luke and John all made sure to include stories of how the Resurrected Jesus appears. And someone or someones, uncool with Mark’s original ending, created at least 5 different endings to his Gospel.

But that wasn’t Mark’s original plan. He’s chosen not to limit the Resurrection experience for us. Like the cat in “Mutts” he is aware of the many ways we can feel lost, so he knows there are many ways in which the Resurrected One can be found.

Let’s think about it. What are ways in which the Resurrected Christ can appear to you?

Some folk would say they’ve experienced the Resurrected One in books, like “The Shack.” Others would say it was through a miraculous healing or through a shared meal.

For others the Resurrected One appears in acts of social justice and missions. Some will claim that when they assist someone in need they feel as if they were reaching right out to Christ. Others will recall a time in which someone was helping them and they felt it was Christ reaching out to them.

“Go,” says the man in the tomb, “And you will see him.” Not that we will see a body, or we will see “it”, but we will see him: Jesus Christ.

And how we will see, how we will experience, how we will know it is Christ is as limitless as the stars in the sky and the sands on the shore.

When we go and see, we embark on a journey, in which we will not feel so lost, and we discover we are not so alone.

In conclusion, it is OK to feel lost from time to time, but it’s important for us to remember that the Mystery of the Resurrection promises that no matter what, in the Resurrected Christ we will always be found.

And in the Resurrected Christ we will find our true comfort.

Blessings and honor to God whose wonderfulness can not be limited, to the Spirit that is always full of surprises and to Jesus Christ, who was born, who died and who was raised to save us all from being permanently lost..

Amen.

Wanderings for April 26, 2009

2009-04-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

Greetings to everyone. Have you been able to enjoy and appreciate the weather? My poor cat keeps looking outside, meowing to go out. He'll have to wait until tomorrow.

This Sunday's reading is taken from the Gospel of Luke 24:36-49. It is Luke's account of the resurrection. It's a very sensuous account. By sensuous I mean that it uses the senses: sight, sound, touch, taste. Very different from the original ending of Mark in which we are told Jesus has been resurrected but we don't see, nor hear, nor touch let alone experience him asking for and eating a piece of broiled fish.

In fact, I have come to realize just how sensuous a gospel Luke is. After all, he features one of the two birth narratives, and unlike Matthew's account, the baby Jesus is someone who is wrapped in cloth, placed in a manger, circumcised, held by Simeon. Throughout Luke there is clearly a body, mind, spirit connection. Just look at Luke 1:40 and 1:52. Jesus doesn't just grow, he becomes strong, he becomes filled with wisdom, he receives divine and human favor. Body, mind, soul.

There is no separating the three. And if the three are not separated for Jesus, nor should they be for us.

More and more our doctors, psychologists, teachers, social workers are realizing how strong a connection these three are. When one aspect suffers or is hurt, it can cause the other aspects to suffer as well.

A child who does not get to eat breakfast before school, not only does their body become week, but so can their ability to focus, learn and retain, as well as their ability to maintain a stable mood or be in a good mind-set.

A child who is teased in school may have difficulty focusing on their classes, and they may neglect or abuse their bodies. Sadly, there have been two recent incidents in which teased children saw suicide, destruction of their body, as the only way out of the pain their spirit was encountering.

A child who struggles in school to learn or falls behind may take on a poor or suffering spirit, in anger they may act out through their body, hurting or hitting others, or overcompensating by what their body can do.

It's like a delicate dance that we do: how to keep body, mind soul in balance, in check, working together. That's been a key to our Little Star Program, both the Summer Vacation Bible School part and the After-School part. First, we make sure the children are greeted with warm, friendly welcomes, to let them know they matter. Next, we make sure they are fed. A snack to begin with, a meal a few hours later. This takes care of their body.

Then we spend time doing academic activities: math, geography, logic, language. This develops their mind, and is done at each child's level in a way to encourage and reward them with affirming praise.

Then we take care of their spirit. This is done through worship, scripture, prayers, song, a chance for children to ask questions about God and Jesus.

Body, mind, soul. They are all reached. Each child who comes to our Little Star program is nurtured in this way.

We thank everyone who has been supportive of us, and we also encourage you to continue volunteering your time and to continue bringing in food for Leah's Kids Corner, as all that food goes directly to the youth, allowing them to care for their body, which allows them to care for their mind, which allows them to continue to care for their spirit.

May God bless your day. May the Spirit take you to new heights. May Christ continue to reign in your hearts.

Peace, Pastor G

Wanderings for April 12, 2009

2009-04-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

Wanderings for April 12, 2009
Mark 16:1-8

Greetings everyone. Before I get into today's Wanderings, I want to remind you to continuing bringing in your food donations for Leah's Kids Corner. The wagon is only about 1/4 full and in two weeks Bella and Ethan will be taking the offering and bringing the donated food up to the altar.

Also, Ann is continuing to sign people up for the Hunger Walk. That will be May 2, and sign-ups are in the Fellowship Hall.

This Sunday is Easter. We celebrate the Good News. When I wrote that on my Facebook wall, I had a friend write back "What's the good news?" I knew she was being silly, so I said "That I still look good!"

But what is the Good News? This Sunday we search for that answer as we read Mark 16:1-8. Do you know there are at least 5 different versions of the way Mark ends? But most scholars agree that the original Gospel of Mark ends with verse 8. It's a rather odd way to end a story.

I invite you to go ahead and read it in your Bible. As you can see the original ending to Mark 16 does not feature a glimpse of the resurrected Christ. What it does feature is an empty tomb, a young man announcing that Jesus "has been raised; he is not here" and the three woman fleeing from the tomb in terror, amazement and fear.

Odd sounding good news, isn't it? Why would Mark end his telling of the Gospel in such a way? There are various reasons possible, one I have been playing with is that Mark wants us to embrace the mystery. The young man tells the woman to tell the disciples that Jesus is "going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him..."

But they are not told how they will see Jesus, or what Jesus will look like. They are just told that they will see Jesus. As I get older, I like mystery more and don't need everything spelled out as much as I used to. I like to think that by Mark not telling us any more, by not actually showing us what a resurrected Jesus would look like or how he would appear, we are invited to use our imagination, and more then that, we are allowing ourselves to be surprised.

And surprises is a great word to describe the work of God, the Spirit and Jesus: just when you think you have it all figured out, the Trinity finds a new way to speak to us, to reveal abundant love and to surprise a world that is often too cynical and all too often full of hopeless despair. How does a resurrected Christ look to you?

Have a blessed Easter and embrace the Good News.
In abundant grace and love,
Pastor G

Maundy Thursday Sermon, April 8, 2009

2009-04-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

April 8, 2009 Maundy Thursday
Scripture: John 13:1-17, 31-35
Sermon Title: “Resplendent Love”
Rev. George N. Miller

A few weeks ago we introduced a new word: resplendent, meaning to shine brightly from within. To be resplendent is the opposite of being in darkness. And yet darkness it what we seem to be in.

As a nation, these have been dark times. Many forces are trying to extinguish the light we have. Not just one war, but two. An economy that is either in recession or depression, depending on who you talk too.

Many have lost their jobs, hours cut, paychecks slashed. Unemployment sky high. Hopes real low. Everyone just trying to get by.

But this isn’t the first time. Nor will it be the last. For every culture faces a challenge to the light they carry. Will they continue or will their light be put out forever?

The earliest Christians dealt with this reality on a daily basis. For centuries many of them lived in poverty and persecution. While their cities were being attacked, while they were being taxed for all they had, they had various options.

One option was to cease existing. The other was to find some way, some how, to be resplendent.
Thankfully, for their sake and for ours, resplendency is what they chose. They held onto the Good News of the Easter Story and recalled not only what Jesus said, but what he demonstrated: “Love one another.”

Love was the mark of the very first Christians. And love was not merely a sentiment: it was an action. After all, love is a verb.

No matter how poor they were, no matter how much they were persecuted, our religious ancestors were known for opening their homes to anyone who was in need.

As one ancient writer stated “See how these Christians love one another.”

We see this in tonight’s reading. It is night time. Darkness has covered the land. Jesus is gathered with the disciples to share their last meal. The hour has come. Jesus will betrayed, arrested, and nailed to a cross.

This is Jesus’ last day alive. And what does he have to show for it? He has no job. No wife or kids. He has no house, furniture or belongings.

As far as we know, all he has in this world, is the clothes he is wearing.

And yet, even though it appears he has nothing to give, Jesus shows that even in the darkest of times, we can still find ways to demonstrate how the Kingdom of God is breaking through.

In the middle of supper, Jesus stands up, takes off the one item he has, his robe, and he then takes the most basic thing in all the world: water.

Devoid of anything he can give, Jesus does.

Naked and vulnerable, he uses the water to wash the feet of each and every person present. All of them. Even the one who will betray them.

He has found a way to be resplendent.

“I have set for you an example,” he tells them. “Do as I have done for you. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them...Just as I have loved you, love one another. That’s how others will know you are my disciples- by the love you have for one another.”

Love. That is what Jesus is talking about. Love is what he is demonstrating.

Did you know that in the first twelve chapters of John the word love is mentioned 12 times. But in the last nine chapters, as Jesus draws closer to his death, love is mentioned 44 times?

44 times the word love is used.

This passage shows just how deep, how fully Jesus loves those around him. With no worldly possessions, he loves as much as one possibly can.

And he is showing us that no matter what, we too are capable of expressing love to one another.

Even when things have seemed to reach their darkest. Even when it seems like all has been lost. Even when it seems like you have come to the end of the road: love.

Find some form, some way, to express it.

If it means removing the one thing you have left so you can care for another, remove it.

If it means offering something that costs nothing, offer it.

If it simply means simply washing someone’s skin, wash away.

Darkness fools us into thinking that we have nothing to offer. But light reminds us that as long as there is breathe left in our body there is always something we can do, something we can say, something we can offer that ensures God’s Kingdom is present and in view.

“Do what I do,” Jesus says. “Show love to one another.” That is the heart of the Gospel. So easy and yet so difficult to do.

And the reason why Jesus died.

In conclusion, in the dark of night, at the end of Jesus’ ministry, when it seemed like he had nothing left to offer, Jesus still found a way to reach out, to express his love, even if all he could do was wash their feet.

2,000 years later we are called to do the same. No matter what happens to the economy, no matter what happens to our nation, no matter what happens in our now, we can still find a way to reflect God’s love.

Even if the entire world has grown dark we can still find a way to be resplendent. Like Christ, we do this whenever we fearlessly offer even the littlest of what we got to those who are around us.

In the darkness of night, we thank God for the gift of love, for the Spirit as it empowers us to share and for Jesus who lead by resplendent example.

Amen.

Sermon for March 29, 2009

2009-04-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

March 29, 2009
Scripture: John 12:20-33
Sermon Title: “Between Now and Death”
Rev. George N. Miller

(This sermon was acted out)

It was getting warmer. School was out of session. I didn’t feel like working at Dad’s law firm, so Tony, Joey and I did the one thing any college age kid does: Spring Break!!!

We packed our bags, convinced our parents that it was good for us to see the world, and off we went. Just the guys. We had a blast. No idea where we were going, every night a party.

We tried to see who could drink the most, sleep the least and score with the most girls.

That’s what Spring Break is all about; each day was adventure. There was the night Joey raided a harem by sneaking past the guards dressed as the ugliest looking concubine you’ve ever seen.

Or when Tony almost lost all of our money on cards until he won double or nothing on the dice.

I found out where and when the best house parties were. We partied all night, slept most of the day and then traveled until we found the next party.
It was the Spring Break of Spring Breaks.

We got wind that something big was going down in Jerusalem. People were traveling from all over for this Festival of the Passover, the biggest blow-out of the year that celebrated something or other that their God Yahweh had done a long time ago.

Being Greeks we didn’t know much about this Yahweh or what he supposedly did, but we knew there’d be plenty of food and wine, so we said “Heck yeah!” and made our way towards the city.

It was as if the entire world was on Spring Break. Along the way we began hearing stories about this Jesus guy, how he was some kind of healing magician who was riling up the authorities.

Well, healing magicians are the biggest scam going in Greece, so we didn’t care about that, but as college students we admired anyone who’s anti-establishment.

We also heard some of how people thought he was Wisdom incarnate. Now we may not be Jewish, but if there’s one thing Greeks like and have admiration for, it’s Wisdom.

So we figured we’d check out this Jesus guy and see just how much wisdom he was full of. Who cares if he worshiped a different god then we did. Wisdom is wisdom, right?

We got into town, booked a room. Tony used our winnings to get the top suite and we had it all: room service, wine, girls.

We kept hearing about Jesus and one night in a tavern I’m talking to the guy next to me. His name’s Philip and he turns out to be one of Jesus’ disciples. So we began asking him questions, and Philip is telling us all the crazy things they’d been doing and how much Jesus had changed their lives.

We wanted to be part of the action, so we asked Philip to introduce us to Jesus. Philip said sure thing, and he comes back with his buddy Andrew and together they take us to go see Jesus.

He wasn’t the best looking guy I’ve ever seen, a bit homely actually. He wouldn’t have gotten any girls back at school. But yet he was surrounded by people listening to and watching everything he did. There was a magnetism about him.

So Tony, Joey and I tell Jesus it’s nice to meet him and we wait for him to lay some knowledge down, when he looks away from us and says the oddest thing “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

Then he talked about grains dying to bear fruit and losing life and how his soul was troubled.
Thunder comes rumbling out of nowhere and I couldn’t help but to shake the fact that he was talking about his death.

We went back to our rooms. We didn’t feel like partying, so we talked; we were confused and our impressions about Jesus was divided.

That night I dreamt of someone planting a grain into the earth. The grain produced forty new grains, and kept going until there were far too many seeds to even count.

I woke up that morning feeling both inspired but also strangely fearful. Tony said I was just being a wuss.

Then we got the news: Jesus had been arrested. One of his own crew snitched on him. He was rough housed by the cops and given a mock trial.

Tony, Joey and I were totally unprepared for what happened next. We saw them march Jesus past us, wearing a purple robe, and a crown of thorns, from which I could see he was bleeding pretty badly, and he was carrying a cross.

I had heard stories from my father about the barbarian ways in which they exacted justice in this part of the world, but I didn’t believe him.

We should have left there and then, or spoke up, did something, but I guess we got swept up in the crowd and the happening of things. They led him to a place called Golgotha and nailed his hands and feet to the cross. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He didn’t yell or scream.

All around us people are shouting “Crucify him!”, and we’re just watching in disbelief, and there was something about his eyes: they were the eyes of someone who was innocent. After years of working with my father I could tell when someone wasn’t guilty just by their eyes.

His eyes said something else: “Love.” I can’t explain it any clearer then that.

Before his cross knelt his mother. She was sobbing hysterically “not my son, not my son,” and reaching out to him, while three people consoled her.

And he just hung there. He said something to them, which I couldn’t hear.

I couldn’t take it anymore. The blood thirst of the crowd was reaching a crescendo. It was absolute mayhem. I turned to the guys and said “We have to leave. Now!”

We moved swiftly to our hotel room, gathered our stuff and high tailed it out of town; we didn’t stop moving until our feet couldn’t go another step. I threw up everything that was within me.

We traveled the rest of the way in silence, as quickly as we could. We agreed not to tell anyone when we got home. Not a word. We’d stay silent: if we never mentioned it, it never happened and it would never bother us.

Trouble is, by staying silent, the events became louder. So loud we could barely handle it. We resumed our lessons at the university. But Tony one day up and disappeared. Left no note, everything in his room gone.

Joey ended up finishing his studies, found a nice girl to marry, had two kids and set up a local shop selling veils and head ware. We tried to stay in touch, but couldn’t. Memories of that day were far too real.

I poured myself into my studies. Graduated top in my class, worked at my dad’s firm.

And then came the guilt. I kept replaying in my mind the day Philip and Andrew took us to see Jesus and how he said “The hour has come.” I couldn’t help but think that perhaps we were the ones responsible for his death.

Maybe if we hadn’t gone on spring break, if we hadn’t gone to Jerusalem, if we hadn’t asked to see him, the time would have never come and he would still be alive. I drove myself crazy thinking about this.

I visited Tony and told him what I thought and he said, point blank “I don’t know what you’re talking about” and went right back to work.

Guilt ravaged my soul. Guilt that in some way, some how we had brought about Jesus’ death.

I stuffed myself with wine and women. But none of it lasted, none of it felt good, none of it took away the horror of what we had experienced.

Food stopped having any taste. At night, when I slept all I could see was the nails driving into his limbs and that innocent look in his eyes.

For all intents and purposes I stopped living. Nothing I did produced fruit. No seeds were planted.

At my fathers firm I took a special interest in those who appeared to be innocent. I vowed that no innocent person would ever be punished under my care. With no wife or kids or personal life to go home to, I poured myself into my work.

I became the advocate for the innocent. I got more people off their charges then anyone else. Those were the brief moments I felt a sense of liberation and any kind of happiness.

Life continued for decades. Tony stayed forever gone. I’d see Joey on the street and nod. I never attempted talking with him about what happened that spring break in Jerusalem. He was getting older, his kids bigger, he became a grandpa. He seemed happy, but I knew differently.

College was so long ago. Dad died. I was now head of the law firm. Then one day a parcel landed in my hand. It was a collection of scrolls. A note said, “You should read this.”

With trepidation, I opened it up. Across the top it said “The Good News According to John.” I didn’t know who this John was, but I could sure use some good news. It started off well enough, in rich Greek poetry about God and light.

Then there was a mention of someone named Jesus Christ. I felt a pit in my stomach. Could this be the Jesus that we had met oh so long ago? I continued to read. Feelings I had long suppressed were stirred up inside.

The Gospel writer got some things right, some things sounded a little off. His Jesus talked a lot different then the one I met, and it was missing some of the parables and wisdom we had heard.

Then I got to the part where some Greeks were said to have come to the festival. When Philip and Andrew were mentioned I stopped right there.

This was us. Not just some Greeks, but Tony, Joey and I, Michael.

This was us.

After a deep breathe I continued reading. The Gospel recounted what Jesus said about seeds and being lifted up. And then there were things about an advocate coming in the form of the Spirit of Truth, and I thought: well a lot good that advocate did for Jesus!

And Jesus stated that people will weep and mourn, but rejoicing would come.

I thought about how I didn’t weep at all. I didn’t mourn or feel pain. I just felt numb. For decades, I felt nothing but numbness and nightmares.

Then I got to the part in which Jesus was crucified. I could barely make my way through it. How was this Good News? It was scandalous, horrific.

I expected the story to end with his death. But it continued. How two men took his body and gave him a proper burial. Then the shocker: one of the women we had seen at the cross came to Jesus’ tomb only to discover the body was missing. I was outraged. This was not Good News at all.

I slammed the scroll done. Cooled off. Then went back to reading. As the rest of the gospel explained, Jesus appeared to Mary and asked why she wept. It claimed that Jesus appeared to the disciples. He spoke to them words of peace, and then gave them the gift of the Spirit and the ability to forgive people of their sins.

He had breakfast with them, encouraged one of them to tend his sheep and the writer stated that those who believed in the resurrected Jesus would receive new life.

Being a man of logic, it all seemed too far fetched. Being a man of culture, I knew of other Greek tales featuring famed men returning to life.

It’s all made up, I thought, but strangely enough, for the first time in a long time I felt an odd sense of silence within my soul. I spent the rest of the day pondering what I had read.

That night, for the first time in decades, I had a new dream. Instead of Jesus being nailed to the cross, I dreamt that he was walking towards me. Except I wasn’t me. I mean, I was my old me, like back in the college days.

“Michael,” he said, holding out his hands. I could see fresh wound marks. His eyes were filled with love.

“Jesus,” I said.

I let him embrace me.

We were in silence, until I spoke. “I am so sorry.”

“For what? “ he asked.

“That you died. For what we did. I feel like it’s all my fault.”

“All your fault?”

“For coming to visit you. When you saw us you said the time had come and then you were killed, and I just feel like, like, like if we hadn’t gone on spring break, if we hadn’t asked to see you, it never would have been time. That you would have been OK. That you would still be alive.”

“But I am alive,” Jesus spoke.

“But they killed you,” I said, feeling tears welling up in my eyes for the first time since ever.

“They were going to kill me no matter what,” Jesus said. “I was going to die. We all die.”

“But not the way you did, that was so unfair,” the tears trying to break though my eyelids.

“But they did nothing I wasn’t prepared for,” Jesus spoke. “Michael, I knew what I was doing, I knew what was going to happen. I chose that path for myself.”

“But we caused your death,” I said. “We did: Tony, Joey and myself by coming to see you. We are responsible for you dying.”

“No, no, no,” said Jesus. “You don’t understand, it was not because of you that I died, but it was for you that I died.”

“For me?,” I said, “I don’t understand.”

“You don’t have to understand, Michael, just believe. Believe that what I did, I did for you and for Tony and for Joey and for all the people of the world, the Jews and Gentiles together.”

“I don’t understand,” I repeated. “ I don’t understand.”

“You don’t have to. But know this: that I love you. And Michael, I forgive you.”

“So it was my fault.”

“No,” spoke Jesus, “No it wasn’t your fault. What I am forgiving you for is how you have allowed your sin and misplaced sense of sin to control you and take over your life.

“My Father and I release you from the past and whatever you think you may have done wrong, and we fill you with grace. You have stopped living for far too long. It is now time for you to reenter the world of the living.”

Even though it was a dream, it felt so real and the next thing I said was “I love you Jesus.”

And he said “I love you too,” taking me within his wounded arms and hugging me. All the tears I never shed came coursing out of me, tears I had kept buried for far too long, tears I did not know I had, tears that had been stifled unsuccessfully by wine, women and song.

“And Michael,” Jesus said, “Thank you for taking care of my sheep.”

Next thing I knew, I was waking up in my own bed, alone, but not feeling so lonely. My pillow case was covered with tears. I got up, just as the sun was just starting to rise, and as the tears dried away, I felt two new sensations inside of me.

The first was joy. Joy of seeing another day. Joy that I was freed from something I didn’t even know was trapping me.

The second was hunger. I felt hunger like I had never felt before. I cooked up two eggs, toast, grits, fish and a strong cup of coffee and scarfed it all down while watching the sun continue to rise, and it tasted soooooo good.

“He has risen” I heard myself say, “He has risen indeed.”

I went to work with a new energy. By the third client I had realization: that these were the sheep Jesus was talking about in my dream.

The Spirit of Advocacy and Truth had been active all along in my practice without my knowing it.

I came back home and after a fantastic meal I sat down and reread the scroll. This time, it was indeed Good News, from start to finish.

Weeks later I came across what they call a house church, a group of people who not only knew about Jesus, but also believed in the Good News, and they didn’t have one Gospel, they had many.

All this Good News from people like Matthew, Mark and Luke. Each with slightly different views, sayings and versions of the events.

The other gospels reminded me more of the Jesus I met. But the Gospel of John will always have a special role in my life. Not only did it make reference to me and my friends but it’s also the means by which God’s grace found a way to free me from guilt I thought I had done.

Looking back over my life, I realize there is so much I have done wrong, so much I wish I could do over. There’s so much I may never have, like a wife and children and grandchildren. But instead of dwelling in the past, I am living in the NOW.

NOW is what I have. NOW is where I live. NOW is where my seeds are planted and reaping fruit for the future.

Because of Jesus Christ, I am no longer the living dead focused in the past, but I am in the present living between NOW and death.

I sometimes wonder who sent me that scroll. Is Tony still alive? Should I stop by Joey’s to share the Good News I have received? Perhaps it will set him free and we can go back to being friends, like we once were.

That spring break was so long ago. It was the best of times and the worst of times. But today I am living in the NOW, releasing the hold the past has played in my life, embracing each moment I have until I will die.

Let me end by telling you this: last night, I had a new dream. Each and every person I ever defended in court came to me, giving me thanks for what I had done. Proving again that Jesus’ death was not in vain, and that he does live on in ways none of us could ever fully comprehend.

Every moment we live is NOW, and I give thanks to Yahweh, the true God of the world.

I give thanks for the Spirit of advocacy and of truth.

And I give thanks for Jesus Christ who died to set all of us free.

His love and grace is abundant, his love and grace is forever NOW.

Amen.

Wanderings for April 5, 2009

2009-04-02T12:36:00.001-07:00

Greetings everyone. This Sunday is Palm Sunday and we have two special treats: Rev. Judith Youngman, our Interim Conference Minister is preaching, and Karen Messick, COO of Pilgrim Manor is giving the Mission Moment. And mio gets to be the liturgist (does that make it 3 treats?).

The Scriptures for this Sunday are Mark 11:1-11 (Jesus' triumph entry into Jerusalem) and Phillipians 2:4-13.

Read them both and revel in the joy they ring.

Since I am not preaching, I thought I'd take our Wanderings into a different, well, wandering. Mark tells us how Jesus makes his way into the city, and those who go before him and those who follow sing loud "Hosannas" and say "Blessing is the coming of the kingdom..." Victorious, joyful, full of God.

On May 2 we too have a chance to walk before and to follow Jesus. It is the annual Hunger Walk. For years, our family and friends have participated in this activity. Again, Ann Winkle is organizing our church's involvement. The Hunger Walk is a wonderful way for us, as reflections of Christ, to triumphantly walk into the city, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom- the good news that in God's kingdom people do not starve, people do not go without food, all people are graciously fed. And by raising funds and walking together, we are certainly going before and following Christ, making the good news of a kingdom a reality.

Think about signing up. Think about donating, either your time or your money.

Also, remember that we here at BCUCC continue to support Leah's Kids Corner. For two months you have unselfishly stocked the red wagon with food for our neighborhood youth. Don't forget to bring in your food item this month. We are all working together to show how the Kingdom of God is already here and already active in our church.

Have a blessed week.

Pastor G

Wandering for 03 29, 09

2009-03-27T08:06:00.001-07:00

Good evening everyone. This week's Wanderings is a short one, but one that is designed to make us all think. This Sunday we read from the Gospel of John 12:20-33. This is said to be the most condensed sayings of Jesus' death in the John's Gospel. Each Bible translation is different. But take a look at yours. Circle the first word in your reading. Now the circle the last word.

If you have the NRSV or the NIV, the first word is "Now" and the last word is "die." The King James Version starts with the phrase "And there were" and ends with "die."

I find this very telling. A passage of the most condensed sayings about Jesus' death in the Gospel begins with "Now" and ends in "die."

Isn't that a perfect way to express life? That life is all that happens between now and when we die. That every moment, every chance we have to live is situated right here, right now. That we are not called to live in the past or the future (although we can dream about it) but in the now. Now is what we have. Now is what we got.

And what we do between now and death- well that's a gift, full of mystery, discovery, God, chances, hurts, pains, joys; in other words "Life."

May you live your life NOW, each day, in Christ, being who God created you to be.

Now is what we have, death is what awaits us all, everything else is what's in-between.

Blessings and love,

Pastor G

Bible Study for the week of 03 29, 09

2009-03-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

Bible Study for March 24, 2009
John 12:20-33

One of John’s themes is that Jesus is not just Redeemer of Israel, but Savior of the world (1:29, 3:16, 4:42, 6:33, 8:12, 10:16) The Greeks arrival points to the eschatological promise of universal salvation being fulfilled, letting Jesus know the hour has come. Jesus kept talking about the “hour.” It had always been the future (2:4, 4:21, 23, 7:30), now it is here. From now until the passion, the “hour” is in immediate prospect.

These verses are called the “most concentrated sayings on the death of Jesus in the Gospel…” This passage is meant to sound shocking, going against what people expected to hear. The Son of Man was to be an undefeatable conquer, so to say the hour had come for glorification meant exciting things. But Jesus meant glorified in a much different way: the cross. Jesus turned their world upside down. What do you make of the cross?

Death is inevitable. Do we face it or fear it? How does that play out in our life? Jesus says that only by death comes life. A seed may be weak/useless, remaining alone, but when planted it “dies”, becomes fruitful; and if it’s fruit is replanted, within 6 years there’s as many seeds as there are people. Beauty and bounty occur when it fulfills its purpose. How are we like seeds?

Rev. Wiersbe said “God does not expect us to be comfortable but to be conformable”. See Romans 8:29. If we seek comfortable lives we’ll never be planted, but if we allow God to plant us we’ll never be alone and have the joy of being fruitful to God’s glory.

Would Jesus’ ministry have meant anything without the cross? Would it have virtue without a cost? John sees Jesus’ death as necessary and life-giving- it drew people to Jesus, revealing the promise of God’s love and a community was formed.

Gerard Sloyan states that “preachers should preach regularly on the apparent failure the Gospel invites to, ending in death…The more successful (preachers) are accounted-in or out of the pulpit- the less they may be living the gospel…In John, cross and crown are one… Following Jesus is, from first to last, a matter of ‘letting go.’” Agree?

Jesus may be the Son of God but he’s also an incarnate human being, therefore he can’t face imminent death without some pause. In vs. 27 Jesus does not face the “hour” with equanimity (evenness of the mind, composure), his heart is deeply troubled, a strong verb meaning revulsion, horror, anxiety, agitation. Yet vs. 27 recalls Psalm 42, which affirms trust in God in the face of trouble. How does Jesus face the troubling of his soul? With complete trust in the One who sent him.

Jesus is implying that only by service comes greatness. How do we balance this with Ephesians 2:1-10?

Sermon for March 22, 2009 Ephesians 2:1-10

2009-03-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

March 22, 2009
Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10
Sermon Title: “Created in Christ”
Rev. George N. Miller

Last week we shared a message about grace; how it allows us to accept our imperfections and the imperfections of others, therefor freeing us from the power of hate. It’s given me much to think about, because judging people is so easy to do.

Today we continue our conversation about grace, this time about how it’s a gift of God that frees us from the hold sin has in our life, empowering us to reclaim just who we were created to be.

Ephesians is a book in the New Testament. Its purpose is to show how God uses the church to reconcile all things in Christ. Although the author claims to be Paul, it was most likely written by one of his students, a common practice back then.

The person who wrote this letter has what’s known as a “realized eschatology.” Eschatology is fancy way of saying “the end of times.”

A “realized eschatology” means one believes the rewards of heaven are already here: God is in our midst, Christ is right beside us and the gifts of the Spirit are poured out all over us. All we have to do is slow down, look around and embrace all the ways God’s Kingdom is breaking through.

In other words, heaven is a place on earth.

Therefor, when the author talks about grace, he’s not talking about what will happen to us when we die, but what is happening to us right here, right now, at this very moment.

And what’s happening is great news, because regardless if we know it or not, God is freely raining down upon us gift after gift of his grace.

As one writer states, grace is “the dearest piece of good news the church has for the world” but it can also be the hardest concept to grasp. We love to accept grace for ourselves, but become stingy when it comes sharing grace with others.

So let’s take a look at what Ephesians means by saying we have been saved by grace.

According to the author, we are already dead. We have fallen victim to our sins and the hurts we’ve inflicted upon others. The ways of the world, the corruptions around us, the egocentric passions that consume us have all rendered us spiritually dead.

But God did not create us to be the walking dead. Nor did God destine us for bad. Instead, quite the opposite.

When God fashioned us, we were created in the image of Jesus, born to do and to be good. But somehow things went wrong.

What happened? Life. Life happened.

Let me give you an illustration. The other day I came to church and noticed that the irises Pam had planted a few years ago were growing. Their beautiful purple and yellow colors brightened up the surrounding area.

But they didn’t have an easy time getting to where they were. First, they had to be placed there. Next, they had to spend all those months enduring the frigid cold. Then, they had to force themselves up, out of the thawing earth. Next, they had to overcome the weight of dead leaves and all the debris that was around them.

I’m sure there were other obstacles they had to overcome, such a digging squirrels, stomping feet and choking weeds.

With all that could go wrong, it’s amazing they were able to grow at all. But they did, although not perfectly. Some may have bent leaves, a broken stem or fading color.

But they were planted to be irises and irises is what they became, fulfilling their role to bring color, fresh air, and pollen into the world.

That’s what irises were created to do. When Pam planted them, she did not expect them to grow into pumpkins or roses or weeds, but irises.

I believe the same can be said for us. As Ephes. 2:10 states “we are what (God) has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”

Let’s take some time to break that down. “We are what God has made us.” This passage is about establishing trust and relationship in God.

Here is an image of God the Good Gardener. We are not accidents, we are not off-chances. But we have been made by God, and God is active in our coming to be.

The next part states that we were created in Christ for good works. Just like the irises were planted to serve a specific purpose, so have we.

Some of us have been blessed with artistic leanings: a voice for song, a way with words, a talent for visualization. Those gifts were deemed to not only bring beauty into the world, but joy into our life and an opportunity to praise our God.

Others have been blessed with the ability to nurture: to care for people, to care for animals, to care for the hungry. Those gifts were deemed to not only restore and encourage beauty but to show the ways in which God cares for and loves the world.

Others have been blessed with gifts of leadership, such as how to run a school, establish a non-profit organization, or manage a government. These gifts were deemed to not only maintain beauty in the world but to show the ways in which God is in control and watching over us.

The gifts we were given and the good works we were created to do are limitless. Our ability to cook, our ability to fix, our ability to listen, the list goes on and on. Prophets called us to care for the widow, the orphan and the foreigner; Jesus called us to visit the sick and incarcerated.

In other words, God created us to be a blessing to all of Creation.

But somehow, in some way, things went wrong. God created us one way, but the world tries to change us to be another. And sometimes its from our own doing, sometimes it’s the doing of others. More often then not it’s a combination of the two.

Like irises making their way to the soil’s surface, so may things influence what happens to us.

We are shaped by where and when we grew up. We’re shaped by our birth order, what happens in the home, the school we attend, the people who like and the people who hurt us.

We are shaped by our mental conditions, our physical situations and choices that we make and choices that are made for us by others.

Why one person makes it as a largely unscathed iris and another grows up with broken leaves and a bent stem is a mystery.

But I don’t believe we ever fully grow into who we were meant to be or who we wanted to be.

Life happens. It changes us, it shapes us. What were the wrong turns that took a person from an innocent baby into a mass murderer or pedophile? Who wrote in their yearbook that they wanted to become a junkie or prostitute or an inmate?

Those aren’t the only examples of being the walking dead. We all have fallen victim to the hold of sin. We become what we should not be.

We become gossips, we are unfaithful, we unfairly judge, we block others’ blessings, we consume others’ resources, we silence certain voices, and we discriminate against certain folk.

How is that reflecting Christ? Is that what we were created to be?

How is it that we are each given a set of gifts and talents designed to beautify the world and praise God and instead we destroy, deny and tear up?

It’s a wonder that God, as the Good Gardner, doesn’t just look at the miserable garden we’ve become and rip us all up and throw us away.

And yet, God doesn’t. Instead, God does something that is nothing short of amazing.

Through the life, death and resurrection of his Son, God gives us a gift so wonderful, so perfect.

God gives us grace.

Grace is God’s way of saying “I know you. I know all the mess that you have done. But I also know what I have created you to be.

And for your sake, for the sake of all creation, and for my sake as well, I am going to remove the hold your sins have over you.

Now, go and try again to be just who I created you to be and what I created you for.”

Through the gift of grace, God removes the dirt and dead leaves of our lives so we can better reach our full potential and grow into the beautiful irises we were always destined to be.

God does not do this because we deserve it, God does not do it because we have done the right amount of works.

God does this so that we can be freed to do what we were always born to do, but our dead selves had prevented us from doing.

God gives everyone the gift of grace so that heaven is not something we spend our whole life waiting for, but so that heaven becomes a place on earth right here and right now for all to enjoy.

And God’s no fool. God knows we’re imperfect. God knows we’ll still make mistakes. God knows that situations will arise that can lead us back into saying or doing the wrong thing.

So God continues to give and to give and to give the gift of grace each morning, each second, each moment of the day.

And the gift of grace allows us to reclaim who we were always destined to be, to do what we were always destined to do, and to reflect the love of Christ to other folk so they can boldly claim the gift of grace for themselves.

To conclude, we are all God’s beautiful irises and grace is God’s good fertilizer. It keeps us strong, it helps us to grow and it ensures that we reclaim the beautiful flower we were created and planted to be.

Thanks be to Jesus who died for us so we can live, for the Spirit that ushers a new season into our heart and for God who loves us not for who we are but for what we were born to be.

Amen.

Buzzings Article for April 2009

2009-03-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

Buzzings April 2009

Easter is upon us. Spring is here, winter is over! We leave behind the chill of the snow for the mystery that is life. All around us we see new growth. Flowers pushing up from the dirt, birds sharing their songs, ducks flying hundreds of miles home to have their families. How does this all happen? How, in the midst of it all, does the promise of spring continue to reappear, year after year?

Easter is a special time. As Christians it is the most important religious holiday. It can also be the most confusing, mysterious, hardest to explain and accept. To some it may seem that we are celebrating a dead man coming back to life, but for us it is more then that. It is celebration of the fact that life is more powerful then death. That God’s grace is for all.

But there is also the somber side. Just as Jesus lived a life that many would call far from perfect, we believe in a Christ who is wounded. Look at the resurrection stories: Jesus still bears the wounds of the cross. They are not erased, they are not magically repaired. But instead they are there, and Christ does not shy away from them. “Look at my hands and feet” he says to the disciples in Luke 24:39. In John 20:27 Christ says “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out and put it in my side.”

Why, if Christ was resurrected, would he not wipe away all marks of his wounds? Why not make his skin smooth and restored? I can think of two reasons. One is to remind us of the fact that “by his wounds we were healed” meaning that Christ went to the cross for us, to show us just how much God abundantly loved and cared for us.

Second, the wounds of Christ remind us of the wounds that still exist in the world. Christ’s wounds are a reminder that there are still many who are wounded by hunger, wounded by broken homes, wounded by unfair government practices, wounded by a troubled economy, wounded by discrimination, wounded by their own egos and their own self-hate.

If Christ was to cover up his wounds then we could easily cover up the wounds of others (and ourselves) and do nothing. But as long as Christ’s wounds remain visible, then we have no choice then to see and acknowledge the wounds around and within us. Then, by seeing, we may be empowered to act, to react and to move. To embrace, as Ephesians 2: 10 states, what we were created to be and to do.

As long as the resurrected Christ bears his scars, then we as Christians and as a church, are called to find ways to bring healing into the world, embracing God’s grace and sharing it with others.

Have a joyous Easter and a fantastic spring,
Pastor George

Wanderings for March 22, 2009

2009-03-19T10:04:00.001-07:00

Wanderings for March 22, 2009
Good Tuesday everyone. A reminder that we have our Culver's fundraiser tomorrow night. Hope to see everyone there.Our scripture for Sunday is Ephesians 2:1-10. I highly suggest you go and read it for yourself, because it's all about grace, and grace, as one pastor wrote, is “the dearest piece of good news the church has for the world”.Grace is so difficult to truly define, although you can usually tell when someone is being graceful to you and when they are not. I preached on grace last week and I'm still continuing to think about it today, so this scripture is oh so very timely.What I want to invite us to think about and do today is to compare and contrast what being dead to sin and what being alive with Christ looks like.I encourage you to take out a piece of paper and create two lists. You can label one list "Death" and the other "Life" and go through all 10 verses. Go ahead, I will wait, and let's see what you can find.Are you making your list?...you need to get your Bible out to do it.......I'll wait........Having trouble fining Ephesians? It's in the New Testament, after Galatians...Don't know where Galatians is, you say? Ok, here it goes (sing it with me) "Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Acts to the Romans, Corinthians, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians... Ah, there is is......Now turn to chapter 2, verses 1-10. Got it? Good, now le's make our list....(dum dee dum dum dum)(whistling a tune)(tapping a pencil on the desk)Got it? Good. Ok, let's see what we have. Remember, everyone has a different translation of the Bible, so each person's answers will be slightly different and yet the same. Here is how my list readsDeath: dead through trespasses and sin, once lived, following the course of the world, following the ruler of the power of the air (what does that mean?), spirit of those who are disobedient, passions of flesh, desire and sense of flesh, children of wrath, like everyone else.Life: God, rich in mercy, great love, loved, alive together with Christ (I like the word together), grace, saved, raised up, seated with him, heavenly places, immeasurable riches of grace in kindness, not our own doing: a gift, no boasting, made, created for good works, prepared way of life.That's what I got, but it's not necessarily the right list. But I like what I see. After you made your list what did you find fascinating?I see how death uses strong words that sound like life: passions, power, flesh and senses. How can passions be equated with not living? Isn't life lived without passion of some sort the same as not living at all? Or are there some passions we overdo to the point that it can lead to or cause death?Then look at the words for life: who wouldn't want mercy, great love, gifts and the chance to be right next to Christ?Think back to your life. Was there a time before you became fully aware of the presence of Jesus Christ in your life? What was that like? Was it a lot of living or a lot of death masquerading as life? Or was it just death?What has having Christ in your life done for you? Has it brought more life, has it opened up or closed down your world? And does passion still exist? if so, what does that passion look like?These are just some things to think about. Enjoy your week, step out into the sun, celebrate the life we share together in Christ.Amen,Pastor G

Wanderings for March 15, 2009

2009-03-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

Wanderings for March 15, 2009
Wanderings for March 15, 2009John 2:13-22When does knowledge make a difference? When it prevents us from unjustly judging and condemning others because we do not understand their culture, tradition or ways.Today’s Scripture is an example of that. Jesus goes into the Temple and raises Holy Heck, using a hand-made whip, chasing out animals, overturning tables, dumping out money and saying “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” I used to read this, saying to myself “Yeah, yeah, go Jesus go!”Without knowing nothing’ ‘bout nothing’, I assumed that people had turned the Temple into their own personal farmer’s market, their own little Meijer’s in the middle of the sanctuary. Of course Jesus got mad- I’d be mad too. But that’s not what was going on.The story takes place during Passover. Men over the age of 20 were required to travel to the Temple, some coming from very far away. In order to participate in worship one needed to pay the Temple Tax and bring an animal for burnt offerings (see Leviticus 1,3).Well, the Greek and Roman coins featured graven images and referred to their emperors as Gods, so that money could not be used to pay the Temple Tax: the coins had to be changed into acceptable coinage, therefore the need for money changers (who would charge a fee for their services). And the animals had to be spotless, with no blemish. Ever travel a far distance with an animal in a car? Now imagine having to travel 15 miles or more, on foot or donkey with an animal without blemish. How well do you think that would work? So, there needed to be people selling blemish free animals for those who traveled far and wanted to participate in worship.The merchants used to do their business on the Mount of Olives, but over time they moved into the Temple area known as the Court of the Gentiles. Can you see how money changers and animal sellers were necessary, and not a farmer’s market or Meijer’s?Does this change your notion of what the merchants were doing? Does it help you understand the purpose they served? But does it also muddy up our understanding of why Jesus went on a whip-frenzy, tossing and turning and chasing out? If these things were necessary, why did Jesus respond the way he did?Is there a piece of the story we’re not being told? Were the merchants actions correct but their motives wrong? Were people confusing pious piety for true spirituality all to make a profit. Was Jesus upset that the Gentiles were getting the goats-end of the deal? What do you think, and how does this affect you view of the money-changers and animal sellers?Have a blessed weekend, and God bless,Pastor G

Wanderings for March 8, 2009

2009-03-19T10:02:00.002-07:00

Wanderings for 03 08 09
Good news everyone: our church website is officially up and running. We're still waiting to add some more text and photos, but to see it, go to www.wbcucc.org (as in Wyoming Burlingame Congregational UCC). A young man named Lucas Moore has been working faithfully to put it together (he is the grandson of our own Bea Rosloniec).When designing the site we told Lucas that we wanted to focus on relationships: families, friends, children, activities. And that is what you will find on the website, as well as stunning photos of our stained glass windows and building. As you go through the website you'll find great photos full of fun memories: weddings, baptisms, softball games, trips, shared meals, worship, and the faces of a few people we have loved and lost. How good it is to be reminded of all that has been good. But we are not supposed to get stuck there: back in the memories, back in the things that have passed. Instead we are to fondly remember them and to move forward. I think that is part of what this Sunday's Scripture is about. Mark 9:2-9 is known as the Transfiguration. It is retold in three other places in the Bible. Here we have Jesus inviting Peter, James and John to travel up a mountain with him. While there, Jesus becomes transfigured/resplendent and Moses and Elijah appear and talk with Jesus. To put this into modern terms, it would be like we were hanging out with Pres. Obama and all of a sudden George Washington and Abraham Lincoln showed up. Or we were hanging with Derek Jeeter when Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb showed up. Or we were hanging with Tina Fey when Lucille Ball and Katherine Hepburn showed up. What an amazing experience that would be! So Peter, saying the first thing that pops into his head, says "Teacher, it is good to be here. Let's build three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." Your Bible may have the words different. Instead of dwellings it may say booths or tents or shrine. And each word changes the context of Peter's statement. Dwelling sounds permanent, booths can refer to a Jewish festival, tents sounds transient, and shrines can just be a small structure along the road (like a statue or sign) that is in honor of someone important. For this Sunday I want to go with the notion of dwelling: that Peter's immediate reaction is "Hey: this is good, this is grand: let's stay up here forever." That sounds reasonable doesn't it? I mean, here he is in the presence of Jesus and the two greatest prophets who ever lived. Why leave? Why not just stay there and bask in their knowledge, their radiance, their goodness forever? Well, yeah, that may sound good, at first. But to stay on top of the mountain would not be living life. To stay up there would mean Peter and the rest would miss the other good things that happen in life: family, friends, meals, love, grandchildren etc. And after time, being on the mountain would get boring, wouldn't it? So, despite Peter's proclamation, eventually Moses and Elijah disappear, Jesus stops being transfigured, and he and Peter, James and John make their way back down the mountain, where life and work, joy and pain, love and loss are waiting. And they, and we, are all the better for it. May you enjoy the blessings that come to you today, embracing them for what they are, and then letting them go to embrace the other blessings God is sending your way.In joy, Pastor G

Wanderings for March 1, 2009

2009-03-19T10:02:00.001-07:00

Wanderings for March 1, 2009
Good morning everyone. I pray you have all had a good and safe week. I enjoyed my vacation, spending time in GR and visiting a classmate and her husband in Aurora, IL (a suburb of Chicago). I give thanks to Chris J who lead this week's Bible Study.This Sunday we will read and hear from Psalm 25. The sermon title that the UCC suggests is "God's Loving Paths." And I think that is a great title to go with, for as you probably know, I am all about the journey.The Bible is full of stories of journey. Many of our best loved movies/books are all about journey ("Alice in Wonderland", "Wizard of Oz", the Star Wars series). And then there are the personal, emotional, journeys we go on. From a pop culture point of view, Americans have watched superstar Britney Spears go on a journey that has been filled with many emotional valleys and peaks. As much as we love to knock people down, we also love it when they get back up.Today, I invite you to think of your own personal journey. Then I invite you to read Psalm 25. Pay attention to vs 1-3 and vs. 16-20. See how they are filled with references to enemies, shame, treachery, troubles, distress, affliction and sins? I like to think of theses verses as two sides of a dangerous wilderness. I see vs. 1-3 and 16-20 as danger on the left and danger on the right.But verses 4-15? A pathway through the forest. A roadway of love. A safe clearing in which the way has been paved with bricks made out of words like teach, truth, salvation, mercy, steadfast love, remember me, goodness' sake, good, upright, humble, covenant, sake, pardon, teach, prosperity.Isn't that cool! It is as if the writer of the Psalm is purposely using the set up of the poem to say "Hey, on either side of you there will be enemies and adversity. But stick with God, for in the middle of all that fuss and gunk, God is making a path, God is a clearing a way for you, and look at all the good things it is made with: truth and love, humility and pardoning of sins.And what is the outcome? Where does such a path lead? To verses 21 and 22 "May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all its troubles."The path that God cuts out of adversity and enemies is one that ultimately leads to redemption and preservation.As Christians, we would say the path lead to the Cross (where we are redeemed) and then beyond to the Resurrection.May God bless you on your journey today and ever more,Pastor G

Wanderings for Feb 22, 2009

2009-03-19T10:01:00.001-07:00

Wanderings for Feb 22, 2009
Greetings everyone. I go on vacation Thursday; Rev. Mayor George Heartwell will be here to preach on Matthew 6:1-18 and 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2. I invite you to take a look at these texts, but today I wish to leave you with a laugh. This was sent to me by a seminary classmate. It's the Bible as told from a kid's point of view, including mistakes, mispronounced words and humorous insights. This had me smiling from start to finish. Enjoy, be blessed, In God's abundant grace and love, Pastor George > The Children's Bible in a Nutshell > > In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that. > > Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did. Then God made the world. He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet. > > Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars. Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something. > > One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check. > > After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat. > > Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. > > God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's stuff. Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother. > > One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town. > > After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me. > > After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them. > > After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.') > > During his life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Democrats. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him. > > Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead. > > Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to heaven but will be back at the end of the aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

Wanderings for Feb 15, 2009

2009-03-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Wanderings for Feb 15, 2009
Wanderings for Feb 15, 2009This Sunday our Scripture is taken from Mark 1:40-45. Today I want to spend some time talking about word usage.Each Bible is different and each Bible translates their words differently, and these translations can affect how we view Jesus, approach Scripture and think about ourselves.Take for example today’s readings. First we are told a man approaches Jesus. Some translations says he is a "leper." Other translations say he is "a man with leprosy." Do they mean the same thing? Is a person defined by their condition or is their condition just part of who they are?In verse 41 we are told Jesus is moved with compassion. Some translations use the word "pity." But if you look at the little notations in your Bible (if you Bible happens to have footnotes), you’ll see other translations use the word "anger."Again, is there a difference in being moved with compassion, being moved with pity or being moved with anger? Do you ever imagine Jesus angry? And if Jesus was actually angry, what do you think Jesus would have been angry about? That the man was bothering him? That the man was sick? That society treated people with leprosy in such a way?Then look at verse 43. Jesus sternly warns the man not to say anything. Jesus as stern? How does that sound. Can one have compassion or pity and still be stern? And why tell the man to not tell anyone?As you can see, although this scripture is only 5 sentences long, it opens itself up to numerous possibilities. And in those possibilities we have the chance to step up, step in, and wrestle a bit with who Jesus really is and how that matches how we have been thinking about him.I pray you all have a blessed night and an enjoyable Valentine’s Day.Peace, Pastor G

Wanderings for Feb 8, 2009

2009-03-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Wanderings for Feb 8, 2009
Good afternoon everyone! Today's Wanderings come earlier then usual. It's because I am so well rested from not having to read, read, read for research for Sunday's sermon. But also because Tammy's Sunday message has left me psyched and excited. Tammy took preaching to a whole 'notha level. Barb and I have some serious competition now! Tammy's sermon challenged us to think of how fear can be used to motivate us to do the right thing (or that's what I got out of it: each person probably heard something different). This Sunday's message is from Mark 1:29-39. For today's study you need to go and get your Bible and read it yourself. Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law and she serves them. Question: what kind of service does she do? Does the scripture say anything about cooking, sweeping, cleaning or baking? No. Then why does our mind automatically assume that kitchen work is what she does? The original Greek word used to describe what she does is akin to the word "deacons", from which we get the word "diaconate." Peter's mother-in-law is healed by Jesus and immediately goes to serve him. Have you ever been touched by Jesus, ever been healed by Jesus? If so, how did you go about serving Jesus to show your thanks? Well, this week, this month, this year we are all going to have the chance. Ron Bruinsma touched upon how Missions, through the wonderful idea of Leah, is setting up a Kids Corner where people can donate food to the food pantry that is along the line of what kids like to eat, because let's be honest: kids like different food then adults. And there are far too many kids in our community who are going hungry every night. So we at BCUCC are going to do what we do so well: step up to the need and meet the challenge. Anne Winkle has been working with the children of the church to make up a list of food children like to eat. That list has been compiled and on Sunday during the Children's Message we'll do a reverse offering. We'll ask you to take a slip of paper with a food item listed on it, purchase that item, bring it in between Feb 15-22, and on Feb 22, when the children take the offering, they will also bring forward all the donated food. Then, we will do this every month: asking people to bring in the selected food item, place it in the designated location throughout the month, then on the fourth Sunday of the month, have the children bring the food up to the altar. This is a chance for us all to be like Peter's mother-in-law. To serve Jesus in a unique and important way and to help, in our own style, in silencing the evil demons of hunger. May this Wanderings be a blessing to us all, may you continue to be a blessing to Christ and to our community. Grace and abundance, Pastor George

Feb 1, 2009 Wanderings

2009-03-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

Wanderings for Feb 1, 2009
Good afternoon everyone. I want to thank everyone for the grace and love you demonstrated on Sunday. I pray that everyone has been thinking about Sunday's message, "Who Knows?" as opposed to "Who cares" as we experienced in the faithful words and actions of the King and people of Nineveh in Jonah 3:1-10. This Sunday I do not preach as it is Women's Sunday, but we will all have the opportunity to hear Tammy Scott give her first sermon. I still recall the first time I ever preached, and Mom took me out for lunch (that photo stands in my office). Let us all pray and support Tammy. This Sunday's scripture, from what I understand, is Feb 1, Mark 1:21-28- where Jesus encounters a man with an unclean (evil) spirit. Would you like to have some with fun this? Well then, go ahead and read it. Take your time. I'll wait....... Read it? Ok, now, let's try an exercise. Reread it, but now give the man with the unclean spirit a different voice. How does an evil spirit sound? Loud, fast, broken up, sporadic, hissing, laughing, crying? Or slick and smooth, overly polite? Then reread how Jesus speaks. Does he speak all polite? Or soft? Or does Jesus shout? One Biblical translation has Jesus say "Shut up!" Can you imagine Jesus saying "shut up?" Play with the voice of Jesus. Imagine how one speaking in authority would sound. Who has authority in your life? Do they yell, raise their voice, use lots of words, little words. Then play with the voices of the people who witness this happen. How can or does their voice change. Also notice that when Jesus encouters evil, he does not stay silent. Do we? Or do we find a way to speak to it or about it? I hope this gives you a chance to let the Scripture come alive, to hear it in a new way, and in doing so to encounter Jesus, evil and humanity in a new way, thus allowing ourselves to encounter our own self in a new way. Be safe this weekend, and stay blessed. Peace, Pastor George

March 15, 2009 sermon

2009-03-19T09:57:00.001-07:00

March 15, 2009Scripture: John 2:13-22Sermon Title: “Was Jesus Perfect?”Rev. George N. Miller

Two weeks ago we introduced the word resplendent, meaning to shine forth. This week we introduce another word, one that everyone knows, but not many are comfortable with: imperfection.Imperfection is something that we as Americans have a hard time with. This is partly because we’ve been tricked into thinking perfection is something we can achieve. Noses can be shortened, hair can be dyed, and pale skin can be spray tanned.The quest for perfection drives our economy. Pay to remove a scratch on the car, pay the gym to get bigger muscles, spend thousands to create the ultimate home-entertainment experience.The striving for perfection not only drives our culture but is drains our energy, our finances and spiritual core.That’s why, for some people, discovering they have a chronic disease is a blessing in disguise because they have no choice but to give up the lie of perfection. Allow me to explain.When someone is diagnosed with chronic illness, a series of events usually happen. They’ll try to find a way to make the illness fit into their life without destroying their lifestyle. They assume they will continue looking the same, feeling the same, being the same and this thing will just silently exist inside of them.But then the truth unfolds. Things happen to the body. Hair changes texture or falls out. Body shape changes. Skin blotches and blemishes appear. All these things scream “imperfect, imperfect” but the person tries hard to keep things under-wraps and in control.But to live the charade requires a lot of work and a lot of denial. Eventfully, the person gets to the point in which they say “This is me and who I am”.In doing so they allow themselves to let go, learn how to make the best of what they got, laugh at their situation and to accept the imperfections as permanent marks of who they now are.The person realizes they’ll never be perfect and the truth all along was that they never were.Instead of wasting energy trying to be something they can’t be, they instead spend the rest of their life living it.In the acceptance of imperfection, something else happens: grace steps in and brings with ittransformative healing. And grace may even help them realize that imperfection is the truest part of living life to its fullest.Scripture gives evidence of this. Look at Genesis 1 and you’ll see that when God created the world it wasn’t called perfectly flawless but “good.” Part of that goodness was human beings who had the freedom to make choices, even if they were the furthest things from perfect.Our biblical ancestors had glaring flaws. Moses was afraid of public speaking, Noah got drunk, and Rahab was a prostitute. Yet God loved and used each one of them to bless Creation.Which brings us to today’s question: if Jesus was fully human and fully divine, walking the earth and sharing in the human experience, was Jesus perfect, or gloriously imperfect like you and I?Note that I’m not asking if Jesus was without sin, but if by our standards we’d label Jesus as perfect.Let’s start by examining a piece of pop culture: The Shack. In the book the Trinity is portrayed rather uniquely: God is a black woman who cooks, the Spirit is an Asian woman who gardens.Jesus is a Middle Easterner who wears a plaid shirt, jeans covered in saw dust and not handsome enough to stand out in a crowd; far from images we’ve seen in movies and stained glass windows.There’s a part where God, Jesus and the Spirit are preparing dinner when suddenly Jesus drops a bowl of sauce and it splatters all over the place including God’s dress and the Spirit’s feet.They all become silent and then laughter erupts. There is mention of how clumsy humans are. God calls Jesus “Greasy fingers” and says, with a wink, “You just can’t get good help around here.”The three laugh harder and harder as they work together to clean up the mess and share their meal.This scene may appear inconsequential, but what the author has done is so staggering I don’t think he realized what he wrote. By having Jesus drop the bowl, the author shows Jesus as making a mistake. That’s an amazing image to think about.If that happened in my house, my Mom would yell, there’d be feelings of shame, and someone would probably kick the dog out of frustration. But not in this book. Instead the moment is seized upon as a chance for bonding and community.By saying Jesus is capable of dropping a bowl, the author is not only implying that, like some men, Jesus would be useless in the kitchen, but he’s also making the theological claim that Jesus is capable of being imperfect.Today’s Scripture makes that argument too. It’s Passover. Jesus enters the Temple, the front area filled with the activity of merchants and money changers. He fashions himself a whip and tears through the place flipping over tables and raising his voice.It’s an image we don’t see portrayed very much, and yet its there, in all four gospels, showing a very human Jesus doing a very human thing that many of us would not consider to be appropriate or the definition of perfection.Imagine I started flipping over pews or tossing coins and see how the phone lines would light up!And yet, to say Jesus was fully human, to claim that the Word became flesh, means that Jesus had to have said and done things that do not fall neatly into our sense of perfection.Let’s take a look at what we know.For starters, Jesus was conceived by an unwed teenage mother. Does that sounds perfect to you? There’s a word for that, and anyone who had or was a child out of wedlock can tell you that word.Jesus was raised in a family so poor his mother could only afford two turtle-doves as her offering. How many people accept poverty as their definition of perfection?Did Jesus live what we’d call a perfect lifestyle? He was a 30 year old bachelor, hanging out with the guys and women of questionable morals, wandering from place to place, drinking wine. How would that fair at Calvin College or the Letters to the Editor section of the Press?He had no problem challenging the authorities or getting in the way of local commerce. Is that perfection or cause for concern?Jesus touched and was touched by people with illness, skin diseases and different lifestyles. Would you want to shake his hand?And the way he died? It wasn’t at a ripe old age surrounded by family, but on a cross, the ultimate political form of shame. He died like a common criminal, on the outskirts of town, deserted by almost all of his friends. Does that fit into anyone’s definition of perfection?In fact, if you look at the whole trajectory of Jesus’s life, he was born, raised, lived and died in complete imperfection.Yet he was God incarnate; our faith is based on him, and from him came the most perfect gift. Because when Jesus agreed to face the cross, he did something no one else could do: he brought us grace, amazing grace, the stuff we sing about, pray about, and base our Mission Statement on.Grace was the perfect gift that Jesus gave us by accepting to live an imperfect life.By living amongst us, Jesus knew what it was like to be one of us. The temptations, the trials, the victories and losses. He endured and experienced it all, so when the time came, not just he, but all the things we judge ourselves about could be nailed to the cross.Our imperfections, our mistakes, our flaws, they were brought with him to be placed on the cross. And up there they were pierced and shattered.By carrying our imperfections to the cross, Jesus ended the power they have over us and helped us realize those things are just part of who we are, not what ultimately defines or controls us.By taking our imperfections to the cross, Jesus created a way for us to let go so the grace of God could enter in and bring about transformation.His actions allowed us to release whatever feelings of shame, anger or remorse we may have and instead focus on what God has given.This grace means that we in turn can look at those around us, see their imperfections and flaws and realize that they too are worthy of grace.And when we realize that grace is for all, we can release others from the hold of whatever jealousy, anger or ill-will we may have for them.We can stop judging the imperfections of others because we’ve stopped judging the imperfections that are our own.And when this grace is accepted and shared, an amazing thing takes place. Our imperfections lose their power, and we become transformed just as Christ was transformed on Easter morn. And who knows? God may find a way to use our flaws for the greater good, making them the means by which we are called to reach out to others, to do ministry and maybe even earn our keep.To embrace the claim that Jesus lived with us and dwelled in imperfection means that we can stop putting so much energy into trying to present the perfect look and perfect life.Instead we can put that energy into living, and being in relationship with one another and with our own self. And all that time and money spent trying to achieve perfection can instead be spent worshiping God and ministering to others.We are humans. Mistakes will be made. Bowls will be broken, sauces will spill, our skin will bear visible scars.By embracing the humanness of Jesus Christ we can begin to let go of those things and the power they have over us and instead step into who it is God is calling and creating us to be.Thanks be to God, our gracious hostess, the Spirit who tends to our spiritual gardens and Jesus who endured scars for our sake.Amen, and amen.

March 8, 2009 sermon

2009-03-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

March 8, 2009Scripture: Mark 9:2-9Sermon Title: “Resplendent J.E.M.”Rev. George N. MillerOnce there was a man. He was a wanderer, lost and lonely, no idea where he was going.One day he came across an amazing find: a beautiful gem. He held it up to the light, every color of the rainbow shined through it and it was...resplendent.Finding this gem brought him great joy, and he continued his journey with new found excitement.To the first person he met he said “Let me show you what I’ve found.” Oohing and ahhing the person said “ How priceless it must be. This is the most wonderful thing ever seen!”The man heard these words and thought “Yes it is. Perhaps I should hold onto it tighter to make sure it doesn’t get lost or stolen.”With the gem in his possession he realized he was done journeying and stopped at the first place that provided safety and shelter. Feeling encouraged, he applied for the best job he could find, then he went about planning a home. Days turned into weeks and months. He carried the gem in his coat pocket, near his heart, until fearing it may fall out, he placed it in his pants’ pocket, then tucked into his sock. Finally, the gem was put into a locked box.The man had a wonderful job, a fabulous home, and the most resplendent gem that had ever been seen. But he stopped sharing his find with others, fearing that if people knew what he had they’d hurt him and steal it from him. So he tucked the gem safely away, where no one else could see it.Each day he took it out of hiding to admire its beauty until one day an unexcepted knock came at the door. He quickly hid the gem and when the person left he thought “That was a close one. Perhaps I should limit how often I look at it.”He looked at the gem only once a week, but that seemed too much. Then once a month, but the risk was still too great. So he limited viewings to holidays, but it still seemed too big of a risk. Finally, he decided the safest thing to do was to tuck the resplendent gem away in a dark, secret place that no one could ever find.Years passed. The man grew older. His health grew frail. Although his days of wandering were long over, he felt more lost then before. Realizing he was not much longer for this earth, he decided to take out the gem and look at it once more. He hobbled into the basement, dug behind the secret brick, moved the fresh earth, pulled out the locked box, took out the smaller box inside it, pulled out the rolled up sock, unwrapped the tissue paper...and the gem was not there.After years of being hidden in secret, the resplendent gem had deteriorated to dust and sand. In agony the man grabbed a handful of the remains and lifted it up hoping the particles would still catch the light. But no good. By keeping the priceless gem in a permanent state of security the man had rendered it useless and brought about its demise. He spent his last days mourning what he had so foolishly lost......The man in today’s story doesn’t have a name, nor does he need to, for the man is all of us, as we each have a need to preserve and a need to keep, be it time, memories or artifacts.Children fascinated by lightening bugs, trap and keep them in a jar. Adults store away their good china. Churches keep certain rooms locked. Even Peter does this as he tries to keep his precious Jesus from experiencing any kind of pain.In today’s reading Peter, James and John have been invited by Jesus to go hiking up a mountain. While there he’s transfigured, and Elijah and Moses appear, forming their own J.E.M.. (Jesus, Elijah, Moses) When Peter sees this resplendent J.E.M. he immediately speaks “Teacher, it is so good for us to be here. Let us make three dwellings...”Why is it that Peter speaks so quickly? What is he trying to achieve by offering to keep this J.E.M. in a safe dwelling? As you recall, the Gospel of Mark was written during a stressful era in history. Mark didn’t have time to waste and his story is clean, lean and things happen like this (snap fingers)!Yet today’s Scripture begins with an illusion to time: “6 days later.” What is it that happened 6 days before?When we first met Peter he’s going by the name Simon, fishing with his brother. Jesus invites them to follow him, which Simon does, quickly leaving his nets behind. They follow Jesus as he teaches in the synagogue, unblocks Simon’s mother-in-law from her fever, and cures others. When Jesus sneaks away for prayer Simon hunts him down saying “Everyone is searching for you.” From there Simon and the others go from town to town as Jesus preaches, heals and raises a ruckus. Good times. Jesus feeds the five thousand, quiets a storm, walks on water. How cool to watch the way he stood up to authorities. How even the demons responded to Jesus’ voice!Jesus gives Simon a new moniker: Peter. Imagine being so loved by the Lord you are given a pet name! Jesus asks who people say he is. While others respond incorrectly, Peter gets it right when he states “You are the Messiah.”Then Jesus begins a new stage of ministry. The fun of the last few months takes an ominous turn. Jesus tell them something unexpected: that he will undergo great suffering; be rejected, and killed. This is all too disturbing for Peter. He pulls Jesus aside, “Stop talking such mess,” he says, but Jesus rebukes him. “If you want to follow me, you must deny yourself and take up your cross.”And then 6 days pass. We’re not told of a single thing Jesus and the disciples did. Did they teach, did they heal, did they journey? We don’t know. It’s as if everything has stopped. Perhaps Jesus is giving everyone, including himself, a chance to absorb the sobering reality of what he’s just shared. It’s as if he told them the shop is closing or their investments are gone. And I believe what happens to Peter is that he goes into shock. He doesn’t know what to think. Here he was, just an ordinary man. Jesus turns his world around, fills it with light, and boom! Peter hears his beloved leader and friend is going to die by means of great violence.6 days pass, time to sort through their emotions, and Jesus invites Peter and the others to go up the mountain. It was a chance for them to escape reality, to get away.How nice it must have been to make that climb: the exercise, the fresh air. Leaving the problems of the world behind, with each step seeing the land, the people, grow smaller. But try as he may, Peter can’t shake the news of Jesus’ death. Maybe if they ran away or went into hiding they could avoid the inevitable.What happens next seems to be the solution to their problem: Elijah and Moses appear and talk with Jesus. Peter’s response: “Let’s stay here forever!”How honest his response was; how innocent, wrapped in fear and high hopes. “We’ll just build 3 shelters and keep Jesus safely hidden away from everyone else. We can visit him when we want. He’ll never have to suffer.”Can you blame Peter? 6 days ago Jesus rocked his world saying he would be hurt and killed. Why go back down the mountain? Why leave such a wonderful, resplendent moment for the woeful, wretched world that waits for them?Why indeed? Peter speaks for all of us at those moments when everything feels just right and we don’t want it to end, be it vacation, a great date, or the perfect summer.Peter is also speaking for us when we have been thrust into a storm of problems and all we want is to hide under the blanket, ignore the mail or veg out on the couch.Peter’s response to the reality of death sounds like an assurance of life, but it’s actually a choice to not fully live. What Peter’s proposing is a type of imprisonment: “Keep the J.E.M. sheltered on the mountain and no hurt will come.” But neither will true life because true life happens down on the ground. Yes, down there exists sick mother-in-laws, diseases, violent crowds and a deadly cross.But down on the ground is also where Peter’s wife awaits, where children laugh, people wave palm branches, and celebration and songs exist.Down the mountain will be more chances to worship, share meals and smell fragrant perfumes.And down on the ground there is still so much work to be done. Crowds waiting to be taught, people who still need forgiveness, sick children waiting to be healed, blind waiting to see again.In the midst of sadness, fear and assured chaos, Peter experiences a resplendent J.E.M. and tries to find a way to stay there indefinitely. But he can’t, for life is lived, love is shared and ministry is performed not far off the ground, but in the midst of the sadness and joy, fear and safety, chaos and contentment. When Jesus calls us to follow him, we do so, accepting and embracing each moment for what it is: a chance to be with Christ and a chance to joyfully share what have experienced.The gift Jesus gives us is not to be stashed away out of fear of losing or tarnishing it, but to bring it to others, lift it up to the light and to say “Isn’t it resplendent?”And when we have those moments in which it feels easier to hide away, let us be gentle with ourselves, allowing time to process, and then finding the strength to return back to the reality of the world, knowing that’s where Jesus is, and that’s where Jesus is calling us to be.All thanks be to the mysterious ways of the Spirit, to God who sees us through it all and for Jesus, the gem that shines resplendently in and for us. Amen.

March 1, 2009 sermon

2009-03-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

March 1, 2009 Scripture: Psalm 25:1-10Sermon Title: “God’s Loving Paths” Rev. George N. MillerOur message begins with a lesson in vocabulary: “resplendent.” Please say it after me: resplendent.It means “to shine back, to shine brilliantly, to be full of splendor.” A fitting word for us today.For the last 2 months the children have been singing “Siyahamba” or, as we know it, “We are Marching in the Light of God”. Not only is it a joyful song, but it perfectly fits today’s message of movement and light. If you haven’t noticed by now, a good deal of the Bible is all about people on the move. Moses in the wilderness, Jacob leaving and returning home, Jesus and the disciples going from town to town.The Bible is filled with images of movement and journey because that’s what a faithful life is about: always moving, always growing, always changing. God doesn’t call us to be stagnant, nor does God expect us to always be comfortable. God calls us to journey. For some, it’ll be geographical, for others its emotional or spiritual.I’m fascinated by the concept of journey, and I’m not the only one. Look at “Wizard of Oz” or TV’s “Lost” as it journeys through space and time, or the book “Eat, Pray, Love” which is all about one woman’s travel through Italy, India and Indonesia.Journey, as we learn, is not without cost. One can not march from one place to another without having to give up something. People and things have to be left behind, and there are only two guarantees. The first is that during the journey there will be moments of great darkness, so great you can barely see your way. The second guarantee is that God will be there to help light your way through.An example of a journeyer would be Jennifer Hudson. Just a few years ago she was living in Chicago and tried out for “American Idol.” She experienced light when she made it onto the show. But darkness came when she was voted off. She could have crept back to obscurity, but she persevered, eventually winning the role of Effie in “Dreamgirls”, again a moment of light. But when the director felt she wasn’t embodying the role, she was asked to come in for extra rehearsals. Criticism can be harsh but she took what they were teaching her and nailed the part, wowing everyone and winning an Oscar.Her light continued to shine as she was cast in the blockbuster “Sex in the City.” Then she released a new album and hit song. It seemed like her light would keep getting brighter. But the journey took an unexpected dark twist, as her nephew and mother were violently murdered, and she stepped away from the public spotlight.Time passed. Then the news came out: she was invited to sing the National Anthem at this year’s Superbowl. Before the eyes of millions of people she stepped out and after taking a deep breathe, she sung the Anthem in a way few people have. With light in her voice and eyes she sung of how through it all, the flag was still there, and when finished, the crowd roared with approval.7 days later on the Grammy’s she won an award and gave a stirring rendition of her song “You Pulled Me Through.” Backed with a full choir, she sung the way only someone who had overcome great darkness could sing.One magazine, recapping the week’s highlights, ran a photo of her and wrote a caption which read “Resplendent (n): see Jennifer Hudson.”Resplendent. The woman had journeyed from extreme moments of darkness and through it all she found a way to reflect a light that she would no doubt attribute to God and her faith in Christ.Movement, darkness and light: fitting themes as we enter into Lent, a spiritual journey we make with Christ as our guide. There will be a journey to the mountaintop in which Jesus will shine brilliantly. There’ll be healings, teachings and shared meals. There’ll be betrayal in the darkness of night and a brutal death. During this time of Lent Jesus will journey towards Jerusalem, a place known for killing its prophets. Jesus moves forward, knowing full well what’s going to happen to him. But even the dark shadow of the looming cross can not stop Jesus from being...resplendent. With that being said, let’s take a look at Psalm 25. Originally attributed to Kind David, it is an interesting song because it’s structure creates a sense of travel complete with moments of frightening darkness and comforting light.As a faithful jew and a rabbi, there’s a good chance Jesus knew and memorized Psalm 25. I wonder how much it influenced him.It begins simply enough: “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust.”That’s a great way to begin one’s travel. As you take your first step, as you board the plane or turn the key in the ignition, to say “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust.”The psalmist declares that not only are faith and trust inseparable but they are necessary parts of the journey. But this is not foolish trust or naive faith. For right away the pathway of travel is fraught with darkness and danger.“Don’t let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me,” the psalmist states as darkness invades the journey.Through verses 2-3 and 16-20 no light shines through. Loneliness, afflictions, troubled hearts darken the pathway. Words such as treachery and violent hatred mask the sunlight.It’s a verbal journey through a pit of darkness where danger and shame hover on each side, waiting to consume who ever dares to travel through them. The images are enough to keep one complacent or admit defeat.But our God is not a complacent God, nor does God call for complacent people. For as we see in verses 4-15, even between the darkness of danger and deceit, God finds a way to shine through.“Make me to know your ways, O Lord;” the author sings out, “teach me your paths.” And with those words, with that invitation, God’s light begins to shine, providing a path for the psalmist to travel. And the light takes on many forms through the multitude of positive words the author uses.Truth and teaching becomes beacons of light that illuminate the way, followed by the glow of salvation, mindfulness and mercy.Steadfast love and the forgetting of our sins cuts through the darkness of shame and treachery. Goodness, faithfulness and covenant light the way.With each word we discover just how much God’s light is shining and making a way for us through what would at first seem bleak and despairing. Light that calls upon God as our rescuer, our deliverer, and our refuge. In the midst of ruin and distress are these resplendent, glimmering images of God, leading the way, providing the journey, making the travel possible. And through it all, Psalm 25 concludes with wonderful words of redemption.This is a psalm that could not only could speak for King David, or for Jesus, but also a song that can be sung for us.It is a reminder that as we journey, we do not travel alone, nor do we travel in complete darkness, but that with each step we take, God is illuminating the path with wisdom and teaching, with forgiveness and mercy, with steadfast love and covenant.In closing, our Lenten journey will bring us many places, through times of great darkness and much light, from celebration to the horrifying pain of the cross, a place in which it seems impossible for God to be present.But just as Psalm 25 ends with words of new life, the cross will not be the end of our journey. For although we must make that most uncomfortable stop, it is just a stop.For as we will rediscover, the sun will rise again and our true destination will be to a garden, to an upper room, on a road to Emmaus, on a sandy beach shore and on a mountaintop. And in all those places we will discover not only just how much the light of Christ still shines, but how much of that light now shines in each of us, brilliant and full of splendor.God will sustain us on our journey, and though there will be moments of darkness and danger, our ultimate destination will be resplendent, filled with God’s promise of redemption and joy.All thanks be to Christ who invites us on the journey, to the Spirit that carries us along and for God who lights the way. Amen.

Feb 15, 2009 sermon

2009-03-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Feb 15, 2009Scripture: Mark 1:40-45Sermon Title: "Out of the Woods"Rev. George N. Miller

A few weeks ago Jesus told Nathanael how he saw him sitting underneath the fig tree. Last week Jesus unblocked Peter’s mother-in-law from her fever. And today we witness Jesus choosing to make clean a man with leprosy. But first, a story:It was the one of the driest seasons in memory. For over a month it had not rained. The crops were dying, the cows stopped giving milk and the streams were long gone.Last week, six year old Billy was given a stern talking to when he was caught playing with the garden hose. To make sure it didn’t happen again, his parents disconnected the hose from the spigot.One day, Billy’s Mom saw him walking towards the woods. Not moving in his usual carefree way, he had a sense of serious purpose, as if all of him was focused on his task.Minutes after disappearing into the woods, Billy came running out towards the house, then moments later he was again walking slowly towards the woods.His Mom noted this cycle happened several times: run out of the woods, walk slowly in. Just what was he doing?She crept out of the house and quietly followed her son who was cupping his hands in front of him, careful not to drop whatever was in them.Branches and leaves slapped his face, but he did nothing to stop them: he was focused on a higher purpose.That’s when the mother saw the most amazing sight: several deer stood in front of Billy. He walked right up to them, knelt down, and there lay a tiny fawn, suffering from dehydration. Billy lowered his cupped hands, the fawn lifted its head and lapped up what Billy was offering it: water. Cool, refreshing water.When the fawn was done, Billy leapt up and ran back to the house, up to the spigot. Turning it so only a small trickle of water crept out, he stood there, letting it slowly drip into his cupped hands. He had learned his lesson about being wasteful.After a few minutes his hands were filled with water and he made the slow walk back to the dehydrated baby fawn. That’s when he saw his Mom. His eyes filled with tears. "I’m not wasting," was all he said.As he walked into the woods, she went into the house, filled up a pot with water, gave it to Billy, then stood away, letting him tend to the fawn. It was his job. She observed her son working so hard to save another life.As tears rolled down her face, other, larger drops began to hit the ground. She looked up at the sky: it was raining. It was as if God, moved by Billy’s healing actions, had begun weeping as well....A touching story, isn’t it? In many ways, it could be a Disney telling of the gospels, complete with unselfish love and abundant sharing. We could say the boy represents Christ, the fawn represents someone in need of healing and the Mom represents us, observing Christ’s actions.Yes, this would make a delightful Disney tale. But here’s the thing: there’s nothing Disney about the Bible or about Jesus, although we may try our best to clean things up and sanitize them.The Bible is raw, brutal at times. It addresses life’s issues head on, with no apologies or shying away from the messiness that comes with living.The Bible is where real life meets the holy, and where things are never the same again. And this tale in Mark is no different.A man with a leprous disease comes to Jesus, begging him on his knees, "Please, if you choose, you can make me clean." And Jesus, overcome with emotion, touches him and says "I do choose. Be made clean."If Disney had made this into a cartoon, the man with leprosy may have been portrayed by a cute little fawn. But leprosy is far from cute. It is a series of skin conditions, be it a swelling, a spot or raw flesh. Leprosy could result from a boil, a bad burn, it could affect hair, by itchy and cover a person from head to toe.As bad as the symptoms were, much worse was the way one was treated. Considered unclean, you were symbolically placed in the backyard woods, living on the outskirts of town, separated from family, friends and place of worship.And there were specific instructions on how to act in public. Just take a look at Leviticus 13:45-46. Not very Disney-like is it?So try to picture this man with leprosy. Imagine him living outside of town, away from all the other folk. No one to touch, no one to hold.Imagine the sores covering his body, the intense itching. Imagine him in his ripped clothing, his mussed up hair.Imagine the humiliation of walking though the crowd announcing himself as "unclean". See him begging on his knees, the look in his eyes as he says "If you choose you can make me clean."What feelings does this invoke in you? For me, I can’t help but to feel anger: anger at Jesus, anger at God.I am mad that this man has this illness. I’m mad the law dictates that he has to act a certain way.But most of all, I am mad that he has to leave the woods to go to Jesus to be healed.Why, if God is all-knowing, does the man have to come to Jesus to be healed? Why if Jesus is so good, does the man have to ask to be healed?Why doesn’t Jesus just save him and all those like him the trouble by just going to where they’re at and healing them instantly like Billy did with the sick fawn?I’m mad because as far as I know, there’s not one story in which Jesus goes to where the sick and hurting are without being first asked to go there.If Jesus saw Nathanael under the fig tree why didn’t he make himself known there and then? Why couldn’t Jesus heal Peter’s mother-in-law without having to be escorted into her room?Why did the man with leprosy have to endure that walk of shame and fall to his knees to be restored, transformed and unblocked?Yet as mad as I may be, I realize I must temper it by realizing Jesus had his reasons for not doing things the easy way. And when I stop and think things over, one of the reasons becomes a bit clearer: often times for a person to experience the total benefit of healing, they have to truly want it.Yes, Jesus could have walked to the outskirts of town and instantly cured the people, but would they have fully understood and appreciated it?If Jesus unexpectedly cured the folk, would it have provided any true healing at all or just enabled them? For a person to receive healing, must they first get to the point of admitting that something is wrong?Don’t we witness people who have horrible things going on in their life? Their health isn’t good, their relationship is unhealthy. Their fiances are not solid, or their job is not making them happy.But instead of admitting it they fall into denial: "This cough? Oh its nothing." "He only hits me when he’s drunk." "I’m just two months behind on rent." "Work only stresses me out on the days ending with ‘y’."Such people go on and on, saying everything is fine or hiding themselves from the world when it gets too hard to act. But nothing changes, nothing improves. It usually only gets worse.The cough gets deeper. The slaps sting more. The landlord posts the eviction notice. A heart attack happens on the job.And that’s when the reality hits. When a person realizes they can not do it alone, that they need help and the support of another.For some it creates a moment of faith. For those who process their need this way, they look around at the symbolic woods they’ve been in, and realize just how much they need the Lord.Some will fall to their knees, praying and begging for the healing to come, and perhaps that’s the step that creates a path for true healing.For you see, today’s tale is not about a man in denial. These are the actions of a person who’s sick and tired of being sick and tired. His actions reflect someone who has endured his situation for far too long, who has tried every other way, who knows he can no longer do it alone.These are the actions of someone of complete faith who realizes he can only achieve true healing by calling upon the living Lord to extend his hand and touch him with his abundant grace and love.These are the actions of a man who realizes in Christ he not only has an advocate, but a doctor, a teacher, and a high priest. And the healing becomes real.Thanks to Psalm 130 we know there is no place where God is not. John 1 reminds us that Jesus sees us even when we sit under our fig trees of loneliness.Perhaps what Mark is trying to teach us is that like the leper, to be healed we need to come out of our woods, to come clean with whatever it is that is damaging us, and we need to move towards Jesus unafraid to ask for help and healingJust as we have to be willing to journey to the cross and kneel before the crucified Lord in order to realize just how abundant his grace and love is.Just as we need to go to the garden to meet the resurrected Christ to realize there is nothing that can separate us from that abundant grace and love, where we are called to learn, live and share God’s Word.I am still mad at Jesus for making the man with leprosy work so hard for his healing, but at least now I have come to a place in which I think I understand why it is so.And in understanding, perhaps we can look upon ourselves and ask what it is we need healing from, and how we can approach Jesus, asking to be healed, knowing that Jesus can and that Jesus will.All thanks be to God who places in us a clean heart, to Jesus who is our living water and for the Spirit that stirs us from our hiding places.Amen and amen.

Feb 8, 2009 sermon

2009-03-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

Feb 8, 2009Scripture: Mark 1:29-39Sermon Title: “Unblocking the Gospel”Rev. George N. Miller

Having a fishtank is one of life’s joys. From Dad’s 20 gallon tank in the basement to the 10 gallon tank in my office, a community of multi-colored fish is a beautiful thing.The office tank was a gift from Ruth, the fish were purchased by me and various parishioners, and every Sunday the children get to feed the fish.The tank has required a lot of work and there has been some problems. There’s been overfeeding, overcrowding, algae blooming up and the occasional finned friend who has died and been ceremoniously flushed down the toilet.One of the biggest responsibilities is maintaining the filter which keeps the water fresh and clean so the fish stay healthy, active and alive. If the filter is faulty the water gets dirty, diseases spread, resulting in death and a poor community life.For the last few weeks the water wasn’t looking so healthy. The bio-wheel that’s supposed to spin around and around was stuck in place. And there was all this green and brown algae. Not good.So what to do, what to do? I cleaned the entire filter. Each and every piece was taken apart, rinsed out, algae was scraped away.Then an idea emerged: I took the filter tube, a u-shaped object like the piping under your sink, took a knife and jabbed it in and ran the tube under the water and glup! A piece of snotty looking stuff came right on out.Hmmmm.....Again with the knife, digging in side to side, ran it under the faucet. Glup-glop! More pieces of green stuff came whooshing out.Again and again this was done and more and more of that stuff whooshed out.Had this been the problem all along? Why the water wheel was stuck, why the tank was looking so dirty, why the fish have been so lethargic?Was it because for years the filter tube had been clogged with snotty green gunk and no amount of cleaning or new parts would do anything until what was in the tube was unblocked?Once the filter was reassembled and turned on, suck suck suck went the dirty water up into the filter, around and around the wheel went and the happy sound of fresh running-water filled the room. The tank’s community of was given a new chance of life.Clean, unblocked life has returned to the fishtank and its inhabitants. All the tank needed for transformation and restoration was the chance to be unblocked of the waste and decay that was trapped inside of it for all these years. Church: let me hear you say unblocked.Those present at our Tuesday Bible Study will tell you that “unblocked” was the word of the day. When we gathered to discuss today’s scripture, the obvious topics came up. Do demons really exist? Do we believe in miraculous healings? Is healing less physical and more psychological?Someone spoke up and said “Jesus unblocks”, giving us a unique way of approaching the healing stories.Instead of saying Jesus cast out demons, cured the sick, or rid Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever, perhaps what Jesus really did was unblock them much the same way the fishtank filter had been unblocked.And in the case of Peter’s mother-in-law, being unblocked freed her up to do the work that was needed to get done. Being or feeling blocked is not a good thing, is it? There are many ways one can be blocked. Got a stuffed nose? You’re blocked from breathing.Got blocked arteries there’s a chance a heart attack will come your way. Constipated? Now that’s a blockage no one wants.Writers face what is known as writers block. Kurt Warner was blocked Superbowl Sunday from successfully completing his final throw.Not too long ago women were blocked from voting and blacks were blocked from lunch counters.We as a country are experiencing blockage. The flow of money has been blocked by a decrease in purchases, rising unemployment, and everyone fearful of being fired.I myself have been blocked. Keeping information from you about my health blocked my energy level, creativity and how I interacted with you.Being blocked is not good. It limits how we deal with the outside world, what our day is like and what we’re able to do.Take for instance Peter’s mother-in-law. For fun, let’s call her Sunny. As today’s reading tells us, Sunny is not well. She’s got a fever and it’s blocking her. The fever blocks Sunny from interacting with others as she’s stuck in bed all day. The fever has blocked her possibilities. She can’t enjoy the sunrise, go to market, join the ladies for lunch, or attend worship. But something wonderful happens to our Sunny. When Peter leaves worship, he brings with him Jesus. Jesus visits Sunny in her room, he takes her hand, lifts her up...and Jesus unblocks her.Whatever was clogging her filter, whatever was keeping freshness from flowing within her, was somehow, someway, unblocked due to her interaction with the living Christ.Sunny goes from laying down in bed to becoming Sunny-side UP!And her response is to serve Jesus and the disciples. God’s Abundance and Grace found in Christ is matched by Sunny sharing Grace and Abundance with her family and friends!Can I get an amen? Now some would say that we as a church have been blocked. Our records with pastors haven’t been the greatest. Our infighting and disputes are legendary. And the good kind of green we need to stay in operation is not easily flowing in. And that has created its own blockage. Blockage that has stunted church growth. Blockage that has pushed people away. Blockage that has limited the service we’re able to provide the community.But over the last few weeks, hasn’t it seemed that there’s been an unblocking of our church? It’s as if Jesus has brought in a spirit of unblockedness that is motivating a whole bunch of people to get up and to serve.Have you noticed that people sharing testimonies and prayers during worship has gone up? I have. Attendance for Bible study, field trips and Men’s Breakfast had increased.Thanks to Leah we have a new mission program. Thanks to Jen we have a great after school program. And Marge has created a beautiful new song celebrating the gifts of women.Thanks to the grace and love of you, I have a new energy and insight. And I don’t know about you, but I am ready to serve.Whatever has blocked us is being unblocked. Whatever has been caught up in the filter has been whooshed out, through fresh water and hard work.Mark tells us Jesus healed, cast out, and lifted up. Our Bible study folk say Jesus unblocks. So today, I’ll leave you the same way Tammy left us last week- with a question.How has Jesus unblocked you? And how do we, who have been unblocked, get up and serve our Savior who is busy restoring and transforming us with a fresh spirit coursing through our souls?All praise be to the Spirit that flows through each and every one of us, through Jesus who touches us right where we are and to God who shares with us Her abundant grace and love. Amen and amen.

Jan 25, 2009 sermon

2009-03-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

Sermon from January 25, 2009 Jonah 3:1-10
Note: inspired by "Unbinding the Gospel" I've been preaching a new way: no manuscript. What you have here is the sermon as written, but not as presented. When I gave the sermon on Sunday I removed all references to Pres. Obama and George Washington. The result was a funnier, more personal, intimate message of hope. Still, enjoy what is here. Pastor GeorgeJanuary 25, 2009Scripture: Jonah 3:1-10Sermon Title: "Who Knows?"Rev. George N. MillerTuesday we inaugurated our 44th President and though it was a time of celebration, President Obama grounded us in reality. Admitting we are in the midst of crisis he called us to reaffirm our enduring spirit, reminding us that our country was born when things were most in doubt.Obama stated that we are in the winter of our hardship. The same can be said for our church. Though we are celebrating our 85th Anniversary, we’re facing the reality that this could be our last year.We heard it from trustees last week: if things continue as is, there is only enough money to carry us for 38 more weeks. That’s 266 days.Which means on October 18, 2009 we will either close our doors or go to part time ministry.Indeed, we have a task before us, indeed there are gathering clouds. What are we to do?First, let me tell you what we should not do, and I’ll do that by sharing a story. 5 years ago I joined a volleyball league and was placed on a team.There was Brian who felt he wasn’t good enough, Scott who got the giggles, Court who sporadically showed up, and our captain Rhonda, who’s one goal was to kick the ball over the net.We played together but never acted like a team. There was barely any volleying, no set ups, no one two three spike!, and anytime we were behind they acted as if we had already lost, which upset me because in volleyball comebacks do happen.This came to a head during one game. We were playing to 15. We had 1 point, they had 14. The ball is served: it goes over the net, it goes to the back row, I go to bump it, Rhonda runs over, she swings her foot. She kicks it. It goes off court. We lose 15-1.Rhonda blew it off: "We were going to lose anyway." Obviously, she didn’t believe in come-backs. Obviously, she had no faith in the team. Obviously, after that season, we dissolved and never played again."We were going to lose anyway" were the words of our team captain. Those words still volley in my head even today.Our captain had zero faith in what we could do, and decided we were going to lose the game.Good thing she wasn’t George Washington, good thing she wasn’t the King of Nineveh or today’s story would have ended completely different.Today’s Scripture is from book of Jonah, a fun, quick read about a man called by God to "Go to the great city of Nineveh and cry out against it."Jonah refuses to do as God commands. After all, he is Jew, and Nineveh, nicknamed "The City of Blood" was their enemy. There is no way Jonah will go there, so he flees in the opposite direction.But as Psalm 139 reminds us, one can’t hide from God. After a series of incidents involving a storm, some scared sailors and a large fish, God gives Jonah a second chance and tells him "Go to Nineveh and give them the message I tell you."Jonah obeys and enters the city crying out "40 days and the city will be destroyed."And what do the people do? Do they kick the volleyball with their feet and lose the game? No. They face the challenge and volley the ball into the air, doing whatever they can to change the situation: they fast, they grieve, they put on sackcloth.And their team captain, the King, follows their lead, removing his robes, putting on sackcloth, and sitting in ashes.Knowing they are facing a legitimate crises, he makes a proclamation: "All people, all animals shall not eat or drink; they shall put on sackcloth, cry to God and turn from their evil ways.""And who knows?," he says, "God may change his mind and we may not lose this game.""Who knows?" The King says. How is that for leadership. How is that for faith?Faced with certain doom the King acts on the chance that perhaps, just perhaps if they did signs of obedience, God would change God’s mind.Instead of letting Jonah’s message sap their confidence, they faced the challenge with courage. And guess what- God changes his mind.Why? Because God is full of grace, abundant in love, and concerned for the inhabitants of the city."Who knows?" the King says, a statement about the possibility and uncertainty that comes in life."Who knows" the King says, and it makes all the difference."Who knows," the King proclaims and the people and their animals live to see another day.Who knows indeed.What a funny story this is. Look at what we’re told: that upon the words of one man, a whole city cries out to God. Not just the people, but also the animals.Could you just imagine it? Old people and babies, dogs and cats, chickens clucking, roosters cock-a-doodle-doodling, and cows mooing all while wearing potato sacks.With only 40 days before certain doom, they found a way to turn it all around.Makes you wonder: if they could do that in 40 days, imagine what we can do in 40 weeks?I stated before that we have 266 days before we will have to close our doors or change the direction of our ministry. That is the reality of the winter we are in.How do you respond when you hear this information?Perhaps like Rhonda, some will say "We’re going to lose anyway. Lets just kick the ball over the net and call it game over."Perhaps there are those, like the King who’ll hear the news differently.Instead of hearing 38 weeks as a threat, they’ll hear it as an opportunity to put their trust in God, in one another and to volley that ball over the net, knowing that with every serve, every bump, every spike, it’s still anyone’s game.There are those who will hear 38 weeks and say it’s not enough time to bring new life into our church.And there’ll be others who’ll realize 38 weeks is the equivalent of 9 months: how long it takes to have a baby and usher in new life.Friends and family of Burlingame Congregational UCC, what we have here is an opportunity. This is one of those moments people read about, that people talk about, the moment in the movie where the music swells and people get on their feet.This is our Valley Forge, this is our Red Sea, this is our moment in Nineveh. This is our chance to step up in faith and say "Who Knows".After all, if the wicked Ninevites understood the power of God’s Word and responded faithfully, how much more can we, as believers of God, do?If God can forgive and save the most unlikely of people, what can and will God do for us?This is the chance for us to find out just who we really are, to reach and cry out to God, to seek Jesus in ways we never have before.What can we do? I suggest three things. The first is to work together as a team. To do so means people need to show up. Pull out your Buzzings, look at your Bulletin. You’ll see that every week we have events going on and they’ll only succeed with your help and your presence.Our weekday Bible Study is the biggest it’s ever been, but we can still use more people. Christian Ed’s field trip was a large success, but it would have been even more successful if you were there.Priscilla Circle, Women’s Fellowship will only grow with your presence. And now that Men’s Breakfast has changed days there’s no reason more men can’t attend.We don’t need any more programming, we just need people to show up for what we do have. And who knows: perhaps God will respond and speak to us in ways not yet imagined.What can we do? We can return to the source of our knowledge about God and Christ: the Bible. This is our tool, our source of inspiration and hope for over 2,00 years. The more we know about it, the more we will know about God, our selves and what God is calling us to do.And finally, we need to embrace the basics of Christian life: prayer. We can start by each and every one of us taking time out to simply pull up that empty chair, imagine Jesus is sitting right next to us, and to talk. Talk about our church, talk about our lives, talk about you need to talk about.If you don’t know what to say, you can say "Help." If God has been good, say "Thank you." And when words don’t come, laugh, or cry."Who knows?" the King of Nineveh states, and we need to embrace his way of thinking.For too long we have been a church that has rested in our own stability. Now is the time for us to make the radical jump into God’s arms.We need to be like the disciples who are willing to follow when Jesus walks past and says "come with me.".We need to be like Philip: willing to go and get our friends sitting under their fig trees.We need to be like the thief on the cross: admitting our own sin and claiming Jesus as Lord.And by fellowshipping together, by embracing the Word, by living a life of prayer, we can reclaim the message we have been called by God to give: that we are family and friends in Christ, sharing God’s abundant grace and love.And who knows? Perhaps the volleyball will stay up in the air. Perhaps we can create a new movement that motivates others and brings about change.Because its not about us, it is about the grace of God that God has to offers to everyone.We are not doing this alone: we are doing it with, for and by Christ, guided by the Spirit, listening to God. And it will be through God that we will succeed and stay open or we will close down.But let us not forget who our God is. Our God is the one who parted the Red Sea waters when the Israelites were facing certain death.Our God brought new life into Elizabeth and Sarah when they were too old to bear children.Our Lord fed 5,000 with some bread and fish.And our God saved the Ninevites from certain doom all because they were willing to say "who knows?"Who knows indeed.We have the tools, we have the gifts, the worst we can do is try.Let us embrace the reality of the next 38 weeks as an opportunity to cry out to God, to reclaim just who we have been called to be, and trust that God will do what God will do.Let us embrace the next 38 weeks as a chance to grow and to better know the God who calls us, the Christ who abundantly loves us so and the Spirit that empowers us to keep the volleyballs of life up and in the air.Amen.

Sermon for Jan 18, 2009

2009-03-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

Jan 18, 2009Scripture: Psalm 139: 1-18Sermon Title: "The Inescapable God"Rev. George N. Miller

Once there was a female pastor who was asked to come and to pray with a man’s mother. The woman was lying in bed with her head propped up on 2 pillows. An empty chair sat beside her."I guess you were expecting me," the pastor said. "No," responded the mother, in a frail voice, "Who are you?"The pastor introduced herself and said "I saw the empty chair and figured you knew I was coming.""Oh yes, the chair," said the old woman, with a smile. "Would you mind closing the door?"The mother began her story. "I’ve never told anyone this, not even my son. But all my life I never knew how to pray. I’ve heard pastors talk about it, but it went right over my head, so I abandoned any attempt at it."The old woman coughed and continued, "Then one day a friend said to me ‘Prayer is just a simple matter of having a talk with Jesus. Here’s what ya do: place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith, see Jesus on the chair. Then just speak to Jesus in the same way we are doing right now.’"So I tried it, and I’ve liked it so much that I do it every the day. I’m careful though, I don’t want my son to see me and think I’m crazy."The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old lady to continue her journey. She prayed with her, anointed her with oil and returned to church.Two days later the son called to say his mother had died that. "Did she die in peace?" the pastor asked."Yes," said the son, "When I left the house for the store Mom told me she loved me and kissed me on the cheeks. When I got back, I found her. But there was something strange about her death: Apparently, just before Mom died, she leaned over and rested her head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?"The pastor wiped a tear from her eye and said "I wish we could all go like that."...This is a story which works on many different levels. On the surface, it’s about prayer, on another level it is about presence.Presence is an important part of ministry. Perhaps more so then administration, more then preaching, ministry is about the ability to be present to another person.Being present says "I love you," being present says "You matter and are a person of worth."Unfortunately, there are far too may people in our world who are alone or feel alone, and sometimes they take drastic steps to make that aloneness real.What we’ve heard today is a Scripture challenging the notion that anyone is ever truly alone.Psalm 139 is called a song of "most personal expression." It portrays human experience in all its dimensions, stating that no matter what or where, God is present in our lives, and knows us.This Psalmist asks God "Where can I go from your spirit?...If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even then your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast."This is a song about knowledge, that the God who made us wonderfully, who knew us even when we were yet unformed, continues to know us at all times, no matter where we are.For some people, this Psalm is comforting. To know that God will always be there for them: just pull up a chair and begin a conversation!For some, this song can be a bit scary. For those, such as myself, who have been stalked, or have been abused, there can be something ominous about this image of someone who sees you when you’re sleeping and knows when you’re awake.But I believe that this is not a Psalm of fear, but of comfort, because God is not looking to hurt or abuse us, but to know and love us, to be present in a way no one else can be.I believe this Psalm is God’s way of saying "No matter who you are, no matter where you are on life’s journey, I am right there with you."For further clarity, let’s look at the story of Jesus and Nathanael in the Gospel of John 1:43 -49. I invite you to turn to your Bibles and read along.[Read the Scripture]This is a call narrative, beginning with Jesus on the town, where he meets Philip who recognizes Jesus as the one the prophets had talked about.Full of excitement he goes to find Nathanael. But where is he? Is he hanging with the guys? Is he smooching with a squeeze? No, instead, Nathanael is a under a fig tree, where we can assume he is alone.When hearing the news about finding the One, Nathanael is non-plussed, simply replying: "Can anything good come out of such a hick town?"When Nathanael sets eyes on Jesus and is greeted with a compliment, the only thing he can say is "You don’t know me."To which Jesus responds with a poetic line of knowledge and presence, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you."..."I saw you under the fig tree..."Let’s meditate on that thought for a moment. I think this is a profound statement for us to hear today, at a time in which we are wrestling with worries about snow, economics, and our futures.When Philip met Jesus he was out with his friends. But Nathanael was under a fig tree, alone.What’s up with Nathanael? Why wasn’t he out with the guys? Or with a significant other?Perhaps Nathanael was a busy man taking a much needed break, but I don’t sense that. His words have an air of cynicism that can only come from loneliness and disappointment.His words strike me as someone guarded and wounded who has found it easier to be in his own company then to be in the company of others.Or perhaps, like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, he was someone who was never invited to play in other peoples games."How did you get to know me?" he asks, and Jesus states, in what I believe would be a loving voice: "I saw you under the fig tree."Think about that statement, think about that image.Doesn’t it sound like one of profound sadness and loneliness, where one is alone, feeling left out?Have you ever had a fig tree moment? A time in your life when you felt abandoned or forsaken? I certainly have. It was June of 1982.I was graduating from 6th grade. People were having and going to parties. The only party I was invited to was for a girl named Ingrid, a chunky girl with glasses who wore fancy barretts.One Saturday I was playing ball with Scott and Matt. After a while, Scott abruptly said, "Well, I gotta go: I’m having a party this afternoon, and its going to be a great one. We’re having ice cream and watermelon and everyone’s coming."That was the first time I had heard of the party. Matt was invited. So was our neighbor Dawn. But I wasn’t. So that afternoon I spent alone, while everyone else I knew was in Scott’s backyard, having a great time.I was under a fig tree, and as if that wasn’t enough, I added insult to the injury by walking past his house. Sure enough, I could smell BBQ, the pool was full of kids, jumping in and climbing out, and I was alone, standing on the street.That moment will always stay with me, and has shaped me in more ways then I can imagine.Because of that moment I get a thrill when invited somewhere because it means I’m worthy enough to be invited. And I feel hurt when someone has a party and I didn’t make the list.I wonder how different things may have been if I knew about Psalm 139? I wonder if that would have provided me with a different set of eyes.That was my fig tree moment. When was yours?When did you feel all alone in the world? When did you feel that no one cared if you were alive? Was there a time in which you felt like you’d be better off dead?We all have. Those feelings are natural, and they are real. The Bible is full of stories of people who have their own fig tree moment.Hagar who runs away into the wilderness. Jacob who has only a rock to rest his head. Gideon as he cleans a wine press. Mary Magdalene who comes to the garden alone. Nathanael, as he sits under the fig tree wondering what for.But they were not alone, where they? For Hagar is met by God who promises to care for her and her offspring. Jacob has a dream of angels and God pledges to be with him wherever he goes.The Lord calls Gideon to be a mighty warrior. Mary hears the voice of her resurrected savior.And Nathanael meets the Messiah, who lets him know just who he is. Continue reading, and hear how Nathanael makes an excited proclamation, and shortly afterward, the disciples attend a wedding in which Jesus performs his first miracle.Psalm 139 makes the claim that no matter what, no matter where, we are not alone; God is present with us.John 1 illustrates that statement for us, taking us under a fig tree where a disallusioned man sits, unaware that the Son of God was present and seeing him as well.This is a testimony indeed. A celebration that no matter what, we are not alone.In these two scriptures God speaks to us saying, "You may go through so much pain. People will disappoint you, economics will go belly up, and at times you’ll have to fight to stay alive. But you are not alone. I am with you.""I know your hurts, I know you pains. I have seen every single fig tree you have ever had to sit under, and I was with you.""I saw you when you sat in the front of the bus and refused to move because you were so tired.""I saw you when you lost everything you had and was sleeping under the 196 underpass.""I saw you when you had the miscarriage that no one else knows about or wants to talk about.""I saw you the day you went to the doctor and the prognosis was not good.""I saw you the moment you came home from the funeral and realized you were officially now a widow or widower.""I saw you all those days when you could not get out of bed because the pain was so great.""I saw you on the day you were born, and when it is your time to die, I will be there to greet you into my kingdom, where pain, and hunger, and sorrow and sadness will be no more."All those moments of sitting under the fig tree, feeling alone, wondering what for and how so, God was there, present, even when you did not realize it.And God has been working on ways to get you up and out from under that tree.There will be times in our lives in which we will be, and we will feel alone. Perhaps we can be like the Mother in the beginning of the sermon, able to locate Jesus by pulling up a chair and inviting him to sit and talk for awhile.Perhaps we can remember the words of Psalm 139 to remind ourselves there ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no river wide enough, ain’t no valley low enough to keep us away from God.We can recall Jesus’ words to Nathanael and know that when we have a fig tree moment, God through Christ is right there, seeing us, knowing us.In Jesus, we are completely known. And through Jesus we are invited to rejoin the human world, taking part in fellowship, sharing both the good times and the bad with those around him.All thanks and praise be to God who has searched us and known us, to the Spirit that will never leave us and for Jesus who knows us by name.Amen.

Wanderings for 01 18 09

2009-03-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone. Well it certainly looks like we will have snow for tomorrow's CE sledding trip.This Sunday we will read from Psalm 139, a song that celebrates God for knowing and being with us wherever we are.One of the theological claims of the Psalm is that people are not mass-produced beings, but custom made individuals. I came across a story retold by James Limburg, about a young Rabbi named Zusya who was discouraged about his perceived failures and weaknesses. One day, an older, wiser rabbi said to him, "When you die and get to heaven, God is not going to say to you, 'Why weren't you more like Moses?' No, God will say, 'Why weren't you more like Zusya?' So why don't you stop trying to be Moses, and start being the Zusya God created you to be."May we all embrace who we are and not who we think we should be.Amen.

Jan 11, 2009 Sermon

2009-03-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Jan 11, 2009Scripture: Mark 1:4-13Sermon Title: "Where Wild Beasts Wait"Rev. G

note: this sermon is an experiment in which members of the congregation are asked to act out three scenes from the Gospel of Mark: chapter 1, 15 and 6.

As we glide out of the Christmas Season, we glide into stories about Jesus found in Mark’s Gospel.Currently, I’m reading the book "Provoking the Gospel of Mark" which encourages preachers to honor the surprises, risks and rhythms found in the Gospel. The author of the book works with the assumption that when it comes to sacred scripture we should wrestle with it the same way Israel wrestled with God.Said to be the first of the four Gospels written, Mark was composed nearly 40 years after Jesus’ death. The Temple has been destroyed, mass unrest exists. Most Christians are lower-middle class to poor and those caught practicing this new form of religion can be arrested, tortured, killed.This is not a time a time of peace or play, and it shows in Mark’s writing, a fast moving, rowdy story in which things happen quickly and Mark trying to say as much as he can in as few a words as possible. He limits the amount of stories Jesus says, focusing instead on what it is Jesus does.The Gospel of Mark is a jagged piece of writing, with abrupt starts and stops, featuring stories inside of stories, confusing geography, and an original ending that leaves the reader hanging.Turn to Mark for answers and you’ll get more questions. Turn to Mark for clarity, you’ll get a fogged up window. Expect Mark to spoon feed you faith and instead you’ll get a serving of foods you may not like.Mark’s gospel has not been housebroken; it takes risks, doesn’t know now to behave. So, in the spirit of Mark, today will be a day of risks. Today is not about me giving a sermon and everyone else listening. Today does not have a clear message or a feel good bow at the end.Instead, today is about us encountering the Bible in a different way, encountering the ministry of Christ in a new way, and encountering ourselves in a way we have not done before.First I need a volunteer...You’re going to be Jesus. Put on this lovely robe so we know who you are.Next, I need three people with big smiles. You have two parts today: first you’ll going be angels.And for everyone else who didn’t volunteer, that’s Ok. There are parts for you as well: you’re going to create a zoo of animals noises. So, to begin, let’s have everyone move up closer.Now, people over here, you’re going to be ravenous lions. Let me hear your best "roar!"People over here: you’re birds of prey waiting to eat. Let me hear you "Caw! Caw!"You over here are wild dogs. Not nice house pets, I’m talking hungry, mangy mutts with menacing teeth. Give me your best growl.And over here, we have snakes; slithering, hissing, venomous snakes. Let me hear you hiss.And our 3 angels: let’s see you put on your wings.Very good. Now, let all of us step into the ragged, violent world that is Mark’s.Mark begins by telling us that John the Baptist is preaching words of repentance and forgiveness of sins, baptizing people in the Jordan River.Jesus arrives. He’s baptized and wow!-he sees the heavens rip apart. Then, Wow!-the Spirit like a dove comes down upon him and a voice: "You are my son, my beloved. In you I am well pleased."And just like that! the spirit whisks Jesus into the wilderness for forty days where he is with wild animals and tempted by Satan.If you recall, the wilderness is full of symbolism. It’s a place of loneliness and solitude. It can be a dangerous place in which demonic and holy battle it out.Here’s where everyone comes in. Jesus: you’re alone in the wilderness, by yourself. Close your eyes, and don’t open them until I tell you.Lions: let me hear you start roaring. Birds start cawing. Dogs: growling. Snakes: hissing.Keep going, keep going [Pastor gathers angels, gives them baskets of food and drink and motions to them to smile]. Now Jesus, open up your eyes.The angels, Mark tells us, took care of Jesus.People: how did you feel making all those noises?Angels: how did you feel knowing you were feeding Jesus?Jesus, what was it like to hear all that noise? How was it to see the angels before you?Next scene: the crucifixion. Jesus, walk over here with me. Angels-take your wings off and sit this one out.People, good news. This time you don’t have to act like wild beasts. But there’s bad news: you’ll have to act like wild people.news:People over here, shout "Save yourself". People over here say "He can’t even save himself."Jesus, you have one line "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me."Mark 15 tells us that after a mock trial in which Jesus was struck and spit on, they led him out to the place called Golgotha, a wilderness of sorts on the outskirts of town.They gave him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, he would not take it. They stripped him of his clothes and gambled for it.Sorry Jesus, I need your robe. [Take robe] Now I need you to close your eyes. Put out your hands.They hung him between two bandits. And the people began to yell out to Jesus, shaking their heads, mocking him. People, say your lines....And with a loud voice Jesus opened his eyes and cried out.....After someone attempted to give Jesus a sip of vinegar, he cried out again, took his last breath and died.Let’s all take a deep breath. Jesus, how did it feel to hear those words? How did it feel to say those words?People, how did it feel to say those words?Which was it harder to play: the wild beasts in the wilderness or the people who mocked Jesus in the outskirts of the city?My former angels: how did it feel having to sit this one out, knowing this was nothing you could do?The Gospel of Mark asks that we balance these two truths together. That Jesus could be in the wilderness for forty days amongst wild animals and is tended to by angels, but he will die in the outskirts of town surrounded by wild people yelling at him, with no angels to be found.The Gospel of Mark asks us to believe that the God who spoke at his baptism could be silent when Jesus needs him most.But there is one more story we need to share today. It is also a wilderness story.Jesus, I need you to come here. My three angels, I will need your help, except now you’re disciples.People, you have two words. "We’re hungry."Disciples, you are to tell Jesus "They’re hungry."Jesus, this time you get to make up your own lines. Ready?In Mark 6 Jesus said to the disciples, come with me, let’s go into the wilderness so we can get some rest. They found a place in the desert to stop.But the people followed them, and when Jesus looked upon them he was moved with compassion. So he taught them until it got very late. The people said...[point to the congregation] "We’re hungry."The disciples came to Jesus and said [point to the disciples] "They’re hungry."There were over 5,00 people. Jesus said "You feed them."The disciples asked "With what? We have only five loaves and two fish."Jesus ordered the people to sit down on the green grass.Oh, and Jesus, before I forget, let me give you back your beautiful robe.He took the bread, looked up to heaven and gave thanks. (Give Jesus bread to lift up)Jesus, please say thanks with whatever words you wish.And after giving thanks he gave the disciples the bread and fish to share with the people,[Give little cups with Swedish fish and crackers to the disciples to give to the people] and there was enough for everyone to eat.Jesus, how did it feel to look out at the people and know they were hungry?How was it knowing they were the same people who were yelling at you before?Disciples, how did it feel to serve the people?People: how did it feel to be fed?Now why did we do this? This exercise is meant to make us think and to wrestle with the stories we read in the Bible. And it’s meant to make us ask questions, like "How can it be?"How can it be that the one who is baptized and called the Beloved Son and is cared for by angels in the wilderness is the same one who is taken to the outskirts of the city where he will be crucified, ridiculed and feel forsaken by God?How can it be that he is also the one who meets us in the wilderness and feeds us as we sit on the green grass?The Gospel of Mark does not make things easy. It provokes more questions then is supplies answers. But in-between these questions and jagged bits of hopelessness, loss dreams and neglect are images of hope, promise, care and green, green grass.And it is that In-between in which we live, and wrestle, wondering, and questioning, growing and being shaped by God.How do we combine them with the middle, how do we hold onto the middle, how do we share the middle?May God find a way to speak to you, may the Spirit comfort you and Christ lead you. Amen.

Wanderings for Jan 11, 2009

2009-03-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

Wanderings for week ending Jan11, 2009
Good afternoon everyone. Is it snowy out there or what: a winter wonderland, although for some it may seem more like a wilderness.Since I have been here the wilderness has been a common topic of my preaching. It's a common topic in the Bible. The wilderness is referred to in the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy at least 90 times. In the Old Testament Moses, David and Elijah flee into the wilderness. The wilderness is known as a barren place, a lonely place, a dangerous place. But it is also known as the place from which help from God comes. The wilderness features prominently in this Sunday's reading. The lectionary suggests we read Mark 1:4-11, but we are also going to read verses 12 and 13. It is the story about John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus and Jesus being driven into the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan and was with wild beasts. If you read Mark 1:1-13 you will see just how many times the word wilderness or dessert is mentioned. What is Mark trying to tell us?And interestingly, the next time the words wilderness/dessert/lonely place appear in such great frequency is Mark 6:30-44- the feeding of the 5,000 men (not to mention women and children). What do you make of that? Today, I wish to focus on Mark 1:13, where Jesus is with the wild beasts. My mind immediately went to the children's book "Where the Wild Beasts Are." My mind originally thought of danger, danger! I imagined Jesus being in dangerous/treacherous situations with lions and tigers and snakes and wild dogs ready to rip him apart at any time. So I was surprised to discover that this isn't the only image one can get from verse 13. Some scholars see this as a peaceful scene infused with hope. They say that Jesus being with the wild animals is a reference to the expectation that the Messiah will establish a peaceable kingdom, as stated in Isaiah 11:6-9 which says "The wolf shall live with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid." Other scholars will say this scene reminds us that Jesus is the new Adam, and he is living with the animals as Adam and Eve lived with them in the Garden of Eden. They say Jesus lives peacefully with the animals in the wilderness as anticipation of God's kingdom. So here we have at least two thoughts: Jesus' time in the wilderness was a dangerous time where he is under constant attack of being killed by wild beasts or it is a peaceful time in which Jesus and the animals live in harmony. Which version fits your understanding today, and is there perhaps a third or fourth or tenth way of understanding verse 13? May you be safe and well today. Blessings, Pastor G

January 4, 2009 sermon

2009-03-14T20:31:00.001-07:00

January 4, 2009
Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-14
Sermon Title: "God’s Good Pleasure"
Rev. George N. Miller

Today’s scripture is taken from the first fourteen verses of Ephesians. As one person wrote, it’s an exuberant benediction giving thanks to God for all that God has planned to do, has done and will do.
And what a collection of verses these are: there is exuberance all over; in the words blessed and grace which are used three time, the phrase "good pleasure" which is said twice, and words such as love and wisdom that are peppered throughout.
Could there be a better way to begin 2009?
Today’s sermon is designed as a combination of education and celebration, aimed to fill us with a sense of inspiration that will result in motivation.
For the educational part, lets talk about what scholars have to say about the book of Ephesians.
Most Bibles label this as a letter from Paul to a church in Ephesus. But modern scholarship has concluded that this letter most likely was not written by Paul. How could this be, we may ask, since the author claims to be Paul?
To explain, back when this was written, there was no such thing as intellectual property. Copyrights and patents did not exist. Which meant a few things happened with written work.
Some authors signed their name, other chose to leave their writings anonymous. Then there were those who were students of an author, and when he died they would write in his name. This wasn’t seen as lying, but a sign of respect and a way to continue their teacher’s traditions and wisdom.
These were acceptable practices back then, but for us, it can make Biblical scholarship a bit tricky.
In studying the use of language and historical references, scholars believe Ephesians was written by one of Paul’s students. For one thing the use of words is noticeably different from the words in Paul’s other letters.
Second, this letter assumes a large, organized church, whereas Paul was often writing to small, intimate church houses.
So, if we accept the theory that it was not Paul, but a student, writing the letter, what was going on during the time the letter was written?
Scholars say it was written after Jerusalem has fallen to the Romans. The Temple has been destroyed for a second time, and the Jews were trying to redefine what it meant to be Jewish.
Some Jews find the answer in Christ while at the same time Non-Jews are also discovering Christ, and these people from vastly different beliefs and practices are coming together as Christians.
In other words, this letter was written during a true time of chaos.
And what does this student of Paul do? Does he throw up his hands and say "This is crazy, it makes no sense"? Does he say "That’s it, the Romans have won, life as we know it is over"?
No, he writes this exuberant letter in which the first thing he says after the greeting is "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places."
Did you hear that? With the Temple in ruins, with Roman guards patrolling the streets, with worshipers of all walks of life gathering, he says "Blessed be the God."
And does he say God has blessed us in Christ with a little bit of spiritual blessing? No.
Does he say God has blessed us with some spiritual blessing? No.
He says "God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing."
Every. Not a little. Not some. But every.
And he goes on for 10 more lines, and 5 more chapters gushing on and on about how good God is, what life in Christ has done for us, and how we should respond.
With foreign occupation, a destroyed Temple and a chaotic congregation, what blessings could God have possibly given? Paul’s student rapidly lists the reasons:
That even before the world was created God had a plan for us, with the means of redemption already in place.
That even though we already belong to God, God has reinforced his love by adopting us through Jesus Christ.
That through the blood of Christ, God has freely given us grace, lavishing us with forgiveness of our trespasses.
That with wisdom and insight, God in his mysterious ways has gathered us together.
And what does God ask us? That we might live to praise his name.
Life, as the Paulist writer states, may be chaotic right now, but as long as we know we have been adopted by God through Christ, we have grace, forgiveness and redemption.
And for that we should give thanks. Can I get an amen?
On New Year’s Eve I heard an interview with one of my heros, Maya Angelou. She was asked what was the most important life lesson she learned.
Maya responded "The most important lesson I learned, the most important lesson anyone can learn is gratitude. To say "thank you.""Thank you," she lyrically repeated. "Some people will ask for modesty. But modesty is like a magnet people wear that easily falls off. Instead, I say to pray for and to seek humility. To be thankful for your ancestors."
Then she began her own exuberant benediction: "If you are a European-American, and your ancestors were Pilgrims who fled to escape persecution say "thank you.""Thank you. For everything you gave up and everything you went through.""If you are Asian-American and your ancestors came here hundreds of years ago to help build the railroad, some of them leaving their spouses behind for decades, say "thank you.""Thank you. For working in the sweat shops and steam shops of New York.""If you are African-American and your ancestors were brought here on a slave ship laying head to foot, say "thank you."
"Thank you."
Dr. Angelou continued, "And I, in response, realizing and knowing what all my ancestors did and went through, can’t help but to ask what I can do for the people who are to come after me."
I was so moved to tears by her lesson of thankfulness. As Dr. Maya Angelou states: gratitude is life’s most important lesson.
Paul’s student also embraces a spirit of gratitude, reminding us that we are to bless God who has blessed us in Christ, giving us grace, redemption, and forgiveness, asking that we live for the praise of his glory, treating each other and ourselves with a bit more kindness and love.
It has been God’s good pleasure the writer states, not just once, but twice. So, for a moment, let’s forget about the economy, or job market, let’s set aside health and family issues, and let me ask: what has been God’s good pleasure for you?
I was reminded of this on New Year’s Day when I came though a collection of photos from over the past four years.
From a material viewpoint, I see just how much I have been blessed. A TV given by a friend, a dining room table given by my landlord, dishes given by a classmate, a couch given to me by the Maniscalcos, a recliner given by a neighbor, a bedroom set purchased by my Mom.
I couldn’t help but to be reminded of all that God has done for me socially. My running, karaoke and linedancing friends. The friends I have living in 10 states.
My cat, who I can’t picture life without, and the cat toys and furniture people of the church have given. Thank you.
I can’t help but to be reminded of the ways God has blessed me. Relatively good health, an education, a calling.
Once upon a time I lived in a studio apartment with a shower that didn’t work and a bathtub that had to be filled with water heated on the stove. Now I can look outside my door and see a lake and trees and children playing. I have a stocked pantry and a full wardrobe.
Shoot, I am thankful that I have two feet, two eyes, two hands and a heart that still beats.
All that other stuff that I worry about, that day to day stuff that is real and can wear one down, thinking about what I don’t have? In the big scheme of life, it’s all secondary.
Because what I do have, what God has given me is by far greater, and there is still a whole future waiting out there to be revealed and to be discovered.
So, I give thanks. I give thanks to God for the gifts he has given and the gifts yet to be.
"Thank you," as Dr. Maya Angelou would say, "Thank you."
And us? What can we do? We can take a lesson from Ephesians and from Dr. Angelou and show our gratitude to God and our ancestors for the ways God has shared his good pleasure.
We can start by saying to God, who created the world with a plan set in place for all of us, thank you.
Thank you.
To Abraham and Sarah for accepting God’s call, leaving behind all they knew so they could be a blessing to the rest of the world, thank you.
Thank you.
To Moses who helped free the Israelites, who gave us the Law and Commandments, who didn’t give up on the people even when they gave up on him and God, thank you.
Thank you.
To Mary and Elizabeth who accepted God’s call to bear children, bringing Jesus and John into the world even though it meant great pain for them, thank you.
Thank you.

To Jesus, God’s living wisdom, who walked with us, shared meals, taught and touched us, who died for us so we may be free from sin and receive the gifts of grace and redemption, thank you.
Thank you.
To Paul and the disciples who bravely spread the Good News of Christ, even when it meant being jailed and dying for their beliefs, thank you.
Thank you.
To the Holy Spirit that moved over the waters of chaos and continues to move through the world today, thank you.
Thank you.
To the original Congregationalists who left home and moved here to worship God, thank you.
Thank you.
To the members of Smith Memorial and Park Church who established our church, thank you.
Thank you.
To the former pastors and members who kept the church open during the Great Depression even as other churches closed down, thank you.
Thank you.
To all adults and children who work to keep our church alive so God’s word can be done and proclaimed, thank you.
Thank you.
And how can we show our thanks to God?
By praising his glory, by gathering every Sunday. We show our thanks when we place our offerings on the altar, when we lift up our voices in song, when we pray together, when we study scripture.
We show our thanks when we reach out through missions, when we open our food pantry, when we assist those in need.
We show thanks when we care for and maintain the Peace Garden, church grounds and property.
We show thanks when we bring our children to church, allowing them to learn the stories and to understand, without a doubt, that God loves them and always will.
And in return, something the Paulist writer understood, something Dr. Angelou knows, something medical science is discovering, the more we find ways to say "Thank you" the more blessed we remain, the more emotional strength we find for difficult times, and the more energized we stay when we feel weak.
The more we find ways to give thanks for God’s good pleasure, the more blessed we feel, the more blessed we behave, and the happier, saner and sturdier we become.
Friends and family in Christ, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing.
It has been according to and by God’s good pleasure. And in response, let us continue to live, praising his glory forever and ever, amen.

Words of Greeting

2009-03-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Greetings! This blog is devoted to two things:
The sermons you will hear at Burlingame Congregational United Church of Christ, located at 1841 Havana Avenue in Wyoming, MI 49509.

The second thing will be the weekly Wanderings. These are weekday reflections on the Scripture that will be preached that Sunday.

So sit back, enjoy, and that buzzing you may hear in your ear? It's just the Holy Spirit letting you know it's busy at work, pollinating our thoughts, hearts and actions with the love of God and grace of Jesus Christ.