February 17, 2015--offer willingly

Psalm 110:1-4

¹The Lord says to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”

²The Lord sends out from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your foes.

³Your people will offer themselves willingly on the day you lead your forces on the holy mountains. From the womb of the morning, like dew, your youth will come to you.

⁴The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Your people will offer themselves willingly, or as another translation I read said, volunteer freely.  This caught my eye.  So often in the church we are looking for volunteers.  Sign up sheets are prevalent for almost everything.  And yet, so often slots remain open.  But when you ask someone specific to do a task, more often then not the answer is yes.

I don’t believe that this psalm is referring to sign up sheets, to volunteer to teach or go to an event, bring baked goods, or anything else.  This psalm refers to offering ourselves, all of ourselves to the Lord.  Yes, in some ways this is the work we do in the church.  It is also what we do in everyday life as disciples.  We offer ourselves in worship, in prayer, in study, in giving and in serving.  We offer ourselves, we open our full lives to be transformed, to be changed, to be filled.  

As we approach Lent, starting with Ash Wednesday tomorrow, we need to recognize how full we are.  Like Fat Tuesday, we are full of things that don’t really matter, full of things that are not healthy (or we will be, when we get our Paczki’s).  Tomorrow we open ourselves up, willingly, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the giver of life.  

At Ascension we begin Sunday recommitting ourselves to discipleship practices.  In addition, a discovery worship center will be in “The Quest,” one of our Sunday School rooms. In this room you will as individuals meditate, pray, and worship as you discover and encounter Christ in new and different ways.  

So enjoy Fat Tuesday, for tomorrow the real work begins!

February 14, 2015--Peace

Luke 19:41-44

As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴²saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. ⁴⁴They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”

Our passage for today follows the preparation for Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.  The shouts of “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” are resounding.  The Pharisees tell Jesus to make them stop; Jesus replies that if they don’t speak, the rocks will.

Peace. Sometimes peace seems like such an illusive dream.  Peace, the absence of violence, the absences of quarelling, quiet!  Yes, this is peace; but it isn’t all there is to peace.  I like the understanding of peace being about harmonious relationships.  It isn’t so much about agreeing about everything, being the same religion, political slant, liker of the same things.  Peace is about relationships, give and take, listening, seeking to understand, looking for how we are more alike than dissimilar. 

Yesterday I attended the memorial service for Yvonne Riggins-Thomas, the woman who directed the Neighborhood House in Saginaw.  Neighborhood House is on Saginaw’s south side.  I learned this is the only neighborhood in Saginaw without a Neighborhood watch.  Drugs, prostitution, gangs, all live on these streets, threatening.  Yvonne’s dream, Yvonne’s peace was that all are welcome.  As one person said, she said “you are welcome, leave your drugs at home, but you are welcome!”  Yvonne made Neighborhood House a place where there were expectations, and she expected something out of everyone who came in.  Yvonne saw who you are and who she knew you could be.  She accepted you where you were, but also knew that you could be more than you thought, or that others thought.  She loved, a love that was unconditional.  She loved her community, and she fought for her community, in peace.  One young man recalled how he wanted to play basketball in the gym, and she told him fine, but he needed to hit the library first.  The results of that instruction continues to benefit this young man.

Where do we see things that make for peace today, in our world?  What are we doing to bring peace, justice to our community?  How do we define community? 

I have been a believer that our community IS NOT broken down by arbitrary lines of townships. If Saginaw City falls, we all fall.  If Thomas Township falls, we all fall.  As a church leader, I admit pride when I think of how Ascension reaches out to help.  Could we do more?  Yes.  I also know that many of our members live and work with organizations that reach out in ways Ascension does not.  We have workers with United Way, teachers, people who coach in sports and academic endeavors, and on and on and on.  We can all be examples of peace. 

The true sign of peace is Jesus himself.  As we live out this day, look for the signs of peace.  They are there! 

February 11, 2015--

John 3.22-36

²²After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. ²³John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized ²⁴—John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison. ²⁵Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew. ²⁶They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” ²⁷John answered, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. ³⁰He must increase, but I must decrease.”

³¹The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. ³²He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. ³³Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. ³⁴He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. ³⁵The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. ³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.

I can imagine the scene, some of John’s followers approaching and tattling, “That guy you were with, Jesus, is baptizing people, and everyone is going to him, not you!”  I wonder what John’s voice sounded like when he replied.  What do you think?  

How would you have felt if you were one of John’s disciples?  

What do we learn about Jesus from John in verses 31-36?

John says no one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.  What have you been given and how have you used it?  

In baptism we hear, “Let your light shine before others that they will see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Our actions are called to point to God, not to put the spotlight on ourselves.  My call to serve as a pastor is not about me, but about letting people know and experience the love of Christ.  I get nervous when I hear that people join a congregation because of a pastor.  I sort of get it, but at the same time it isn’t about the pastor.  It is so much more than that.  It is about how a community serves and praises God.  How will a community hold me accountable to my faith and living out my faith?  Will I be challenged?  If it is just the music and pastor…..? 

As you pray, thank God for what God has sent you from heaven.  Ask God how to use those gifts.  Consider how you might let your light shine to focus on God in heaven.